AFF 2010 Daily Dispatch: Day Four
After an abbreviated day yesterday, I decided to brave the Hair of the Dog Brunch, which I've never gone to before. Held at Ranch 616 on Nueces, it was simple Texas style fare, but ohhh, soo delicious. I think I found a new brunch spot. I could get addicted to their chorizo scrambled eggs and the shredded beef. Damn, that was good. And the crowds seemed happy, too, not just because staffers and volunteers were handing out Topo Chico mineral water to those waiting in line, but because as people finished eating, the musical chairs seemed to be a blessing, as people got to meet new people.
The Texas Film Commission folks were there, and I chatted with a couple of their staffers for a while, and who joined us, but Alfred Cervantes of the Houston Film commission, and then Andrew Lee and DE Ward of The Spirit Molecule. In our conversation, Andrew and I talked about indie film promotion and Andrew indicated that they hadn't worked out a complete plan on that yet for The Spirit Molecule, but just happened to mention that they had over 54,000 "likes" on ther Facebook page. I think you all would agree that if you have 54,000 fans on Facebook, you don't have to rush.
Wandering back to over to the Driskill, I ran into several people I'd met during the fest, and a few I hadn't met yet, including one of the stars of Bradley Scott Sullivan's I Didn't Come Here to Die, Madi Goff (pictured above). Madi currently lives in LA but Austin is "home" and I'm sure hoping we can say we saw her back at the start of her career.
I was fully intending to attend a panel, but then I got distracted by those darned Singletree Productions guys, aka the S&M Lawn Care team; well, at least the Cole Selix and Brand Rackley components. Among the topics were the importance of being able to make new friends, which they have no problems doing, and how they managed to get a Helen Thomas cameo in their film, and the crankiness of White House security.
I seriously considered going over tothe script reading for The Hand Job, which Mark Potts was participating in, with the likes of Bill Hader, Jessica Alba, Darryl Sabara, the aforementioned Madi Goff, and more. The lure of seeing a dark comedy was irresistable to me, but I heard that the reading was hilarious.
Still, I already committed to seeing Miss Nobody over at ACC and I'm glad I did. Leslie Bibb was there, who not only stars but has a producer credit, and not just in name, only. James Faust intro'd and facilitated the Q&A, and he deftly described it as "Working Girl Meets Manson Girl" (he's pictured above at the top of this post). With its Pushing Daisies sensibilities, Miss Nobody is the colorful and cheerful murders by number tale of an insignificant admin assistant who take a chance and becomes an executive, with a pesky little body count.
Leslie is outstanding in Miss Nobody, and her physicality in the role is delightful. Leslie's Q&A was a lot of fun, and it turns out she's quite gracious too, as fans wanted photographs and autographs, including some young fans who came with their parents. And it turns out her acting coach is from Austin, who took her over to Barton Springs today so Leslie had a chance to experience Austin and outside a theater. I really hope someone works out some viral marketing and creative distribution to arthouse and indie theaters (hint, hint, Alamo, maybe the upcoming Violet Crown) where an appreciative audience can find this delightfully dark comedy.
I had to skip the next film at ACC because of a conflict with the S&M Lawn Care, in part to see the short Sleep Study, and in part to see how the Singletree guys changed the film. Kerri Lendo and John Merriman's short is about a woman who finds out exactly why she isn't waking up rested. Very funny, and very concise. Both films got a lot of laughs, and with a sold-out screening, that's always good (the film played the smaller screening room at the Ritz).
After such a great day, I decided to call it a night at that point; while I could have stayed for The Last Lovecraft, it was playing in the small Ritz theater so I decided a diehard could have my seat.
The conference part of AFF is now over, and it's a bit sad. But there's still plenty of films for the next four nights. Two films I really want to see -- Rubble Kings and Weakness -- are playing up north, and being bound by mass transit and being a South Austin gal, that's too far for me on a work night. But if you live north, do go see Rubble Kings, as the gangs within it are the inspiration for the cult classic, The Warriors.
Two Austin/Texas films are playing tomorrow, including Shelter in Place and Ultimate Guide to Flight. I think I may settle at the Texas Spirit theater at the Bullock for Bloodworth and Hello Lonesome.