Slackery News Tidbits, January 17

Here's the latest Austin film news:

• Governor Rick Perry has just filmed a cameo for the movie Deep in the Heart, in which he plays himself circa 2006. The film is being shot in Austin and stars Jon Gries, still best known as the uncle in Napoleon Dynamite (although he directed Pickin and Grinnin', which played AFF in 2010). And yes, it does qualify to receive film incentives for shooting in Texas. Is this going to be a new way that filmmakers ensure they can actually get the tax rebates?
• Also at the Austin American-Statesman, Matthew Odam interviews Ryan Long, the new film programs manager at Austin Film Society. You may remember Long as a co-founder of Screen Door Films. Now he is working with AFS on their new Best of the Fests series. Long's also established the Texas Independent Film Network with Louis Black, in which they'll travel around the state screening notable movies from Texas.
• AFS has announced the latest film in its Doc Series: For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, Gerald Peary's documentary about movie critics. You can see it on Feb. 10 at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. Peary will be in attendance. After the movie, UT professor Tom Schatz will moderate a Q&A with Peary and a panel of local critics. No word on which critics, but since Ain't It Cool's Harry Knowles is actually in the documentary, I'm sure he'll be there if it's feasible. The above photo is from the SXSW 2009 panel related to the film, which sparked a very lively discussion, especially about online film criticism and movie blogging. That's Peary with Austin Chronicle lead film critic Marjorie Baumgarten.
• If you still haven't seen local filmmaker John Bryant's very funny feature The Overbrook Brothers, which played SXSW 2009, it's now available to rent online through SundanceNow. Then save it to your Netflix queue to help the film gain enough popularity to become available there. Finally, you can watch the short film on which the feature was based, Momma's Boy, online for free right now.
• Last week, I noted that the State Theater is likely to be a SXSW Film venue this year, even though it still needs renovation work before it can be used for live theater. Over at the Austin Chronicle, Kimberley Jones gives us a heads-up on other new venues for the 2011 festival, and locals may be pleased to hear that the Arbor is back again. (It was always one of the best venues for access with film passes.) Other new venues include the Rollins Theater at the Long Center and a screen at Westgate down south. Without naming any specific theaters, I hope the SXSW staff make sure that all the venues are in good shape, with no audio glitches or a tendency to show movies very slightly out of focus.
• Finally, speaking of SXSW, the festival is looking for volunteers during the conference and fest. Our contributor Debbie Cerda has been volunteering for them for years and has nothing but good things to say about the experience ... plus some very interesting stories to tell! Visit the link above to fill out an application and find out more information generally.