The 2012 Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards

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Richard Linklater and Angie Dickinson

Hundreds of people braved the chilly wet weather on Thursday night to attend the Austin Film Society's annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards ceremony. This year was the first time the event was held downtown at ACL Live at Moody Theatre, but it seemed a perfect venue for the celebration. It was a bit of a crush outside the floor level as my friend and I wove our way to the stairs up to the balcony. We spotted Austin filmmaker Turk Pipkin, who started up a chat with a photographer about his equipment, and I ran into Matthew Odam, formerly of Austinist and currently with Austin360.

We sat in an angled section of the balcony, and struck up a conversation with a pleasant woman who works as a lawyer but works on adoption videos for Austin Pets Alive as a hobby. Then Matthew McConaughey walked on stage to kick off the festivities. The actor, sporting a new haircut, spent a few minutes asking folks on the floor to take their seats. He then ruminated on what makes Austin a special place. He mentioned his run-in with the law in town years ago, and announced that he is moving back to Austin, saying it is an "identity town" versus the industry town that is Los Angeles. The actor introduced John Paul Dejoria, co-chair of the ceremony, and then it was auction time.

I don't know if this is how it's always done, but the folks at tables on the floor were chatting over dinner while the auction took place. It seemed that the auctioneer was never able to fully capture everyone's attention. Still, he got some result eventually. Post-auction, Grupo Fantasma performed a medley of "Luck Be a Lady"/"Fortune Teller"/"Superstition" with Suzanna Chofell and Nakia helping with vocals.

Grupo Fantasma

Anjelah Johnson (if you aren't familiar with her stand-up comedy, you may recognize her as the woman in Taco Cabana's current ad campaign) served as emcee for the awards ceremony. Johnson, filling in at the last minute, tended to depend on the teleprompters, while throwing a few of her own zingers in the mix. Poor State Rep. Elliott Naishtat didn't have his name fully announced because Ms. Johnson misread it on the teleprompter (or maybe it was misspelled there?) and didn't want to call him a rude name.

Actor Barry Corbin was the first to be recognized, after a sweet introduction by his pal from Texas Tech days, actor G. W. Bailey. The two have been friends for 50 years. While accepting his award, Corbin was visibly moved, charming the audience as he said that this means more to him than his induction into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. As he admitted, he's not a real cowboy. My friend commented after his short speech, "That made the night worth it."

G.W. Bailey and Barry Corbin

Comedienne/actress Caroline Rhea introduced writer/director Douglas McGrath. The two are currently working on a pilot for USA Network. McGrath earned some chuckles from the audience with his tale about sitting next to President Clinton at a White House screening of McGrath's 1996 film Emma.

Brett Cullen, one of those actors who seems to be in everything, talked about how his friendship with Meat Loaf came to be. Meat Loaf, who turns 65 this year, was choked up as he first took the stage. In his speech, he said his dad called him "Meat Loaf" at six months of age because he was chunky and red. According to IMDb, he has told multiple origin stories about his stage name, but this one sounded quite plausible. The actor/singer reminisced about his audition for the original Broadway production of Hair, saying, "Acting is a constant rejection." What got the biggest applause was the moment he announced that he is moving to Austin. As he said, who better to live in this bat city than Meat Loaf?

Angie Dickinson (pictured at top) was on hand to accept the Star of Texas Award given to her 1959 film, Rio Bravo (after an intro by Richard Linklater). Her thank you speech was succinct, especially in comparison to the long-winded (yet loving) introduction given by Robert Rodriguez to Danny Trejo. Trejo was verklempt as he accepted the Honorary Texan Award, sharing that his family was originally from Texas. He giddily accepted the Rodriguez-esque cowboy hat placed on his head.

Robert Rodriguez and Danny Trejo

I wish we could have stayed to hear more from Grupo Fantasma, but by the time Ms. Johnson closed the ceremony, it was 10:15. As my friend and I left the venue, an all-female mariachi group performed the theme from Desperado. Props to the folks who worked on the awardee intro video clips and the vibrant graphics; they added to the lively evening. And congratulations to the new inductees!

Slackerwood will post more photos from the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards ceremony and red carpet soon, keep an eye out.

[Photo credit: All photos by Dinkins / De Jong. All rights reserved, used with permission (many thanks!).]