Slackery News Tidbits: June 10, 2013

Here's the latest Austin and Texas film news.

• Maggie Carey's screenplay, which was performed as a table reading at Austin Film Festival 2010 under the working title The Hand Job (Jette's article), will hit U.S. theaters July 26 as The To Do List (watch the trailer). Carey's husband, Bill Hader of SNL fame, co-stars in this ensemble comedy about a recent high-school graduate named Brandy (Aubrey Plaza) who, with the help of her friends (Alia Shawkat of Arrested Development and Sarah Steele of Spanglish), makes a list of sexually explicit acts to accomplish before college. Friday Night Lights alum Connie Britton and Scott Porter also star as Brandy's mother and love interest respectively.
• Austinite Robert Rodriguez's El Rey English-language cable television station, aimed at young Latinos, is scheduled to launch in December or early next year, IndieWire reports. The network's lineup includes two scripted shows: an adaptation of Rodriguez's 1996 film From Dusk Till Dawn, which he will write, produce and direct; and a 13-episode "Latino James Bond-type" action adventure series he's slated to direct.
• Universal has acquired the rights to comedy spec Don't Mess With Texas, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Reese Witherspoon, who most recently starred in Austinite Jeff Nichols' Mud, and Sofia Vergara (Machete Kills) are attached to star in this female-centered buddy pic about a police officer and a prisoner on the run.
• Austin School of Film is offering free summer movie choices with its new "Pesadillas Calidas, Horror Films from Mexico" series, which showcases B-classics made below the border from the 1950s-1980s (with English subtitles) at 9 pm every second and fourth Saturday of the month through August at 1634 E. Cesar Chavez. For more free and cheap movies in Austin, don't forget to check out Slackerwood's annual guide.
• Now that you've read our summer movie guide, check out The New Yorker, whick features some Austin and Texas filmmakers in its summer movie guide. The list includes DFW-area filmmaker David Lowery's film Ain't Them Bodies Saints, scheduled for an Aug. 16 U.S. theatrical release (if you missed it at Oak Cliff Film Festival this weekend; Austin-based filmmaker Andrew Bujalski's (Jordan's interview) Computer Chess (Jette's SXSW review), which hits theaters July 17, with a local cast including Wiley Wiggins and Chris Doubek; and Joe Swanberg's star-studded Drinking Buddies (Rod's SXSW review), produced by former Austinite Anish Savjani, which opens Aug. 23.
• Drafthouse Films has acquired the North American rights to Dallasite Robin Wright-fronted sci-fi pic The Congress at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Jon Hamm and Paul Giamatti also star in this adaptation of writer Stanislaw Lem's 1971 novel The Futurological Congress, about an aging, out-of-work actress who preserves her digital image for a future Hollywood. A U.S. theatrical and VOD/digital release is scheduled for next year.
• The L.A.-based Outfest Film Festival 2013 has announced its lineup, which includes Austin-based graphic designer and filmmaker Yen Tan's and co-writer David Lowery's Pit Stop (Debbie's review) and Austinite PJ Raval's (Jordan's interview) SXSW 2013 world premiere Before You Know It (Don's review).
• In more film festival news, this year's San Antonio Film Festival has announced its lineup, which includes features by Austin filmmaker George Anson's (Jordan's interview) Spring Eddy (J.C.'s review); the San Antonio-based features Lucy and Jake, Sanitarium and Champion; and the Texas-shot horror-comedy Blood Cousins.
• In addition, the San Antonio Film Festival's shorts lineup includes films by Austinites Matt Stryker (Crosshairs), Deja Bernhardt (The Midwife's Husband), Bears Fonte (The Secret Keeper) and Haley Anderson (Martha!); San Antonians Buddy Calvo (Arose the Crowd), Daniel Maldonado (Strange Luck), Shane Leal-Willett (The Associate), Kevin Welch (The Happy Couple), Patricio Salinas (The Return of the PRI), Travis Lippert (Ghocial), Brad Milne (Book), Taylor James Johnson (King Lion), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Symphony of Silence and Christian Hawx (Late Night Coffee); as well as Derek Presley (Stryngs) from Euless, Texas, Arlington-based Ryan Britton (To Be Gray), Caroline Bands (Mail (Male) Order) from Bastrop, Dallasite Bentley Brown (Faisal Goes West) and Arielle Solomon (The Bagel Chronicles) from Converse, Texas. The high-school shorts segment features work by students from Rio, Texas, San Antonio, Dallas and Del Rio, Texas.
• Finally, actor Brad Pitt surpirsed Westgate theatergoers during the Austin special advanced fan screening of his latest film World War Z, which premeries nationwide June 21. 

[Photo credit: Jack Plunkett]