Maybe it's because they're charging admission now, but the Weird Wednesday lineup for July and August looks even better than usual, with several "classic" exploitation movies scheduled. I was able to go to Weird Wednesday in May to see Pam Grier in Coffy -- and yes, I stayed awake for the entire movie so I feel confident I could do it again, although not every single week.

If you haven't been to Weird Wednesday before, the screenings are weekly at midnight at Alamo Ritz, and admission is a mere $1. The films I'm about to list are an excellent introduction to the ongoing series.

Psych-Out -- Wednesday, July 8
Director Richard Rush has made some very entertaining movies -- I'm quite fond of Freebie and the Bean (which incidentally you can get now on DVD through Warner Archive) and The Stunt Man. My first Weird Wednesday was Hells Angels on Wheels. This 1968 film is his entry in the psychedelic Sixties drug-movie genre, and while it's not his top work, it's worth watching as a curiosity.

The famous Isaac Newton quote about standing on the shoulders of giants is about how we create better science by using the works of people that come before us. But when it comes to art, some say that's not better art -- it's stealing.

Remix culture is creating new forms in video and music, but traditional copyright holders are often hostile to these efforts. New movements such as Creative Commons try to find a balance between the rights of original content creators and those who want to build on their works.

The documentary RiP: A Remix Manifesto explores the movement towards remix culture ... and you can see this movie in Austin tomorrow night. The free screening is sponsored by ChannelAustin.

Last Saturday, I headed over to New Braunfels -- not for tubing or Schlitterbahn, but to watch movies. The Texandance International Film Festival launched this year at the Brauntex Theatre, and I wanted to be there for even a little of the fun. Besides, Chris Holland is always telling me I should go to out-of-town festivals (although I think he meant slightly more out of town than an hour's drive).

Texandance ran from Friday through Sunday, with some Central Texas-shot films in the lineup as well as shorts and features from around the world. Saturday was an especially good day for Texas movies at the fest. We got to the Brauntex as Crawford was playing, a film I enjoyed at SXSW in 2008. The documentary about how the small Texas town was affected by George W. Bush has recently become available on DVD. But the Brauntex, in a historic part of a small Texas town, was an ideal venue for this movie.

I met the film festival's co-founders, Bryce Tumlinson and Vince Koegle, who were very friendly and enthusiastic about the festival and the films they selected to screen:

Thanks to the Harry Ransom Center, we'll have even more free summer movies to choose from in Austin. The Orientalist Silents Film Series is part of an HRC exhibit called "The Persian Sensation: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in the West" that will run through August 2. The exhibit is also free -- and is open right before the screenings in case you want some context and culture.

The Orientalists Silents series begins this Thursday at 7 pm with the notorious Rudolph Valentino film The Sheik from 1921. The HRC theater isn't large, so get there early if you want a seat.

The film series will continue on June 25 with The Thief of Bagdad, the 1924 version that stars Douglas Fairbanks. And on July 23, you can see the 1926 German silent The Adventures of Prince Achmed, one of the first animated feature films, based on the Arabian Nights stories.

TXMPA's Central Region Caucus is happening at Mother Egan's Patio starting at 6:30 pm tonight (June 8). Members will be electing a new central region representative and alternate for the Board of Directors prior to the annual meeting in San Marcos later this month.

If you work in the moving-image industries, or simply support them, you can join TXMPA. Membership information is available on the TXMPA website.

Austin Film Festival and the Blanton Museum of Art have teamed up to bring us more good movies over the next couple of months. The New Directions Summer Film Series will focus on "the exceptional work of emerging independent filmmakers," and several of the films in the series were shot locally.

The series kicks off on Thursday, June 18 with one of my favorite Austin-shot films that hasn't had a theatrical release: Gretchen, directed by Steve Collins and photographed by P.J. Raval. Watchmaker Films may be releasing it on DVD soon, but in the meantime, this is a chance to see this oddly sweet movie in a theater. I reviewed the film when it played SXSW in 2006.

Another Austin-connected feature ends the series: Shotgun Stories, written and directed by Austin filmmaker Jeff Nichols. The drama, which stars Michael Shannon, won a Best Narrative Feature award from AFF in 2007 and was also nominated for an Independent Spirit award.

You can catch the series at the Blanton's new auditorium on the University of Texas campus, on the Sundays and Thursdays listed below. Admission is $5 -- or $3 if you're an AFF member, a Blanton Museum member, or UT Austin faculty/staff/student.

Full schedule after the jump:

Six new movies open this week, and there's something for just about everyone. That's not including all 15 other special screenings (and that's not breaking down all the Paramount movies into separate events).

Arthouse-wise, Lemon Tree is opening at the Dobie. The film stars Hiam Abbass (The Visitor) as a Palestinian widow whose new neighbor, the Israeli Defense Minister, threatens to destroy her lemon grove. Directed and co-written by Eran Riklis (The Syrian Bride), it's likely going to be funny and heartbreaking.

The Arbor has Every Little Step opening (pictured above), a documentary about auditions for a revival of the legendary musical A Chorus Line. Considering that it's about auditions for a musical, references to life imitating art imitating life must abound.

I was walking past this poster on the way to the bedroom and realized that it's been exactly 10 years since I bought it, at one of the big memorable movie events I've ever attended.

I wasn't seeing many movies in 1999, but when I heard that Alamo Drafthouse (then only one location on Colorado) was hosting a late-night triple-feature of all the Evil Dead movies, I actually stood in a line to buy tickets as soon as they went on sale. My friend Jay and I could not resist. The triple-feature started at something like 10 pm, and I believe that at the time, Alamo did seat assignments for special events. Alamo also printed special tickets for these events -- I found mine last week among some similar tickets for other events, and someday I will have to put all them in a collage to share.

We got to the theater and found these posters in a stack for sale -- they looked like they'd been made out of newspaper pulp. I mean, seriously, I thought they could fall apart at any moment. But I was caught up in the spirit of the event and I bought one anyway. The poster was too thick to fold, so I leaned it on one of the posts near our seats as we sat through all three glorious movies.

Bruce Campbell was a good sport and not only had he signed the posters, but he stuck around for at least two of the three movies that night, telling stories and answering questions between the films. He's returned to Alamo a number of times since then, and I even interviewed him on his last visit, but there was something especially intimate and chatty about that first triple-feature event.

Austin is a popular town for sneak peeks, but usually they are simple affairs where audiences get a chance to view a film and are asked their opinion on the way out the door. Sometimes the event is sponsored, and perhaps there's a plug at the beginning, and maybe some door prizes. Depending on the venue, it may be anarchy, with kids running around and people talking during the film after spending a couple of hours in line.

When we're lucky, filmmakers and perhaps cast and crew are there to do a Q&A. But if we're really lucky, the sneak is a celebratory event. These often involve the Alamo Drafthouse, Fantastic Fest and/or Ain't It Cool News. The Alamo lends itself to these special sneaks because the theater serves food and because it has a strong relationship with AICN. Both AICN and Alamo have good relationships with the studios, enough to host events like the unofficial world-premiere screening of Star Trek earlier this spring.

Last night was no different, when an Austin sneak preview of Land of the Lost included special guests, swag and more. Since it was less of a cattle-call than the usual sneak peek, everyone had to sign in. For their patience in line, they received a free hat and a rather unsettling backpack resembling the current incarnation of Chaka, the monkey-like companion. On the way into the theater, you could get your picture taken in a special Land of the Lost setting as a keepsake.

DVD rentals are pretty cheap these days, especially if you use a monthly online service like Netflix. You can also watch some movies online for free -- legally, I mean, like through Hulu and YouTube. I don't want to encourage the other thing.

But you may not have discovered a great source for watching DVDs for free ... the Austin Public Library. With a library card, you can borrow up to 5 DVDs at a time, for a period of 7 days.