Production News

Last month, Jenn reported that Simon Rumley, whose film The Living and the Dead won an award at Fantastic Fest 2006 (which he's holding above), would be shooting his next film around Austin: Red, White and Blue.

The production is currently looking for extras to fill the Broken Spoke in a scene that will be shot on Tuesday, July 7. You have to show up in country-and-western clothing and it seems some beer drinking may be involved. For more information, check out the Alamo blog entry written by the film's executive producer, Tim League.

The Austin Chronicle published a story today with more details about Red, White and Blue and Rumley shooting in Austin. We're also planning more news about the production soon -- I heard a rumor that one of the shooting locations is also the home of a Slackerwood contributor (aside to husband: no, not our house, don't worry).

Yes, the title is cheesy this morning. But how else was I going to get a Machete reference in there? And I'll use any excuse to post a photo of Danny Trejo, like the one above. It's from the 2007 Grindhouse premiere, but it's still relevant, as you'll see below. There's other news from Austin and surrounding areas as well.

• While at Cinevegas last week, Danny Trejo told James Wallace from the blog Gordon and the Whale that shooting on Machete, Robert Rodriguez's movie based on a fake trailer in Grindhouse, will start in about five weeks. I wonder if they'll do any location shooting around Austin? [via Cinematical]
• The latest on the Austin Studios proposed sub-lease to Soundcheck Austin: An open letter to the Austin film community from Richard Linklater that explains the situation clearly and calmly. Check it out.

Update Fri. 5/21: Austinist has published an excellent in-depth look at the situation, with details about the script that had not been previously mentioned.

Update: Ealy and Garcia have written a comprehensive article about the issue for the Austin American-Statesman.

Yesterday, the Texas Motion Picture Association proudly announced the latest film incentives rules, while at the same time, a controversy started brewing over the denial of incentive funds to a production for a film about the Waco Siege of 1993.

Austin Movie Blog's Charles Ealy blogged on Sunday about an action movie production called Waco that was denied film incentive funds. Initially, Ealy reported that an unnamed state senator blocked the funding for the Entertainment 7 production.

Chris Garcia followed up on Ealy's story after learning that the decision to deny incentives was made entirely by Texas Film Commission Director Bob Hudgins, pictured above at the recent signing of the newest film-incentives bill into law. Among the details on Austin Movie Blog is a statement from Hudgins that "...there was criteria put in the statute for that money. That criteria states that anything that shows an inaccurate portrayal of actual events (in Texas) and comes down to that narrow definition."

Simon Rumley, director of the surreal and memorable The Living and the Dead, as well as the sublimely succinct short Handyman, is returning to Austin this summer to make his next film.

Red, White and Blue, a revenge flick, will be shot in and around town. Rumley is currently looking for extras and locations. Visit the original Alamo blog for details.

The above photo is from Fantastic Fest 2006, when The Living and the Dead won Best Film. Rumley is on the right, about to chug his award in traditional Fantastic Fest fashion.

Yesterday, I headed over to Troublemaker Studios to attend the bill signing for House Bill 873, which improves the incentives that film, video, and game productions receive when they work in Texas. Troublemaker had set up a studio for the event, which was packed with locals who work in the film industry and a few politicians. I suspect some people not only wanted to see the signing but also get a peek at even a bit of Troublemaker Studios, and the event area was nicely dressed with some cars used in Robert Rodriguez's films. Yes, I've got photos after the jump.

Rep. Dawnna Dukes of Austin introduced the bill in the legislature this session, and spoke at the event along with Bob Hudgins, director of the Texas Film Commission. Gov. Perry was confident that the incentives would help bring enough film production to Texas to give the economy a huge boost.

As previously mentioned, the Texas legislature recently passed HB873, a bill about moving-image incentives. This bill improves the previous state law about incentives for filming in Texas.

On Thursday, April 23, Governor Rick Perry will sign the bill into law at 10:30 am at Troublemaker Studios (Studio B, 4900 Old Manor Road). We received this news from an email that TXMPA sent to their mailing list; check with them for more information about the signing ceremony, which appears to be open to the public.

The Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA) has reported that House Bill 873 has passed not only the House but the Senate, and will be on Governor Rick Perry's desk for signing on April 23. It's celebration time.

Why? A little perspective is in order. In the 1990s, Texas -- in particular, Austin -- was becoming a film production alternative to Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver.

In 1991, under Governor Ann Richards, Texas began drawing more and more productions, and El Mariachi put Austin and Texas on the map. By 1995, the mission of Austin Film Society (AFS) evolved into an educational and support organization, providing education and funding for film-related projects.

The Texas Filmmakers Production Fund (TFPF) annually gives grants to filmmakers around the state, and this year, the total amount to be awarded has doubled. $150,000 in cash awards is budgeted for this ­year, up from $75,000 in 2006. The awards include a new $10,000 travel grant that will be given (not all at once) to filmmakers year-round, which will be handy for Texas filmmakers whose movies are accepted at remote film festivals.

If you're a filmmaker and wondering how to get some of this money for your own specific film or video project, you can attend one of the TFPF workshops taking place in the next couple of months. The Austin Film Society website has all the details, including the application. The deadline for submission is June 1.

Here's a list of last year's TFPF winners if you're curious. I looked at grants from earlier years to see if anyone sounded familiar: previous local or locally connected recipients include Kat Candler for Jumping off Bridges, Emily Hagins (then 12 years old) for Pathogen, Bradley Beesley for Summercamp! (SXSW 2006), Heather Courtney for Letters from the Other Side (SXSW 2006), Nancy Higgins for Viva Les Amis (SXSW Presents 2006), Kyle Henry for Room (Cannes 2005), Jacob Vaughan for Dear Pillow (SXSW 2004) ... and many many more.

I was reading a blog entry by Bryan Poyser (aka the Dear Pillow and The Cassidy Kids guy) the other day in which he mentioned helping John Bryant (aka the Oh My God and Momma's Boy guy) and Jay and Mark Duplass (aka the Puffy Chair guys) with the Duplass brothers' film Baghead, which is shooting around Central Texas. I've met all these filmmakers at least once (Nueva Onda screened Bryant's shorts a couple of months ago), and the idea of all three of them working together was intriguing. I wondered if I could find some way to sneak onto the set and, I don't know, take covert photos or hide in a corner and observe.

Now it looks like I could have my chance ... and you can too! The Duplass brothers need volunteer extras for a scene they are shooting this Sunday, Oct. 29, at the Arbor theater. Get there by noon and dress casually, and don't wear anything with a corporate logo on it. The shoot should end around 4:30 pm. You can watch these crazy filmmaking dudes in action, and you'll get the warm fuzzy feeling from helping local filmmaking. Who knows, if I get all my AFF reviews done, maybe I'll be there too. I can't resist helping out fellow New Orleans expatriates.

If you do want to work as an extra on Sunday, be sure to RSVP to the filmmakers via email: bagheadthemovieATyahooDOTcom.

Speaking of which, The Puffy Chair is now available on DVD through Netflix. I wasn't very taken with it the first time I saw it, but I liked the movie a whole lot the second time. I wrote about three-quarters of a review after seeing it the second time, and someday I'll pull that review off my laptop and post it. I promise. (Never try to review a movie the week before your wedding.)