Austin Film Society

The Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards event is just around the corner -- Thursday, March 8, the night before SXSW begins. Austin Film Society has recently announced some of the 2012 recipients as well as new innovations to the gala.

Three honorees have been named so far: actor Barry Corbin, orignally from Lamesa (between Midland and Lubbock); filmmaker Douglas McGrath (Infamous, Emma), who was born in Midland; and actor/musician Marvin Lee Aday, a native of Dallas. Wait, you don't know who Aday is? You've probably heard of him as Meat Loaf.

The Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards event moves downtown to the ACL Live Theater at the Moody Center this year, away from its traditional Austin Studios venue. The evening will include more live music than in previous years, with a lineup including Grupo Fantasma, Nakia, and Suzanna Choffel. Actor/comedian Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show, Medicine for Melancholy) returns to emcee the evening.

Back in my grad-school screenwriting days, my master's report was about the comedy of remarriage, a kind of film genre cousin to the classic screwball comedy. The comedy of remarriage had its heyday in the 1930s, with movies like The Awful Truth -- something drives apart a married couple and amusing machinations occur to potentially bring them back together. And in the Thirties, the machinations were generally not only amusing but witty, and it was pretty much a done deal that the couple would reunite in the end. I always felt that the comedy of remarriage died out somewhere in the late 1940s myself, although when Knocked Up came out a few years ago, I wondered if we might be due for a reworking of the genre.

You don't want to hear me go on and on about the comedy of remarriage. I know, because sometimes I start to do it in person and everyone around me remembers that pressing dental appointment or emergency meeting they have to rush off to catch. Instead, I invite you to see a couple of classic examples of the genre, as well as the evolution of such films right up to the 21st century, in the new AFS Essential Cinema series, "And It Feels So Good: Comedies of Remarriage," which starts next Tuesday night (11/22) and runs through mid-December.

The series is being guest curated by Austin Chronicle film critic Kimberley Jones, who's picked out a half-dozen fascinating features, some obvious and some surprising. I honestly would never have thought of The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, myself, and I can't wait to hear her thoughts about how it ties into Stanley Cavell's original definition of the comedy of remarriage. I'm most excited about the first two films -- The Awful Truth and The Palm Beach Story (pictured above) -- but hope to see all of them. (I'm hoping since Jones is curating, no one will put any conflicting press screenings on those nights. Please.)

While Natural Selection may have taken home many awards at SXSW this year, the Austin movie at the fest that Slackerwood contributor Don Clinchy raved about, both in his review and in person, was Five Time Champion. I mean, the review begins with "Oh, if only all movies were such a pleasure to review; the greatest challenge in reviewing Five Time Champion ... may be finding enough superlatives to describe its many charms without being repetitive." And you know Don is not inherently kind to all movies, especially if you read his review of Jack and Jill last weekend.

Fittingly, Don will be moderating the Q&A with filmmaker Berndt Mader tomorrow night, when Five Time Champion returns to Austin. Austin Film Society is screening the film as part of its Best of the Fests series, Wednesday, 11/16 at 7 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Village. Tickets are still available online. The film is about a teenage boy dealing with school decisions, love interests, and family problems. The cast includes Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Jon Gries and Betty Buckley. Nicholson's in the above photo with Mader and other cast and crew -- the photo was taken at the 2011 Dallas International Film Festival, where Five Time Champion won the Texas Filmmaker Award.

Over on Flickr, Russ Photography has a huge set of photos from the Five Time Champion production; they're not only good photos but give you a fascinating look at a typical day on a movie set. And below, I'm using this excuse to share my favorite photo I've taken of Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, from the Extract premiere in Austin in 2009. She almost made it into the theater unseen; no one recognized her at first with the different hair color.

[Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone will screen in Austin tonight (Oct. 25) -- details are at the end of this review.]

Between deejaying college radio stations and also living in the heart of Montrose in Houston during the 1980s and 1990s, my nights were dedicated to the diverse music scene. New wave genre was my first love, but it was the upbeat tempo of ska and nitty-gritty sounds of punk that got me moving to the dance floor and from time to time, to the mosh pit. The creative cacophony of Austin bands including Bad Mutha Goose, Retarted Elf, The Big Boys, and Bad Brains created a mesmerizing wall of sound, moving the audience in a mass of sweaty, flailing bodies with an incredible outlet of energy.

Many of these bands were influenced by Fishbone, a black punk band from the streets of South Central Los Angeles. Band members sported dreadlocks and Mohawks as well as the ska/mod fashion, although sometimes they wore only their musical instruments. Fishbone "brought the Funk to the Punk." However, their prominence in the scene fell apart just as the band was on the verge of achieving the financial success they needed to survive.

Filmmakers Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson bring the personal story of the fiercely individual artists that make up the democracy of Fishbone in the compelling film, Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the journey of Fishbone to fame and eventual bust is demonstrated through animation, vintage concert and interview footage with the band and other musicians.

Last Sunday at the Paramount, Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater opened up what was originally a cast-and-crew screening of his latest movie, Bernie, to the public as a sneak-peek fundraiser for Bastrop wildfire relief. The dark comedy was shot in Central Texas, including Bastrop and Austin. At last count, I heard that the event raised more than $70,000.

I was on the red carpet to catch a few photos of Linklater and one of the film's stars, Jack Black, who attended the screening. I probably don't need to tell you that's Black in the above photo. A lot of fans showed up with items for Jack Black to sign, ranging from posters to shirts to guitars. He was very accommodating, as you can see below.

One of the Austin movies at SXSW this year was My Sucky Teen Romance, a comedy about real vampires who blend in perfectly at a science-fiction convention where everyone is in costume. Filmmaker Emily Hagins shot the movie while she was still in high school ... and this was her third feature film. Jenn interviewed Hagins before the movie premiered, then Don reviewed My Sucky Teen Romance after its premiere at the Paramount, calling it "campy, escapist fun."

My Sucky Teen Romance will return to Austin this week for its first local screening since SXSW. Austin Film Society will screen the movie on Wednesday at Alamo Drafthouse Village as part of its "Best of the Fests" series. And now I have even better news about the screening: Slackerwood contributor Rod Paddock will moderate the Q&A after the movie. Hagins will be there ... and I wouldn't be surprised if other cast members turned up. Rod is the perfect choice for a moderator, since he was an extra in the film.

Tickets are available online right now through Austin Film Society, with a discount for AFS members. I've embedded the trailer below. And I just remembered that Slackerwood contributor Mike Saulters also appears as an extra ... there he is in the trailer.

The movie Slacker 2011 premiered last week to a sold-out crowd at the historic Paramount Theatre. The festivities included a red carpet set out front for the many filmmakers and actors involved in the remake. The screening was set to start at 7 pm, but the introduction by two of the movie's producers, Alamo Drafthouse programmer Daniel Metz and Brian Poyser from Austin Film Society, actually began closer to 7:30.  

The duo thanked all the people who helped make the film. Austin's mayor Lee Leffingwell made a proclamation, then Richard Linklater came onstage to express his excitement to see the remake of his film Slacker, as well as introduce cast members from the original 1991 film who were in attendance.  

You can read Don's review of the film here; the audience at the Paramount loved the movie. There were a couple of spots where the film projection paused and stuttered. Still, this couldn't ruin the feeling of bonhomie in the room. There was a general burst of excitement as the last scene popped up on the screen.

Last week, Austin Film Society announced the 2011 Texas Filmmakers Production Fund recipients, awarded a total of $92,000 in grants, film stock and services ... plus $7K for travel grants and $12K for the Slacker 2011 production, bringing the grand total to $111,000.

I always enjoy reading about the TFPF grants because they provide a sneak peek into upcoming movies from Texas filmmakers. Austin was well represented in this year's list, but exciting productions from around the state are included. Many of these productions held online crowdfunding campaigns; I've linked to the campaign web pages and recommend taking a look, because some of the teaser videos for these films are excellent.

Here are the Austin projects that received grants, with whatever info I could find about the filmmakers and their productions:

• $7,500 to Computer Chess -- Andrew Bujalski
  Bujalski moved to Austin a few years ago and shot his feature Beeswax here. Now he's working on Computer Chess, a feature about what happens when chess nerds meet computer programmers in 1979. The movie is currently in production in Austin -- they've been looking for extras -- and had a successful crowdfunding campaign.
• $7,000 plus $1,000 in Alpha Cine services to Yakona -- Paul Collins, Dean Brennan and Anlo Sepulveda
  Sepulveda directed the lovely Austin-shot Otis Under Sky, which played SXSW this year, for which Collins provided the sound design. Brennan is a San Marcos filmmaker. Yakona (pictured at top) is an experimental feature-length documentary about the San Marcos River and Spring Lake ... from the point of view of the river itself.

Three local movies that have been on the film-fest circuit are back in Austin next month for special screenings that we recommend you put on your calendar right now. Echotone and The Happy Poet are part of the Texas Independent Film Network series that brings Lone Star movies to various venues around the state, and My Sucky Teen Romance is one of Austin Film Society's monthly Best of the Fest selections.

More info on this trio of Austin indie films:

• Echotone: Friday, September 2 at 7:30 pm at the AFS Screening Room -- tickets here AND Sunday-Thursday, September 11-15 at 10 pm at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar -- tickets here
  I first saw Echotone at its 2010 Marfa Film Festival premiere, an oddly appropriate place to watch a documentary about how Austin music, politics and development fit ... or don't. It screened again during Austin Film Festival at Alamo Ritz (Sixth Street being another apt place to watch this movie), where Debbie reviewed the movie for Slackerwood and I reviewed for Cinematical. Echotone looks beautiful (as shown in the above photo) and sounds great and I can't recommend it enough.
• My Sucky Teen Romance: Wednesday, September 14 at 7 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Village -- tickets here
  Emily Hagins' third feature (all made before she graduated high school) is her best so far, a teen comedy set at a science-fiction convention where it's difficult to tell the real vampires from the conventioneers in costume. No, these vampires don't sparkle. Don Clinchy reviewed the movie at its SXSW 2011 premiere. You can also read Jenn's interview with Hagins pre-SXSW.

The Long Center was transformed into a carnival setting and red carpet on Saturday, August 13, for the gala premiere of the Austin-shot movie Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D. Austin Film Society hosted this benefit screening for the Dell Children's Medical Center and the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund.

The attendees for the event included not only a lot of very happy kids but also filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, producer Elizabeth Avellan, new Spy Kids Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook, and the original Spy Kids, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara, who are also in this fourth installment in the series. I was out of town and missed the whole thing, sadly, but fortunately AFS has published a lot of great photos from the event, some of which I'm happy to share here.

Why the Long Center? I found out when I saw Spy Kids 4 this weekend (my review). In the movie, the exterior of the secret spy headquarters is in fact the Long Center. My guess is that it was very convincing for people who don't live in Austin; I thought it was amusing myself.

Check out the whole AFS photo set from the premiere on Flickr. For another viewpoint on the day, you might enjoy reading AFS intern Lauren Hill's behind-the-scenes account.