Austin Film Society

I just found out that Austin Film Society's next series will be "I Married a Witch: Fredric March's Comic Curse" and I immediately started jumping up and down a lot and making little happy noises because I love 1930s comedies with Fredric March in them. The series starts on Oct. 21 (during Austin Film Festival, damn it) with Design for Living and continues on Tuesday nights at Alamo on South Lamar with more fabulous films: Nothing Sacred, Death Takes a Holiday, I Married a Witch and The Best Years of Our Lives, through Nov. 18.

A funny related story: Four years ago, AFS did another Thirties-ish series I loved, focused around the comedies of Jean Arthur. I especially remember one movie they showed that isn't on DVD: If You Could Only Cook, a cute little comedy from 1935 that ends with an amusing "runaway groom" sequence. But what I most remember about this movie is that I saw it on my birthday that year: November 2, 2004, the day of the U.S. Presidential election. The election returns started coming in while we were watching the movie. And I suspect it was a rather liberal crowd, because after the movie ended we all poured into the little Alamo lobby (the old downtown one on Colorado) and looked at a TV and everyone who was so cheered up and distracted by the lovely Depression-era escapist film seemed to visibly deflate at the news that President Bush had been re-elected. But for 90 minutes, that movie managed to distract us entirely from current politics, and it was one of the best parts of my birthday that year.

Nothing Sacred, one of my favorite movies, is showing on Election Day this year -- Nov. 4, not my birthday. Still, I think I'm going to try a little escapism again. It's so good for the soul. If you don't want to sit tensed-up in front of a TV with your stomach in knots, wondering if your candidate will win, I strongly suggest joining us for delightful romps with Fredric March and Carole Lombard ... not to mention a fabulous supporting cast, including Walter Connolly as an editor named Oliver Stone. Coincidence? Hmm.

Fantastic Fest is finally over, and Austin Film Festival is still a few weeks away. Now's the time for local film-fest geeks to catch up on the mainstream movies they've been missing (pssst ... go see Burn After Reading). Or maybe it's time to look beyond the film festivals and find all kinds of interesting events occurring in the next week or so. Here are a few screenings you might not want to miss.

• Austin Film Society is going outdoors at just the right time of year. On Wednesday, you can watch Dirt Road to Psychedelia for free at Republic Square Park -- live music at 7 pm, movie starts at 8 pm. This documentary about Austin during the 1960s and 1970s sounds like lots of fun.
• In fact, why not make a night of it on Wednesday? After you finish your movie in the park, head over to Alamo at the Ritz at 9:30 pm for a free double-feature from 1960s exploitation filmmaker Joe Sarno: Abigail Lesley is Back and All the Sins of Sodom. Sarno will actually be at the screenings, too.

For those of you who want a break from our Fantastic Fest coverage (which has only just begun, to channel The Carpenters slightly), here's a round-up of other film news and events around Austin:

• Catch the documentary Please Vote for Me on Wednesday night at 7 pm at Alamo Ritz, as part of the Austin Film Society's Texas Doc Tour. Doc Tour screenings often sell out in advance; get tickets on the AFS website. [via Austinist]
• You might spot celebrities in Austin from the production of Whip It during the next week -- keep an eye out for Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, and other cast members. My big question: Will there be Zoe Bell (shown at right)? [via the Statesman's Out and About blog]

Last week, for the first time, I used the term "neener-neener-neener" in the title of something I'd written. My inner six-year-old was too excited that instead of an NYC premiere, and Austin getting the movie a month later (which you know is the unfortunate norm), Baghead was going to start its limited run right here in Austin, and New Yorkers would just have to wait to see the Duplass brothers' latest film. You can read the details of the release strategy in my "Neener" article for Cinematical. I am sure that Jay and Mark Duplass would be pleased to hear that they were an indirect cause of juvenile glee for Austinites.

Baghead also gives Austin the pleasure of hosting the kind of premiere you don't normally see in Manhattan -- out in the woods, with free s'mores for audience members. Austin Film Society and Alamo's Rolling Roadshow have cooked up Thursday night's screening out at Star Hill Ranch, where parts of the movie were shot. Tickets are still available through the AFS site. If you really want to get fancy, you can pay extra for a multi-course feast before the film. Jay and Mark Duplass will be there too ... with bags on their heads? Who knows?

Check out the email interview I did with the Duplass brothers before SXSW this year, in which they offer deep and meaningful insight into the inspirations for Baghead. The photo above is from the Q&A after the Baghead screening at SXSW and while it's far from the best photo I took, it captures the attitude of cast and crew at the time. I have to say, I saw the official trailer for the film this weekend, and it doesn't quite capture the fact that this is a funny movie, poking fun at what people have called "mumblecore" as well as adding a splash of horror.

If you can't make it to Thursday night's screening, you can catch Baghead in Austin at Alamo on South Lamar and the Arbor. You can enjoy not only the movie itself, but the satisfaction of seeing it before the rest of the country. Neener!

Austin Film Society sent me the best mini-poster last week, on the back of a schedule for its latest film series, Making the World Laugh: Global Comedy. I put it right by my computer, and whenever someone starts bugging me, or tries to strong-arm me into doing something, I look over at that image and think, "What would The Landlady do?" And then I kick butt.

If you want your own image of The Landlady to gaze upon during difficult moments, you should head on over to one of the great comedy films in the AFS series, which starts tonight with Alain Resnais' Private Fears in Public Places. Next week, you can see The Landlady herself in Kung Fu Hustle, and the rest of the lineup is equally stellar. The movies are all screening on Tuesday nights at Alamo on South Lamar. Admission is free if you're an AFS member and cheap ($4) if you're not. Consider getting tickets in advance on the AFS website, because their series films often sell out in advance.

Now, if someone would just find me a "WWTLD" bracelet, I'd be able to handle any situation.

On the opening night of SXSW this year, I traded an evening of filmgoing for something I hadn't done before: attending the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards over at Austin Studios. The event is a big fundraiser for Austin Film Society, with tickets and tables going for way more money than I could afford, so I figured that covering the event as press would probably be the only way I'd ever attend.

The evening began with a red carpet setup at the entrance to the event. I was advised to get there early because a lot of celebrities are honored at the awards ceremony, so tons of media would be there, especially video cameras. Video cameras take up a lot of room on a red carpet and still photographers can have trouble squeezing into a good spot where they won't be bonked on the head with a camera or potentially stumble over a tripod. I staked out a spot near the end of the actual carpet, where the long line of video cameras ended. I was right next to the IFC video crew, which was good because any time they started pointing their camera at someone, I figured I should too.

Tickets go on sale Friday at noon for the Austin premiere of John Sayles' latest film, Honeydripper, screening at the Paramount on Tuesday, Jan. 22. Director John Sayles, producer Maggie R­enzi, and actor/musician Gary Clark Jr. will all be in attendance.

I've been looking forward to seeing Honeydripper for some time. The movie is set in rural Alabama in the 1950s and centers around a blues club, the Honeydripper Lounge. Besides Clark, the cast includes Danny Glover, Stacey Keach, Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Keb Mo. Check out the official website for more info on the movie and some related videos (interviews with Sayles, etc.)

Austin Film Society has all the details on the events surrounding the premiere -- there are several different levels of ticket prices. The most expensive ticket (still only $25) gets you admission to an after-party at the Continental Club where Clark and Eddie Shaw will perform. A slightly cheaper ticket gets you into Antone's the next night for a concert with Clark, Shaw, Pinetop Perkins, and Hubert Sumlin. You also can buy tickets for the screening only, which range from $7-12 depending on where you sit. You have to buy tickets through the Paramount, so remember to tack on a few extra bucks to those ticket prices for various service charges and so forth.

I've heard Sayles and Renzi speak before (on an excellent panel at SXSW 2006 about regional indie filmmaking and Lone Star) and I can't wait to hear them at this upcoming Q&A.

Finally, I decided this week that I need to remember and m­ake use of YouTube videos that might be of interest, so here's the trailer for Honeydripper.

I've been out of town for a long weekend in the New Orleans area, where they really could use more indie/arthouse theaters, although that's not exactly a priority post-Katrina. Still, my youngest brother is terribly envious of the diversity of film choices we have in Austin, which is why I hope he doesn't see the following list. He's not going to be in a good mood until he gets to see Superbad, and that doesn't reach theaters for another 10 days. If he were here, these are the movies and film-related events I'd be telling him about:

• The Paramount is showing Rules of the Game tonight and Wednesday, and I would love to see this Jean Renoir movie again, especially since it's a restored print. I can't go (I actually have to see Daddy Day Camp tomorrow) but you should all go for me and tell me how wonderful it is. Other Paramount movies in the Summer Classic series this week include a David Lean double-bill of Brief Encounter and Summertime on Thurs. and Sunday, Fellini's La Strada on Sunday, and Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast on Monday.
• The "Sing-Along" version of Hairspray will be showing for the rest of the week at Barton Creek Cinemark (the one that's not in the mall). I still need to see the non-sing-along version myself, although I am wary after what happened with The Producers. (more films after the jump)

Let's see what Austin has to offer in terms of special screenings and free movies this week. If I missed something, please let me know in the comments section.

• Thursday night, Austin Film Festival is hosting "Very Early Works," a collection of short films from local filmmakers who have gone on to bigger and better things. The evening includes short films from Steve Collins (Gretchen), Scott Rice (Perils in Nude Modeling and those funny, funny Script Cops shorts that served as AFF in-house trailers last year), the Zellner brothers (Redemptitude), Mike Akel (Chalk), Jeffrey Travis (Flatland). Plus there are shorts from filmmakers who aren't yet quite so well-known, like Toddy Burton and John Merriman. Some of the filmmakers will be around to discuss their shorts. "Very Early Works" is being held at Alamo Lake Creek, and you can buy tickets at the door.

  If you don't live in Austin, check out the "Eat My Shorts" posting on Cinematical Indie a while ago where I found early shorts online from some of these filmmakers as well as others from the "Mumblecore" movement (I also explain what I think that means). Read the entry and see those shorts for free.

• Alamo Lake Creek is starting a new weekly film series called Tromatic Thursdays, in which the theater brings us films from the prestigious Troma studios. This week's classic offering is Tromeo and Juliet, a timeless love story. The movie screens at 10 pm and admission is free. (More events after the jump.)
  

Here are a few of the more interesting movie-related events and screenings going on around town this week. If I missed something, let me know in the comments.

• Have you ever wanted to see a "magic lantern," the projector that predated motion pictures? The Harry Ransom Center is hosting "Magic Lanterns: Father of the Motion Picture and Grandfather of Television" by Jack Judson, who owns Magic Lantern Castle in San Antonio, at 7 pm on Tuesday. Judson is bringing a restored magic lantern. The event (at HRC) is free.
• If I didn't have a day job, you'd find me spending my mornings this week at a couple of the "kids camp" screenings in town. They're free and this week, the offerings are better than usual. Alamo on South Lamar is showing The Iron Giant, which always makes me cry so I better not see it in public, Monday - Thursday at 11 am. Westgate is showing Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Tues.- Thurs. at 10 am. Lakeline is showing March of the Penguins, Tuesday - Thursday at 10 am. And while Flushed Away wasn't all that fabulous, it would be a good free movie: 10 am Tuesday - Thursday at the Arbor. [More events after the jump!]