AFF

Here's a roundup of recent Austin film news:

• The Central Region of TXMPA is holding a meeting Monday, June 8, at 6:30 pm at Mother Egan's. If you are a member, you can participate in the election for Central Region board representative and alternate.
• If you haven't seen P.J. Raval and Jay Hodges's film Trinidad, check it out on Showtime this month (or if you're me, find a friend with Showtime). The documentary about a Colorado town known as "the sex-change capital of the world" will screen on Showtime channels this week and then be available on Showtime On Demand until the end of June.

You may think Austin has plenty of filmmakers, actors and crew in town now ... but just you wait another dozen years or so, and we'll be even more packed. That is, if you're judging by the number of summer day camps for kids interested in making movies. The camps cover everything from screenwriting to acting to claymation. At the end of many of them, your children attend a screening of the movie they helped make, or bring home a DVD to hold their own private screening party. All I ever brought home from summer camp were lanyards and painted rocks, so I'm envious.

Here's a list of all the summer movie-related camps and classes in the Austin area that I could find. The descriptions are pretty much verbatim from press releases or websites, since I haven't attended any of these camps personally. Sadly, they're for kids and not adults, although you'll find a couple of options for grownups at the end of the list. At least we can all go to the free summer movies, regardless of age.

Nueva Onda hosts a series of films in the warmer months, and tonight they seem to be celebrating the spirit of Cine Las Americas with the short Danzak, an Andean tale that earned director Gabriela Yepes an Austin Film Festival award. The lineup also includes an episode of Austin Stories and The Bickersons.

The screenings happen on the patio at Nuevo Onda rain or shine, at 8 pm -- the restaurant opens at 6:30, and you can get some great Mexican food beforehand. Admission is free. Nuevo Onda is located at 2218 College Avenue. More information at the Nueva Onda website.

Austin Film Festival is starting a monthly film series called "Made in Texas" that will feature movies that are all -- well, you guessed from the title. The films will be shown on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm in the Texas Spirit Theater at the Texas State History museum. Admission is a mere $5 -- in fact, if you're an AFF or Texas State History member, it's free.

Several of these screenings will also feature writers and/or directors, and I am particularly pleased to see that the series kicks off with a movie written by Bud Shrake. About 12 years ago (maybe more), AFF showed Kid Blue during the fest, with Shrake and Dennis Hopper in attendance, and both the movie and ensuing discussion were unforgettable. I keep hoping for an encore screening, since Kid Blue isn't on DVD, but I'm happy to try a new Shrake-scripted film instead.

Full lineup after the jump ...

Austin Film Festival opened on Thursday night with an advance screening of Oliver Stone's film W., a colorful take on the life of President George W. Bush. The screening took place at the Paramount, which is in walking distance of the Texas State Capitol and the Governor's Mansion.

James Cromwell, who plays former President George H.W. Bush, attended the screening and participated in a Q&A session afterwards. AFF held a small red-carpet for Cromwell beforehand; this is my favorite photo of the ones I took. (Boy, is he tall. Super tall. Wow.) I wish we could have blocked off Congress Avenue and shot photos of him with the Capitol in the background, but you can't shut down Austin traffic like that, even for James Cromwell.

Matthew Smith over at Austinist notes:

Hurry up! Today is your last chance to get an Austin Film Festival badge at early-bird rates. If you're buying the fanciest badge (the Producers Badge), you can save yourself $65 by purchasing before midnight tonight.

Jette noted the other day that Oliver Stone's W. will be the opening night film.

Read the full article here: Last Chance for Discounted Austin Film Festival Badges

Austin Film Festival has announced a number of its top films in the 2008 festival lineup, and the Austin American-Statesman has the full story. The biggest news is the opening-night film, which is perfect for a fest here in the capital of Texas: W., Oliver Stone's biography of George W. Bush. The Paramount (where I'm certain the film will screen) is only a short walk from the State Capitol, after all.

The festival also announced that some filmmakers will be in town for AFF with their movies: Charlie Kaufman (who seems perfect for a fest that focuses on screenwriters) with Synecdoche, New York; and Kelly Reinhart (Old Joy) with Wendy and Lucy.

The article also mentions that local filmmaker Spencer Parsons' film I'll Come Running will play the festival, which I've been looking forward to seeing since it had been scheduled for SXSW earlier in the year, but didn't screen there.

Check out the article for a more complete listing -- tons of cool stuff. AFF is still offering badges and passes for the festival, which runs from October 16-23.

America Unchained was one of the few docs I got to see in a theater at the Austin Film Festival this past year, but I'm really glad I did. It's one of those movies that might not be so impressive sitting down by yourself with your DVD player, but really takes off when you see it with an audience. So much so that it won the Audience Award at AFF for Best Documentary.

Comedian Dave Gorman’s quest is a simple one: to drive cross country from Los Angeles to the Atlantic Ocean never spending a cent at a chain restaurant, chain hotel or chain gas station – independent businesses only. But in a country where the mom and pop shop is nearing extinction, does the independent spirit of America still thrive enough to go coast to coast? And how do you do it all while being a vegetarian, anyway? Gorman and Devonshire’s insightful film opens up the back roads of the country to find the heart of America.

On some levels the movie is very much a process film -- you spend some time wondering if Gorman isn't manipulating events to make a better picture -- but there are a number of genuine moments that more than make up for those few moments of incredulity. (Seriously, he couldn't have brought along an extra can or two of gas?) Highly recommended, especially for Austin's citizenry who have a mad on for Wal-Mart.

America Unchained shows at the Alamo Lake Creek on Thursday night at 7:30 pm. Admission is $4 or free for AFF members.

[Editor's Note: Jette Kernion would like to shamelessly plug her review of America Unchained written for Cinematical last year as part of Austin Film Festival coverage.]

One of my favorite films from the 2007 Austin Film Festival, Blood Car, returns to Austin for an encore screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek courtesy of AFF. If your butt isn't planted in a seat at the Lake Creek tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. you're going to be sorry. Really, really sorry.

In the near future gas prices have reached astronomical highs nearing $40 a gallon. One man, Archie Andrews, an environmentalist elementary school teacher, is trying to discover an alternate fuel source. While experimenting with wheat grass, Archie accidentally stumbles upon a solution. That solution turns out to be blood. HUMAN BLOOD!

The screening is free for members and $4 to the general public. It may be the best $4 you ever spend at the movie theater. Would I lie about a film named Blood Car?

Find out more at the AFF web site.

Woe be unto you, comedy lovers, if you were not Austin Film Festival members this last week and you therefore missed the Festival's sneak preview of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and the subsequent concert by the title character himself.

Director Jake Kasdan (who co-wrote the film with Judd Apatow) showed up at the Highland Galaxy 10 Theaters to introduce the film, which is even more hilarious than one could have hoped. I enjoyed Knocked Up and Superbad, but this is a high point for the Apatow collective, due in no small part to a script that never lets up and of course to the performance of John C. Reilly. Reilly has been a powerful supporting character (Talladega Nights, Tenacious D) until this point but given center stage he is stunningly, achingly funny.

The story is a satiric biopic of a moronic rock star with a tragic past, a way with lyrics, and the inability to say no to drugs or sex. Trying desperately to make up for the accidental death of his talented brother, Dewey strikes out into the world to make something of his musical career. Cox's first wife, Edith (Kristen Wiig), believes in him but thinks he's destined to fail (as she puts it). Dewey finds solace in drugs and in the arms of Darlene (a vamped-up Jenna Fischer, no trace of "Pam" here), a new backup singer. We follow Dewey through the decades of his life and his eventual realization of his life's true purpose. (More about the film and some concert video after the jump.)