Local Indies

I'm looking forward to seeing up close how the Lone Star Films will shine at Sundance 2013. If last week's press preview at the Austin Film Society Screening Room is any indication, audiences will not be disappointed, especially with Pit Stop and Black Metal. Filmmaker Yen Tan's story in Pit Stop comes from his curiosity while on road trips between Dallas and Houston, wondering whether gay people lived in the small towns along the route. His research led to a story of individuals who live their lives normally in rural environments, and the preview I saw of a few dramatic scenes was thought-provoking.

Another thought-provoking film was Kat Candler's Black Metal -- check back for a full review on Friday as well as info about how you can see it even if you're not in Park City. Black Metal shows tragedy rarely seen, of how blame laid on multimedia -- music, horror films, shooter video games -- can affect the creators as well. I spoke with lead actor Jonny Mars and writer/director Kat Candler about their short film as well as Sundance 2013 projects, including the development of Candler's Sundance 2012 short Hellion as a feature through the Sundance Feature Film Creative Producing Lab for creative producer Kelly Williams. Mars credits the genius and unique approach of Candler for directing the "little humans" of Hellion and Black Metal.

I'll be in Park City for the next 10 days, covering the red carpet for the major features from Texas filmmakers including Jeff Nichols' Mud and Before Midnight, as well as premieres for any Austin film that my and the shuttle schedule will allow. I'm also planning to see many, many movies. Here are some of the features and documentaries I'm especially looking forward to viewing.

Ready, Set, Fund is a column about crowdfunding and related fundraising endeavors for Austin and Texas independent film projects.

At first glance it might seem rather odd to feature English music icon Phil Collins in this month's column, but Collins has quite a personal connection to Texas history. Due to his interest in the Battle of the Alamo of 1836, his personal collection of artifacts related to the Alamo numbers in the hundreds, and he's narrated at a sound and light show about the Alamo. While on a publicity tour across Texas to promote his new book, The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey, Collins was interviewed by Texas Filmmakers Production Fund recipient filmmaker Ben Powell about his obscure collection as well as his retirement from music.

Phil Collins and the Wild Frontier, which is currently funding on Kickstarter through Sunday, January 20, focuses on Collins' attempt "to redefine his public persona." Powell further states that "observing the impact his music career has on his life and the more painful realities of being a celebrity, what unfolds is an examination of mankind's obsession with artifacts. Mr. Collins, a man absorbed in a collection of objects from a bygone era, is himself a relic of 80s pop culture and objectified by his stardom."

Awardwinning filmmaker and local film instructor Steve Mims (Incendiary: The Willingham Case) is seeking funding on Kickstarter through Wednesday, January 23, for his feature-length comedy Alex & Ash, which he wrote specifically for the humorously talented Alex Dobrenko (Hearts of Napalm) and Ashley Spillers (The Bounceback, Saturday Morning Massacre). The pair portray a couple so obsessed with a puzzle that they become not only disconnected from the real world but also from one another.

Ready, Set, Fund is a column about crowdfunding and related fundraising endeavors for Austin and Texas independent film projects.

Winter has finally arrived in Austin and with the holiday season upon us, it's easy to get wrapped up in the hectic shopping and festivities. It's also a great time to give back to community and to reflect on sacrifices made by others during winters past.

One major event that took place this time of year and is often forgotten is the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, an epic and decisive battle of the Korean War that took place between November 27 and December 13, 1950. In a freezing winter, thousands of United Nations troops -- "The Chosin Few" -- including U.S. Marines were outnumbered and trapped by Chinese forces in the mountains of North Korea. Despite the odds, the Marines refused to surrender and fought their way 78 miles to the sea and rescued 98,000 civilians. Seventeen Medals of Honor, 73 Navy Crosses, and 23 Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded, making Chosin one of the most decorated battles in American history.

Brian Iglesias and Anton Sattler produced and released an award-winning documentary film titled Chosin that has screened across the US and South Korea -- and is now available on EPIX, Netflix, Amazon Video, DVD, and iTunes. The team is currently funding CHOSIN: An Animated War Film through Tuesday, December 25, on Kickstarter, co-directed by Austinite Richard Meyer with animation by local artist Stephanie Hogue.

The Sundance Film Festival has announced most of its 2013 film program, which includes a pleasantly surprising number of films from the Lone Star State. Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater will premiere Before Midnight, the sequel to Before Sunset (2004) and Before Sunrise (1995), with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy (pictured above) reprising their roles as their characters cross paths again. Local company Stuck On On was involved in the movie's post-production.

Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols' new film Mud, starring sometimes-Austinite Matthew McConaughey, native Texan Joe Don Baker and Reese Witherspoon will have its North American premiere at the Utah festival, having wowed audiences and critics alike at Cannes earlier this year. Young actor Tye Sheridan (Tree of Life) from Elkhart, Texas, stars as one of the young boys who befriends McConaughey's title character. As with Take Shelter, Nichols utilized Stuck On On for sound post-production and Austin composer David Wingo for Mud.

Writer/director Andrew Bujalski's locally shot movie Computer Chess features man versus machine during a chess tournament in the 80s. To create a more authentic look, Bujalski located old computers through local hobbyists as well as Austin's Goodwill Computer Works Museum, which features more than 100 working vintage computer systems. The cast includes Wiley Wiggins.

Dallas filmmaker Yen Tan's Pit Stop, shot in Austin, features local actors John Merriman, Heather Kafka and Jonny Mars as well as native Texan Amy Seimetz (Tiny Furniture, Sun Don't Shine). David Lowery co-scripted; he first worked with Yen Tan on the 2005 dramatic anthology Deadroom, which Lowery edited and both he and Tan produced and directed. As you'll learn below, this is not the only Sundance 2013 film in which Lowery is involved. Nor is it the only Sundance film involving Mars and producer Kelly Williams.

Eddy, a small-time Chicago crook on the run, learns to take a leap of faith through his interactions with the people he meets in the fictional town of Wynot, Texas in Austin-based filmmaker George Anson's feature film debut, Spring Eddy.

The nontraditional romantic comedy made its world premiere last month at the Austin Film Festival, where Anson, Texas State University alumnus, previously served as its first film program director. Anson filmed on location in Lockhart, Copeland, Manor, Bastrop, Austin, Johnson City and Warhot, Texas for 19 days, with the help of Texas State students. Read J.C.'s review from the film's debut at AFF.

As a Texas State student in the early 1980s, Anson pledged Pi Kappa Alpha (and, yes, he lived in the allegedly haunted former fraternity house) before transferring to the University of North Texas, where he majored in radio-television-film. After graduating from UNT, Anson moved to Austin in 1994 from Sherman, Texas, where he worked for a small television station, to work as a sales representative for a printing company.

Anson, who consideres Bill Wittliff to be a mentor, took his own leap of faith in attending the University of Southern California to pursue filmmaking, and again in his pursuit of seeing Spring Eddy on the big screen. "Spring Eddy is something I knew in my heart I could make and I've never stopped," Anson said. I talked with him recently about the process of bringing Spring Eddy from the page to the screens at AFF.

You might have noticed a sad lack of reviews here recently from our contributor J.C. De Leon. That's because he's busy working as an associate producer on the movie Grow Up, Tony Phillips, the latest feature from Austin filmmaker Emily Hagins (My Sucky Teen Romance). The film shoot started Monday and is keeping J.C. pretty busy.

You too can be a part of this movie if you like ... onscreen as an extra. J.C. tells me that Grow Up, Tony Phillips will be filming the Friday/weekend after Thanksgiving at Eastside Memorial High School (1012 Arthur Stiles Road, not far from 183/Airport). They need young-ish extras who can portray teenagers realistically, and older extras who can portray teachers and chaperones, for scenes set at a high-school dance.

If you're interested in being an extra, contact J.C. at jc [at] arcanumpictures [dot] com and he'll give you the details. I wish we could get all the Slackerwood contributors at the shoot to hang out in a corner and pretend to be cranky chaperones. The kind who keep flasks hidden for their personal use. Considering the number of our contributors who were extras in My Sucky Teen Romance, I suspect you'll see a couple of us in this film too.

Grow Up, Tony Phillips is a coming-of-age movie set at Halloween. The cast includes AJ Bowen, Barbara Crampton, and local actor Byron Brown (whom I've enjoyed watching in four movies this year). My Sucky Teen Romance actors Tony Vespe and Devin Bonnee also return for this feature. Last month, the filmmakers raised $80,000 on Kickstarter to fund production costs. Visit the Kickstarter page for more details about the cast, crew and story.

Ready, Set, Fund is a column about crowdfunding and related fundraising endeavors for Austin and Texas independent film projects.

Local director Geoff Marslett (Mars) has wrapped filming in Austin and New York City for his first live-action feature film, Loves Her Gun (pictured at top), which stars several familiar Austin actors including Chris Doubek, John Merriman, Ashley Rae Spillers (Saturday Morning Massacre), and Heather Kafka (Lovers of Hate). It's about a Brooklyn hipster who flees to Austin after she's been attacked. Funding for post-production work is still needed, so the filmmakers are running an Indiegogo campaign through Wednesday, December 5. Currently the only way to get DVDs of Marslett's film Mars is as a perk at the $25 backer level or higher. Marslett says that if the campaign meets its fundraising goal then Loves Her Gun is expected to screen in early 2013.

61 Bullets is a historical documentary project that centers around a famous assassination in 1935. U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, Louisiana's most powerful and influential governor, was shot by Dr. Carl Weiss in the Louisiana State Capitol. Director David Modigliani's previous documentary, Crawford, debuted at SXSW in 2008 and won the Austin Film Critics Association award for Best Austin Film that year. The production is a Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund recipient; however, the filmmakers still need money to finish production and meet post-production costs. They're wrapping up a Kickstarter campaign that is close to meeting its goal by this Friday, November 16.

I'm so happy to be able to tell you that Slackerwood is coordinating with Blue Starlite Urban Drive-In to host the Austin premiere of the Central Texas-shot indie comedy Cinema Six later this month.

The movie will screen on Friday, November 30 at 8 pm at the Blue Starlite setup at Austin Studios. Cinema Six co-writer/director Mark Potts will be attending the event, and I'm willing to bet other local cast and crew will be there as well.

We're giving away several tickets at the end of this article. Keep reading.

If you missed the giveaway, buy tickets now through the Blue Starlite website, either to drive in with your car and watch the movie, or to walk-in with your blanket or lawn chair and watch it that way. It's going to be the end of November in Austin, so it might be chilly (like 60 degrees, brrrr!) if you're walking in -- I suggest the lawn chair AND the blanket.

You're gonna wake up one morning as the sun greets the dawn.
You're gonna wake up one morning as the sun greets the dawn.
You're gonna look around in your mind, girl, you're gonna find that
I'm gone.
-- Lyrics to "You're Gonna Miss Me," by the 13th Floor Elevators

Roky Erickson isn't gone. But for much of his adult life, he was mostly so.

The legendary Austin rocker's life is a harrowing story and cautionary tale encompassing everything from family drama to drug war politics. The frenetic front man for the pioneering psychedelic Austin band The 13th Floor Elevators in the 1960s, Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson was busted for marijuana possession in 1969. He entered an insanity plea and found himself an inmate at the Rusk State Hospital, a mental institution where he spent three years in the company of violently mentally ill offenders. He emerged a changed man, and not for the better: He sang increasingly bizarre songs, called himself "the evil one" and insisted he was an alien. Eventually he stopped recording altogether and virtually disappeared, leaving reality behind along with his career.

Erickson's life is, of course, unbeatable fodder for a documentary, and You're Gonna Miss Me captures the singer's life in every insane detail. Released in 2005 to great critical acclaim, the story opens on Erickson's life in the late 1990s, when he had been living as a recluse for years, spending his days in a filthy apartment, collecting stacks of junk mail and listening to a wall of white noise from several radios, TVs and amplifiers playing at once. He opened the door for no one but his weary mother, Evelyn. Again: not quite gone -- but mostly so.

I had an excellent Saturday at Austin Film Festival, with three good movies and a bit of a party. I even found downtown parking on a UT home football game day for $7, at St. David's.

I got downtown later than I wanted to see Pictures of Superheroes at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. I like to get to Ritz super-early during AFF because it's such a popular venue. In fact I'd thought about seeing Hyde Park on Hudson earlier in the day and realized it would draw such a crowd at Ritz that I'd have to get there 90 minutes early, and I was simply too lazy at that hour of the morning.

At any rate, I found my miraculously affordable parking (since I'd be down there until midnight, it was cheaper than a meter) and made it to Ritz in plenty of time to get a good seat for the movie. I ended up next to AFS staffer Ryan Long, but the theater was full of local filmmakers and film community people and I'd have been amazed if I hadn't sat near anyone I knew.