And the news is good: I am now posting items at Cinematical, a weblog that provides commentary on all aspects of film news, reviews, and issues. So far I’ve posted only a few tidbits of news because I’m still getting started. I didn’t want to jump in with some crazy story about how my brother blames Christopher Walken on his premature hair loss. I have already managed to mention the Alamo, though. Ultimately I think I will be posting daily over there, depending on my schedule.
I’ll still post occasional Austin-related movie info here, as well as entries that are a little too personal for a film industry-focused weblog, movie reviews, and rants. I may even tell stories about the cat, but only if they are of general interest.
By the way, while we’re discussing my new gig, I’m currently looking for more part-time freelance film-related writing work. Or non-film-related writing/editing work, for that matter. If anyone has any resources or advice they can share, please email me and let me know. I’ll be happy to send you the URL to my online portfolio if you’re seriously interested. I’m not looking for tech writing; I do enough of that during the day. But I would like some paid freelance opportunities for movie reviews, articles, or columns.
[Did everyone recognize the movie quote in the title? If not, go rent The Philadelphia Story.]
more Alamo love
The big news is that Entertainment Weekly named Alamo Drafthouse as the top movie theater in the country. I wish I could read the article myself, but I haven’t had time to pick up the printed magazine and it isn’t available online. (I can’t even tell whether they’re referring to Alamo Downtown or to the chain as a whole.)
So go read Matt Dentler’s post, which includes excerpts from the article, including the other theaters on the top 10 list.
I feel really lucky to live in walking distance (although we always drive) of one Alamo Drafthouse and an easy drive from several more. As Matt mentions, Alamo’s Rolling Roadshow is touring around the country this month. Check the listings to see if they’ll be in your neighborhood. I wish I could follow them like the sad little Alamo groupie that I am.
I wonder if Alamo felt any effects from this alleged “box office slump” everyone’s been complaining about. Somehow I suspect not. They don’t treat audiences like cattle or captive prey.
I’ll try to pick up an Entertainment Weekly in the next couple of days; if the article includes anything else notable, I’ll post that info here.
crazy film festival month
I’m trying to make some movie-watching decisions weeks or even months in advance. I don’t mean last-minute choices like “Should we see March of the Penguins or Broken Flowers (aside: I keep wanting to call it Broken Blossoms) this weekend?” or “Should we see Bad News Bears at Highland or at Alamo Lake Creek?” Or even “Should I see The Safety of Objects next Monday at Alamo South with Rose Troche in attendance, or go to an important film-related volunteer meeting instead?” (Admission is free. Y’all should go even if I don’t.)
I am talking about the decisions on which film festivals to attend and for how many movies and whether I should actually take time off work and how much time I can take off work “just to see movies” before my manager gives me funny looks.
A bunch of film festivals are overlapping in Austin in late September/early October: the Quentin Tarantino Film Festival (Sept. 9-17), aGLIFF (Sept. 30-Oct. 8), Fantastic Fest (Oct. 6-9), and Austin Film Festival (Oct. 20-27). So I know there are film geeks all over town trying to do the same kind of schedule juggling.
get out your red stapler
A special-edition DVD of Office Space is scheduled to release on Nov. 1, 2005—just in time for my birthday, although that is not a hint for a suggested gift. (The Astaire-Rogers boxed set, on the other hand …) The DVD will include an audio commentary from Mike Judge as well as some deleted scenes. The big question is whether the DVD will include the old animated “Milton” shorts that Mike Judge created before he developed the movie, but I can’t find any info on that yet.
Austinites seem to get a particular kick out of this movie because we find ourselves shouting, “Hey, that’s the apartment where my friend Chris lived!” or “Hey, that’s Metric Blvd!” or “Isn’t that the Alligator Grill?” I think a friend of mine once worked in the building where they shot the office exteriors (Greg, correct me if I am wrong). But what’s really funny is that the road the guys are driving into work in the beginning of the movie is actually in Dallas, not Austin. Helluva commute.
I’ve always felt that Office Space was half a good movie. Unfortunately the plot gets too tangled, loose ends are never tied up (when does he stop being hypnotized? if ever?), and some of it is just lame. Still, my boyfriend bought the DVD a few months ago when it hit rock-bottom prices and it’s an enjoyable late-night fluffy movie.
I get a kick out of the way some guys at the office actually do stuff out of the movie and think they are being ironic. For example, you would not believe the number of guys—and it is in fact the guys … this is not a female thing at all—who wear Hawaiian shirts to the office on Fridays. We considered chipping in to get our boss a red stapler (the story behind the red Swinglines is fascinating, by the way) but we decided it was a bit mean.
And we really do have TPS reports. The manager who devised them had never seen Office Space and didn’t understand why everyone hooted and howled in the meeting where the new reports were unveiled. However, our TPS reports do not require a cover sheet. Thank heaven for small favors.
[DVD news via The Digital Bits.]
still not on DVD … but cable’s got ’em
We don’t have cable TV. It’s expensive, especially when you add in the TiVo or the DVR or whatever you crazy kids are using these days to catch the shows later when you’re not home for them. We’re also a little bit afraid that if we get cable, we’ll end up vegging in front of the TV all day long, wearing out the buttons of the remote.
Usually when something really good is showing on cable that I can’t live without, I send out a general begging email to a bunch of friends and someone records it for me. I try not to abuse this goodwill.
It’s going to be difficult this month, though, because Turner Classic Movies is showing a lot of movies that aren’t available on DVD (at least not in the US/Region 1, anyway) as part of their Summer Under the Stars lineup. I wouldn’t have known, because of the no-cable thing, but I found the info on Out of Focus.
I couldn’t look up every single movie to see its availability on DVD, but I did look up a bunch that I thought were interesting. The following list may be heavy on Katharine Hepburn movies and Thirties comedies, but it’s a sample of some good movies you might want to catch on TCM. Or persuade other people to record for you. Check the TCM site for times, etc. I wish I had time to include delightful descriptions of these movies, but that’s what the Web is for.
(Note to friends: the only one I will probably beseech you to record is Theodora Gone Wild. Well, one of the very few, I promise. Well, maybe we should call the cable company.)
reel paradise holiday
More tidbits:
Holiday (again)—Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is showing one of my all-time favorite movies next week, Holiday. It’s showing at midnight on Friday, August 5, which according to their scheduling means the midnight between Friday and Saturday. But I think that’s EST so for me, it would be 11 pm on Friday. I don’t have cable, and some nice people recorded the movie for me the last time it was on, plus I’m thinking about getting the Region 2 DVD. I’ve got plenty of Holiday.
Seriously, this is a wonderful movie, much better than The Philadelphia Story. My boyfriend would argue that it is better than Bringing Up Baby, but I think that might be going a little far. Besides, the two movies are entirely different in tone—the only thing they really have in common is that they both star Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. I’ve always preferred the Hepburn-Grant pairing to the later Hepburn-Tracy pairing.
For those of you who are wondering if I am going to push this movie at you every single time it airs on TV … yes, I am, until it is released on DVD in the United States. Sony/Columbia owns the DVD rights so I’m not holding my breath.
(The Paramount showed a lovely print of the film last year that had been restored by UCLA. I don’t know if that’s what TCM is showing, and I don’t think that’s the print they used for the UK transfer. So if you get a chance to see the restored print of Holiday in a theater, go.)
By the way, I think Holiday would make an interesting double-feature with Igby Goes Down, which shows a clip from Holiday at the beginning of the movie. You could argue that Igby Goes Down is a remake of Holiday, updated for contemporary situations. Also, it is fun to watch a movie in which Susan Sarandon is as mean as a snake.
Reel Paradise—I saw this movie at SXSW and I am happy to learn that it has found theatrical distribution. If you visit the movie’s Web site, you can find a list of the release dates for theaters in various cities. Mostly it is playing in Landmark Theaters, with staggered release dates from Aug. 17 to Nov. 6. Dobie will start showing the movie in Austin on Sept. 30.
My review of Reel Paradise from SXSW is here. This is a quite enjoyable film, especially if you are a film geek. The Piersons were at the screening I attended and John Pierson noted that he still had the keys to the Meridien 180 theater in his pocket; if anyone wanted to go over there and show movies, he’d gladly hand over the key. I had a fleeting moment of temptation. [Via the Austin American-Statesman]
how could I forget?
This isn’t about film, it’s about TV. Yes, I do actually watch non-movie TV once in awhile, although I quit watching Sesame Street when my boyfriend moved in and developed hives from close proximity to the show. (There was an awful lot of Elmo, so I can’t blame him.)
The first season of The Muppet Show will be released on DVD on August 9. I have all the old Time-Life DVDs of Muppet Show episodes, so I’m not sure if it would be overkill to buy this DVD set too. On the other hand, I want to support this kind of DVD release. I’ll have to think about that.
Muppet Central has a very helpful article about the DVD release that lists all the special features. It does sound tempting.
Muppet Wizard of Oz is releasing on DVD on the same day. I have to confess I haven’t seen the movie, although I did tape it when it was broadcast. My Muppet-watching time certainly has decreased in the past few years.
Thanks to this news, “Mah-Na-Mah-Na” will probably be stuck in my head all afternoon.
(One more thing: You know what I wish someone would release on DVD? The segment from an episode of Martha Stewart Living in which Martha makes cookies with Cookie Monster. It is bizarre, bordering on sexually perverse, and as chaotic as a Martha Stewart show could ever get. Apparently Martha and Frank Oz are neighbors. I have a crappy copy on VHS and I would pay good money for a quality copy on DVD.)
in flagrante chumscrubber
Austin has some upcoming special screenings I thought I’d let y’all know about:
The Chumscrubber—I saw this movie at SXSW and wrote about it here. I would recommend seeing it. No, it’s not about Plankton’s sidekick hatching evil deeds against SpongeBob, it’s about teenagers who are unable to communicate with adults or even each other. That doesn’t sound as good as it is, but trust me. The movie’s Web site is here if you want to know more about the film.
The Chumscrubber is opening in theaters pretty soon (August 5, but I’m not sure if that includes Austin), but the Austin Chronicle and SXSW are sponsoring a free preview screening on Tuesday, August 2 at Dobie. Director Arie Posin and producer Bonnie Curtis will answer questions after the screening. You must read this week’s Chronicle for details on how to get tickets (I don’t know if they post that info to their Web site). [via Matt Dentler’s blog]
In Flagrante—I saw this low-budget local film several years ago. Some friends of mine were involved in the production. The 16 mm film was made by a group of people who were a film production class together at Austin FilmWorks. The movie is about a very straight-laced, conventional young couple that moves into a house next door to some very odd neighbors. Very, very odd.
In Flagrante is playing on Saturday, July 30 at 8 pm at Nueva Onda, a South Austin restaurant, as part of their weekly Movie Night. Admission is free and director Tom Chamberlain will answer questions (or will be heckled by well-meaning friends) after the screening. Nueva Onda is located at 2218 College, just northwest of S. Congress and Oltorf. I’ve never been there myself; please post a comment if you know anything about the place.
Incidentally, it appears that Nueva Onda is looking for more independent shorts and features for future movie nights, so visit their Web site if you’re interested.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen—I couldn’t get through this entry without mentioning at least one movie showing at an Alamo theater. Alamo Downtown is showing the movie at noon on Saturday, July 30, with free admission, as part of its monthly Saturday Morning Film Club screenings. I like this movie a lot, despite some shortcomings; my boyfriend can’t stand it. If you’re going to see it, see it on a nice big theater screen.
One more item: The Paramount is about to close down for a week for renovations, but you can still catch Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Masculine-Feminine this weekend. No points for guessing which two of those films are the double-feature.
sign of impending apocalypse #62
KGSR played “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” this morning. I think you have to live in Austin to understand just how bizarre that is.
See, this is why I like living here and have never wanted to leave.
I am not a big David Allan Coe fan myself, but somehow I get a kick out of that song. I might or might not have been singing along this morning. If you don’t know the song (I think all Texans are required by law to listen to it at least once, although we don’t have to like it), many people consider it the ultimate country music song. Many other people consider it lame, dumb, and even dreadful, and no, they don’t kick you out of Texas for thinking that.
Weirdly enough, that song reminds me of my paternal grandmother, even though I don’t think she ever set foot in Texas … well, of her funeral anyway. I can explain. I rode to her funeral with my baby brother in his car. The child is incapable of driving 10 feet without putting in a CD and cranking up the volume, even on the way to a funeral.
And which CD did he inexplicably decide to play as we drove down West Metairie Road? “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” And of course we had to sing along. You can’t not sing along. The CD was loud, we were louder. There should have been nothing appropriate about it but somehow we felt better. In fact, I think we might have played it twice.
See, not only do I love this town, but I think I’m too weird to live anywhere else.
they’re coming to get you, Jette
I really hate reading weblog/journal entries that begin with “Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately, but the cat lost all its hair/ the guitar died/ the kids spilled pudding in the laptop/ I lost all my pants/ zombies!” Or whatever.
I also don’t get much of a thrill out of entries that exist just to tell me that the author won’t be around, like “Don’t expect me to post anything for the next month because it’s blueberry-picking season/ I’m reading the collected works of J.K Rowling in French/ all my furniture needs refinishing/ zombies!”
Having said that …
My job is kicking my ass around the block. We advanced from Busy Software Pre-Release Mode to Incredibly Swamped Imminent Release Mode. Theoretically I shouldn’t even be sitting here at home typing this right now, I should be in the office converting XML to HTML or testing software or deciphering edits from software developers or arguing why we shouldn’t change terminology this close to a release.
I can think of a half-dozen things I’d like to write about, plus I would love to review Batman Begins and Hustle & Flow and whatever the hell else I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks. I hope I’ll be able to make time to post about a few upcoming events in Austin, as soon as I can remember where I put that information …
For the next two or three weeks, my job will suck out all my brain power and when I get home I will sit on the sofa like, well, a zombie. And I don’t mean Rob Zombie, either. (Hey, when’s his movie going to play in Austin?) Also, I’m doing some volunteer work that’s cranking into high gear. And maybe I’ll refinish all the furniture, just for fun and relaxation.
Don’t expect regular and substantial postings before August 15. Now that I’ve said that, of course, I’ll get a wild hair to write about my theories on the so-called box office slump, or write another list of gaps in the DVD market, or explain why I like the ending of the movie Alice Adams more than the book. Perhaps I’ll even write about zombies.