Short Cuts

If the Kids Are United, They'll Never Be Spangin' for Lab Costs Dept.: Yeesh. No sooner do I hang with junior punk rawk film-geeks-in-the-making Rusty Kelley and Duncan Knappen of "Toy Car" fame (and HBO's upcoming 30 by 30: Kid Flicks, where their new short film, "French Restaurant,-- will debut on Sunday, Nov. 18, 5:30pm, on HBO Family), then Barna Kantor announces his Center for Young Cinema's most ambitious project yet: a creative collaboration between the CYC and Media Garage called Sprawling Project. Currently in production around town, the feature-length film is helmed by four directors -- Kelley, Knappen, Nico Caffarelli, and Mike Naccarato -- with an average age of 14.7501, which, frankly, really throws the bell curve off for the rest of us. (That's what we call "impetus.") Each of the four will direct a 22-minute, "thematically harmonized" segment for the film, and then edit them into one seamless feature. Look for more info on the Kelley/Knappen Global Domination Tour in Screens, next ish... "Tape? Isn't that the thing with John Cusack and Tim Robbins?" Actually, that's Tapeheads, dude. I'm talking about Richard Linklater's other new film (as opposed to the glorious Waking Life), which will premiere this coming Monday, Nov. 12, 7pm, at the Paramount Theatre (713 Congress). The film, an ensemble piece shot on Hi-Definition video and starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Robert Sean Leonard, is based on the play by Stephen Belber and has already drawn comparisons to the early work of John Cassavetes, as well as a raft of critical raves (online yuks-rag the Onion called it "A Rashomon for the date-rape age"). Tickets are still available : $20 for the general public, or a pricey premium ticket package, which includes a post-party bash at the so-new-it's-not-done-yet home of President of Liberty Bank Eddy Safady -- a new Dick Clark-designed, Congress Ave. über-loft. Yowsa. The screening benefits the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund, and tickets are available at the Paramount box office or by calling 469-SHOW. Check out the Austin Film Society at www.austinfilm.org for more info... Things to Do in Austin When You're Kevin Spacey: Hey, why not go catch Gary Fleder's similarly themed Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead at the Alamo Drafthouse North (2700 W. Anderson Lane) this Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7pm? Fleder, star Treat Williams, and writer Scott Rosenberg will be in attendance. Fleder, by the way, is in town directing an episode of the Showtime Kerouacian series Going to California; Spacey is in town shucking his K-Pax carapace and tackling the title role in Alan Parker's The Life of David Gale all over the Drag... Personally, I'm hideously allergic to felines, but with Kat Candler I can make an exception. She'll be holding a benefit to raise completion funding for her indie doc Future of America, which explores the public school system through the eyes of its students. Scary. The benefit will be held this Sunday, Nov. 11, 7-10pm, at Club DeVille (Ninth and Red River) and will feature the music of Staci Gray and the String Quartet, plus (this is the important part) free beer, free food, door prizes, and a bunch of screenings of local doc clips and trailers (The Last Hope, Real Witches). A $10 donation at the door makes you cool all night, and did I mention the free beer? Call 963-1497 for more info... Spare + Change = Spange. Get it?