2006 Texas Film Hall of Fame
Fri., March 17, 2006
"You'll find copies of the Kyoto Treaty under your chairs," quipped Texas Monthly Editor Evan Smith at the start of the sixth Texas Film Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a nod to Friday night's unseasonable swelter. If anything, the sultry conditions inside the Austin Studios soundstage seemed to loosen purse strings, among other things; what followed was possibly the longest benefit auction on record, with well-heeled film patrons, egged on by auctioneer and radio personality Bob Cole, jostling to outdo one another in the bidding over Marfa getaway weekends and A Scanner Darkly premiere trips. Smith, filling in when perennial host Ann Richards had to bow out due to her recently diagnosed illness, finally retook the podium and proceeded with the matter at hand: to make the obligatory Three 6 Mafia joke and stud the stage with stars. Clockwise from above: Hands on a Hard Body director S.R. Bindler inducted bud Matthew McConaughey, who attempted an endurance record of his own; inductees Cybill Shepherd (accepting for The Last Picture Show) and Kris Kristofferson kept it short and sweet, with Shepherd proffering a shout-out to longtime friend Richards; director Lawrence Kasdan bestowed the honor on JoBeth Williams; Ain't It Cool News' Harry Knowles and family appraised the situation, as usual, and appeared to enjoy themselves; and Lyle Lovett accepted congratulations from Turk Pipkin, among others, after turning out a few numbers himself. More than one speaker suggested the Austin Film Society use some of the night's record-breaking haul to purchase air conditioning; we can only concur, in the name of Wooderson, that it would be a lot cooler if they did.
