Film News

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Bigfoot lives!

Or at least his scary Texas cousin does, in The Wild Man of the Navidad, a just-wrapped film co-written and co-directed by Duane Graves and Justin Meeks about the legendary scary/hairy creatures alleged to have roamed South Texas. J. Frank Dobie argued in his 1955 book Tales of Old-Time Texas that the creature was actually a wild woman. Either way, this horror tale gets some serious street cred from co-producers Kim Henkel, one of the writers of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Charles B. Pierce, the writer/director of The Legend of Boggy Creek and The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Graves, known for his charming documentary Up Syndrome, says the filmmakers happened upon a relative of Dobie's source for the story, and the man gave them access to family journals, which are key to the plot. "This is a true homage to early Seventies horror," he explains. "Particularly the bigfoot movies of the period, which were, as you know, more about atmosphere, linear plots, and expository titles than about spastic editing, cheap startles, and unnecessary plot twists." Filming took place in Atascosa County, with a cast including locals Charlie Hurtin (Infamous) and Tony Wolford (The Alamo). See more at www.myspace.com/wildmanofthenavidad.

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Hunting Mike Judge

The latest of many release dates for Mike Judge's Idiocracy is Sept. 1, 20th Century Fox officials say. Which raises the question: Do studio execs have any idea just how popular his Office Space is on DVD? Ask any college student, and you'll have the script quoted back to you. Idiocracy was shot two years ago here, so release it already, or I could set the building on fire while wearing my O-face. And isn't it time for another Judge flick? Rumors unconfirmed by Judge's staff have him indeed ramping up the long-talked-about Meat in the Freezer, a comedy about hunters that was inspired by discussions about the sport among Judge, screenwriter Clay Tarver, and actor Steve Zahn.

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And the rest ...

Sniffing around Austin for filming locations is Gary the Tennis Coach from Fisher Stevens' GreenStreet films. It's a comedy about a high school janitor turned tennis coach. Seann William Scott is set to star and produce... All bets are on Marfa Lights to be the next film from University of Texas film arm Burnt Orange Productions. Carolyn Pfeiffer confirms Brian Presley as the first actor attachment. Soap star Presley is also taking a financial stake in the Ed Pressman/Terrence Malick produced flick loosely based on George Sand's book La Petite Fadette. A fall start is possible... Infamous, the other Truman Capote film with Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee, lives. It will open the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 31. The film lensed hereabouts in 2005... Major congrats to local casting pro Jo Edna Boldin, who has been nominated for an Emmy (see "TV Eye," p.53) for her casting work on TNT's Into the West in, gulp, New Mexico... Speaking of states that offer filming incentives, the Texas Motion Picture Alliance recently formed its 21-member board with aims of luring more projects to the Lone Star State by talking the Texas Lege into jumping in the game. Local board members include Craig Berlin of Pro Tape Systems, Rebecca Campbell of the Austin Film Society, Marten Davies of I-Tech Ventures, former lobbyist Donna Warndof, and former Austinite Drew Mayer-Oakes, who now heads the San Antonio Film Commission.

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