Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund Panelist Screening #2 2002
Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund Panelist Screening #2 2002 NR, 124 min. Directed by Phillip Glau, Greta Snider, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Experimental documentarian Greta Snider works with a wide variety of materials and in a wide variety of styles. Three of her films will be screening: “Our Gay Brothers” (1993); “Urine…
Goofy Guys, Lonely Ladies, Dangerous Dancers – and Abe Lincoln?
Goofy Guys, Lonely Ladies, Dangerous Dancers – and Abe Lincoln? 2002, NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . This TFAA screening features four short films by Master’s candidates in the University of Texas film production program. Included are “The Interview,” an absurd comedy by Courtney Davis; “Dance Club,” a tribute…
Trackdown
Trackdown 1976, R, 97 min. Directed by Richard Hefron, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Vince Cannon, Erik Estrada, Cathy Lee Crosby, Anne Archer, Karen Lamm, Jim Mitchum. Never committed to tape or DVD, this forgotten Seventies actioner co-stars a young Erik Estrada, Cathy Lee Crosby, and Anne Archer as the supporting cast in…
Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund Panelist Screening #1 2002:
Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund Panelist Screening #1 2002: NR, 104 min. Directed by Sarah Jacobson, Zack Stratis, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Sarah Jacobson, the fun-spirited director of the indie comedy Sarah Jane Is Not a Virgin Anymore brings 20 minutes of a new work-in-progress called My High School Reunion in which…
Book Reviews
You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 224pp., $21.95 If Adam Haslett was, for some reason, addressing his own characters when he titled this debut collection, he might have had the wrong idea. In each of his nine richly varied short stories, Haslett takes the reader into the lives of…
Kevin Fowler Reviewed
Kevin FowlerHigh on the Hog (Tin Roof) Fowler’s 2000 release Beer, Bait and Ammo was a surprise hit, with plenty of hooky sing-along choruses, a great sense of humor, and Fowler’s own chicken-fried vocals, High on the Hog is a worthy follow-up for the most part. “The Lord Loves the Drinkin’ Man” does him justice,…
Land of the Free?
The governor of Tocopilla, Chile, visited Austin last week as part of a nationwide survey of the American legal system.
TV Eye
Fall in the air, fall on the air
Book Reviews
Hart Crane: A Life by Clive FisherYale University Press, 592pp., $39.95, On the fug-filled night of April 27, 1932, a passenger on the S.S. Orizaba went overboard. The legend is that he made a perfect dive from the deck. But given Hart Crane’s luck, plus his habitual intake of booze, it was probably more on…
Dancing About Architecture
Fastball gains velocity, Herring swims upstream, and Spoon’s new single is ripe for consumption
Move Over, Phil
Council Member Daryl Slusher has a new TV show.
Readings
Alice Sebold, who will be at BookPeople on Monday, Aug. 12, has received serious accolades for The Lovely Bones. But Amanda Eyre Ward writes “whether you’re willing to listen to a narrator who is telling her story from heaven will determine how quickly you fall into that story.”
Phases and Stages
HalleyForget the Leaves, Autumn Will Change Us (Hooked on Sonics!) The latest bright hope to come streaking out of the Austin sky, Halley has put together a remarkable debut for Hooked on Sonics!, a local multimedia company also responsible for the sharp design of the album artwork and music videos. Opener “Adventures of George (Record…
Naked City
This Week’s Headlines Scary Haiku: West Nile in Austin! Dead birds, killer mosquitoes! Apocalypse now? The City Council approved the settlement with Stratus Properties by a vote of 6-1, ending a bitter and protracted battle. But the drama at City Hall isn’t over yet, folks: There’s more negotiation — and Stratus development — to come.…
Page Two
A decade after SOS, we need to develop a realistic vision and useful political tools to address future development in the Barton Springs watershed.
Phases and Stages
SaratoneNumber One Record (Almost There) It’s no accident Saratone coined their debut Number One Record. Though slightly-quirky-but-well-polished pop rock quartets aren’t exactly dominating the charts right now, vocalist Elyse Eichsteadt and guitarist Ty Chandler wrote songs that revel in the romantic notion of energetic, hook-laden 45s tailor-made for the summer airwaves. While the local group…
Austin Stories
Council Member Daryl Slusher, much maligned during the Stratus debate, spent much of the past week promoting his idea to establish a community fundraising effort to purchase land owned by Stratus Properties — specifically the 246-acre Tract 110, slated for office development. Perhaps he could pick up some extra cash from some of the prominent…
City of Lost Souls
City of Lost Souls 2000, NR, 100 min. Directed by Takashi Miike, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Koji Kikkawa, Patricia Manterola, Michelle Reis, Teah. Let’s start out by saying that Takashi Miike’s graphically violent Japanese actioners are not everyone’s cup of sake. But if you can handle the bloodshed, Miike’s films…
Mr. Smarty Pants
Alaska has twice as many caribou as it does people.Robert E. Lee, the South Austin street on the east side of Zilker Park, once extended without interruption to Lamar Boulevard, connecting to present-day Riverside.One-third of the food produced in the U.S. has been pollinated by bees.The human brain contains enough electricity to power a flashlight.Hogmanay…
Phases and Stages
Kevin McKinneyMcVein in Green (Shat) With “all sounds & selections by Kevin McKinney,” recorded in part at the sole hat man’s own Shatcave, McVein in Green is no one-man operation. K. McVein is credited as engineer, abuse was Bucky Tennison, and Conrad Choucroun took care of French translation. Digital Audio Monkey came courtesy of Russ…
Region/State/Etc.
After decades of debate, San Antonio finally has fluoridated drinking water. Voters rejected fluoride in two referenda before finally okaying the idea in November 2000; since then, the San Antonio Water System has built 34 facilities to add the cavity-fighting chemical to Alamo City water, which mostly comes directly out of the Edwards Aquifer without…
Blood Work
Blood Work 2002, R, 110 min. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Daniels, Paul Rodriguez, Tina Lifford, Wanda De Jesús, Dylan Walsh, Anjelica Huston. Clint Eastwood is back directing and starring in a new suspense thriller that is scripted by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) and is based…
Did SOS Matter?
The battle for Barton Springs has been a struggle over the soul of the city.
Day Trips
Prazka Pout means more than just a homecoming. The annual celebration for the Feast of the Assumption at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Praha also honors the church’s founding on Aug. 15, 1855. It is a day of fun, fellowship, and remembrance, and everyone is invited. Every year thousands of Texans, whether they are Czech…
Phases and Stages
Paul Minor & the Superego AllstarsLow Overhead (Nickel & Dime) Paul Minor wants to be a uniter, not a divider. In lieu of an actual band, he’s turned Superego into a loose assortment of several Free for All-friendly musical factions: the old Superego, Fastball/Young Heart Attack, Kitty Gordon, and old cronies Chepo Peña and Jeff…
Happenings
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Save Our Springs Ordinance’s passage on Aug. 8, 1992, the SOS Alliance has planned a variety of activities on the ordinance’s official birthday and on this Sunday, Aug. 11. Tonight (Thursday), catch live music and fun from 7-11pm at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sixth. On Sunday, head…
Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat
Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat 2002, R, 105 min. Directed by David Raynr, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . This live concert film by comedy’s bad boy Martin Lawrence finds the performer using incidents from his life as material for his act on his recent Runteldat tour (“runteldat” being Lawrence’s response to his own…
An S-O-S for SOS
What will the Stratus deal mean for the Springs?
After a Fashion
Our Style Avatar get Grease-y and posh all in the same week!
Phases and Stages
Doe MontoyaPleasure Thing Doe Montoya is no stranger to the world of Austin rock, having served as one of the gorgeous backup girls to the Diamond Smugglers, as well as performing often with ex-Hickoid Davy Jones. She’s no Anita Bryant wannabe, though, so if you’re wondering what’s with all the oranges on the cover, this…
Teachers Need Money, Too
Austin Independent School District Superintendent Pat Forgione unveiled highlights from the preliminary 2002-2003 district budget Aug. 5, sparking angry dissent from the local teacher’s union.
XXX
XXX 2002, PG-13, 124 min. Directed by Rob Cohen, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Csokas, Joe Bucaro III. It’s difficult to know what to make of a film that opens with an action-packed prologue set to a live performance by sturm und drang Teutonic industri-fetishists…
Buying Certainty for Stratus
A publicity-shy billionaire real estate magnate from California — not Jim Bob Moffett — is in the driver’s seat at Stratus Properties. He’s going to stay rich — and Stratus will stay in business — whether or not the City Council finalizes its almost-but-not-quite-finished peace treaty with the real estate company. In early 2000, Silicon…
To Your Health
I am nearing menopause and really worried about osteoporosis now that we know hormone replacements carry an increased risk of cancer and heart disease. What are the alternatives?
Phases and Stages
Brown WhörnetThe Secret In addition to a bevy of club dates, Austin-based envelope pushers Brown Whörnet have collaborated with the like-minded Golden Arm Trio gang and added live original music accompaniment to the Alamo Drafthouse’s silent film series. On their latest self-release, this iconoclast prog-punk collective offers up 18 tracks clocking in just under an…
Pointing Fingers
Local NAACP leaders recently announced the results of their inquiry into the June shooting death of 23-year-old Sophia King, leveling much of the responsibility on the Housing Authority of the city of Austin.
The Cockettes
The Cockettes 2002, NR, 98 min. Directed by David Weissman, Bill Weber, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Maybe it’s the old-timey, silent film title cards, or the vaudeville piano tinkering on the score, but The Cockettes produces a yearning wistfulness for another time and place — specifically, 1970s San Francisco. Of course,…
The Battle for the Springs: A Chronology
Save Our What? Okay, let’s accept, for the sake of argument, that everyone in Austin wants to save Barton Springs. But what exactly does that mean? Below, and in a series of maps and aerial and historical photos on the following pages, we’ve tried to lay out a non-scientific, visual primer on the ecosystem and…
About AIDS
David Wright Named Physician of the Year Austin’s David Wright, M.D., one of our most accomplished HIV-treating doctors, has been honored as the 2002 Family Physician of the Year by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. A graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Dr. Wright has practiced for 19 years and…
Phases and Stages
Colin Gilmore4 of No Kind Being the son of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Colin Gilmore is assured of drawing comparisons to his famous father. As evidenced by the four songs on his debut EP, however, the younger Gilmore has his own distinct sound. Sure, on occasion Colin recalls his father vocally, a slight echo of Jimmie’s…
Austin @ Large: Into the Gap
The city manager’s new budget squeezes city services that are already tight
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams 2002, PG, 99 min. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Emily Osment, Matt O’Leary, Holland Taylor, Ricardo Montalban, Mike Judge, Steve Buscemi. Preteen superspies Carmen (Vega) and Juni Cortez (Sabara) return for more family-friendly…
Deep in the Mozart of Texas
This summer, the Austrian American Mozart Academy, an international program that provides aspiring professional singers with training and performance experience in Mozartian opera, relocates to, of all places, Austin, Texas.
Letters at 3AM
All the tumult, all the culture, all the relentless historical brouhaha, has not changed the irreducible loneliness that haunts us.
Phases and Stages
Tom Waits Hoot(SlyEyes) The first rule of a Tom Waits song: Don’t try to sing like you’re drunk. You can be drunk and sing his songs, but that’s different. Never fake it. The Tom Waits Hoot album recorded at the Hole in the Wall was in serious danger of being a for-the-fans-only recording, even if…
The Hightower Report
Bush keeps emphasizing the “shadow” in “shadow government” and Segway tries to push you off the sidewalk.
Articulations
The Texas Commission for the Arts gets a new executive director, the Blanton Museum of Art gets a new curator for its collection of Latin American art, and Toronto’s Harbourfront Festival gets an Austin dance company.
Coach’s Corner
Coach’s old Vail nemesis Cedrick Trout has jumped on the Redskins / Steve Spurrier bandwagon, but Coach figures he’s at least a year or two early. And in college — surprise, surprise — UT’s really as good as their hype
Phases and Stages
Bing Bang BoysI’m Feelin’ Good (Rubinchik)Brian MarshallTexas Kapela (Marszalek) Austin bassist Mark Rubin is a musical journeyman who manages to make hopping across genres look deceptively easy. The Bing Bang Boys deliver a hodgepodge of American tunes from the early and mid-20th century, while Brian Marshall’s Texas Kapela plies the acoustic front-porch music of Marshall’s…
Gadgets and Gizmos
More than any other Texas filmmaker working today, Austin’s Robert Rodriguez has embraced the digital filmmaking lifestyle, from pre-production to post, and, truth be known, it suits him better than most. Still, bringing the worlds that exist inside Rodriguez’s head to life requires expansive (and expensive) teams of digital effects companies from across both country…
Exhibitionism
It’s rare for a piece of theatre staged in Austin to touch an issue close to the city’s heart, and that immediacy by itself recommends bee luther-hatchee. But what makes the Zachary Scott Theatre Center production more worthy of attention is the skill with which it serves up the thorny issues authenticity of voice and…
From the Bistro to the Beard
Austinite Shawn Cirkiel makes a pilgrimage to the home of American gastronomy, the James Beard House in New York.
Phases and Stages
Dale WatsonLive in London … England! (Audium) The British love American country music. When you add the Texas factor in, there’s quite a bit of intrigue for our cousins across the pond. All the proof you need is the audience roar that comes with Dale Watson’s “Real Country Music.” Live in London … England! does…
Auditorium Scores: The Sound of ‘Spy Kids 2’
Robert Rodriguez took the idea of “buy local” to new extremes by recording the orchestral score at Georgetown High School.
Second Helpings
Erin Mosow links the national pizza chains in this week’s “Second Helpings.”
Exhibitionism
Director Dave Steakley has assembled knockout performers for the Zachary Scott Theatre Center revival of HAIR, and he synthesizes their individual energies into an electrifying whole, but his valiant efforts to make the show’s scope inclusive of our modern world fall short.
Shawn Cirkiel’s James Beard House Dinner Menu
August 13 at Jean-Luc’s Bistro in Austin … August 26 at the Beard House in New York Blond Paté With Strawberry Relish Duck and Corn on Black Pepper Tuiles Goat Cheese and Onion Tarts Gulf Oyster Terrine With Mignonette Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noir N.V. Summer Vegetable Beignets With Sauce Ravigote Dynamite Sauvignon Blanc, North…
Phases and Stages
Bavu BlakesCreate and Hustle (Word4Word Music) It’s more than just making the music; you must be heard. And it’s this painful process that Create and Hustle captures. For Austin MC Bavu Blakes, both processes are daily chores, day-in and day-out. On his new platter, the UT grad and former Hip Hop Humpday MC lays all…
Preserving Pictures
“There are many days where it’s, like, buy and save a super, super rare 1920s Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton image, or buy some extra groceries … and saving their movie images always wins out.”
An Exclusive Local Club
Once he has represented Austin and his own restaurant at the Beard House in August, Shawn Cirkiel will join a very small group of local chefs who have also been invited there. Chefs David Garrido of Jeffrey’s and Dan Haverty of the Shoreline Grill presented their Beard dinners after winning the Texas Beef Challenge recipe…
Alleviating the Jail Squeeze
County Attorney Ken Oden has proposed a possible solution to the chronic overcrowding that has long plagued Travis Co. jails.
‘Spy Kids 2’ Premiere
This one’s for the kiddies …
Book Reviews
Pasadena by David Ebershoff Random House, 485pp., $24.95 David Ebershoff’s sweeping homage to his eponymic hometown, Pasadena, spans two World Wars and at least as many love triangles. Ebershoff evokes a Southern California — before O.J., Rodney King, plastic surgery, and Ronald Reagan — that seems as distant as ancient Babylon. Yet, as Ebershoff writes…
Food-o-File
Virginia B. Wood has so much news in this week’s “Food-o-File” that reading it too fast might give you indigestion. In a good way.
It’s a Done Deal
The City Council approved the Stratus settlement 6-1. Now what?
In Play
Neverwinter Nights is more than a game, actually: It’s a gaming system to be built on.
Book Reviews
The Consul by Ralph Rumney (translated by Malcolm Imrie) City Lights, 125pp., $12.95 (paper) Here’s some trivia: Who was labeled a pervert by the Bishop of Leeds when, at the age of 15, a book about Surrealism led him to order the complete works of the Marquis de Sade? Who was one of the founding…
100% Texan
Kevin Fowler is among the brightest of the Young Texas rising stars.
Railroaded at Third and Lamar
On almost any day of the week, about 600 pedestrians — many carrying bicycles — navigate their way across the railroad tracks at Lamar and Third Street. That surprising statistic was gleaned from an informal study that city staff members conducted last summer with the aid of a video camera installed above the tracks. Yet…
Short Cuts
Money giveaway!
