It’s official: Villa Muse is dead. The controversial planned studio complex has officially ended all negotiations with the city of Austin. In a prepared statement, project principal Jay Podolnick said “unfortunately after eight months of negotiations, we cannot afford to wait any longer, and we feel the time has come to agree to disagree, and it’s in that spirit we are now ending our discussions with the City of Austin.” Lawyers with the project said they are looking at other cites in the state.

This article appears in May 2 • 2008.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.