Short Cuts

"And I Wouldn't Tell Ya' If I Did Know" Dept.: You know something major's up when you're repeatedly awakened in the early morning hours by tabloid journos sniffing around your Nokia like so many drippy Chihuahuas the morning after a night out with Robert Downey Jr. That's been the case around my digs of late, the cause being, of course, the imminent arrival of the man, the myth, the Hando (What? You haven't seen Romper Stomper yet? Sheesh. Get with the program, mate.) -- I'm speaking of Russell Crowe, who'll be in town for the next month or so recording and gigging with his band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and driving the paparazzi -- local and otherwise (and believe me, there's going to be a lot of otherwise) -- into a tizzy not seen since, well, not seen, let's put it that way. Tix to the band's three Stubb's concerts are nonexistent at this point, but since Crowe had such a grand time during his local stop-by for L.A. Confidential's Austin press leg in '97, you might just catch the Gladiator star popping in at local watering holes or wherever the Asylum Street Spankers are hanging out. As for film-related Crowe events, there's not much planned that we know of at this point. However, with Austin's adopted son Quentin Tarantino showing up for his QT Quattro film fest at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on Aug. 25, it'd sure be sweet if someone roped the pair into a late-night screening of the aforementioned (and little-seen) skinhead epic Romper Stomper while they're both in town. Hey Tim League? Ya' listening? ... Robert Byington's second film Olympia, which debuted at SXSW two years ago (and was co-produced by then-SXSW Film head Nancy Schafer), is finally getting the wide audience it deserves after numerous festival accolades: The Sundance Channel (local cable channel 150) has picked it up for screening this month beginning Thursday, Aug. 3. Local times can be found at www.sundancechannel.com... If, like me, you missed local hijinksters Wee Pirate Films' new "absurdist" Delirium film series the other week, fear not, they're already back with another installment this Saturday, Aug. 5, 2:30pm, at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Admission to the screening is free and features episode two of "Another Day on the Street" and Mark Fisher's "Balloonfish," "a short film about a little girl who can sense danger with her hearing aids." Uh, yeah. Right. ... It wouldn't be summer in Central Texas if there weren't a slate of film-and-video-related, thoroughly air-conditioned seminars to broaden your filmic horizons. One such offering comes by way of the Dallas Summer Film and Video Institute, which is running throughout the month and is offering dozens of reasonably priced, intensive courses ranging in topics from basic screenwriting to AVID and from a course in Apple's new Final Cut Pro editing software to small format Steadicam operation. Pretty much everything the perspiring videographer might need, really. A complete list of what's being offered, along with dates, times, and prices, can be found at www.dallasvideo.org/what_we_do/summer_institute.html ... Finally, local actor's savior Dan Eggleston has created a totally excellent Web aid for starving thesps: His Austin Extra Info E-group at www.egroups.com/group/austinextraingo is a new clearinghouse for all manner of local and regional casting info, from studio cattle calls to your creepy neighbor's "amateur" midnight videos. Nifty, useful stuff. Check it out.

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