Short Cuts

150 Days of Sodom Dept.: That dull roar you hear in the background is the sound of fans of access cable rejoicing: This coming Sunday, Oct. 22, 10:30pm, on cable channel 10, sees the reappearance of Charlie Sotelo's The Show With No Name, which was suspended way back in mid-June over the airing of a David Fincher-directed Nike spot that allegedly broke ACAC's noncommercial policy. With the brouhaha between Sotelo and ACAC executive director John Villarreal now over and done with, Sotelo is free to begin broadcasting his clips-'n'-calls show once again. Although the suspension was originally slated to last only 90 days, the close-to-150-day period in the wasteland was a result of scheduling conflicts resulting from the station's "new series deadline," which forced Sotelo to wait even longer than expected. "The end of my suspension was September 7th," says Sotelo, "but I couldn't go back on the air because airtime and studio time are booked 21 days in advance. So, really, the soonest I could get back on the air was three weeks after [Sept. 7]. And then, for various other reasons, another month has now passed before we're back where we should be." Amazingly, TSWNN has managed to secure a time slot only one half-hour later than their original, a point which initially concerned Sotelo, who worried that the chances of recapturing the coveted late-Sunday-night position would be well-nigh impossible. As for steering clear of the ACAC policy minefield that initiated his suspension in the first place, Sotelo says he has spoken to Villarreal about the situation, and, in the future, judicious use of both verbal and CG disclaimers will be made when clips featuring commercials or commercial tie-ins are aired. "We're going to be careful," adds Sotelo, "but, you know, we're not going to bend to the man." This Sunday's program will feature, among other things, clips from comedian Doug Stanhope's aborted hidden-camera-shenanigans show originally shot for airing on Fox, which Sotelo describes as being "like [MTV's] Jackass, but better"... Those of you who attended the Austin Film Festival's all-night horror-movie marathon last Friday (the 13th) at the Westgate 11 likely noticed that Harry Knowles -- originally slated to host the event -- was nowhere in sight. According to Paul Alvarado-Dykstra at Aint-It-Cool-News, Knowles was approached by AFF "a couple of months ago" with an eye toward "hosting/co-sponsoring/co-programming" the event. At that time, Knowles submitted an initial list of eight suitable horror films (among them The Shining, American Werewolf in London, Gremlins, and, as alternates, unreleased features from George Romero and festival attendee Tobe Hooper) that was then rejected "late last Thursday" (Oct. 5) -- on the grounds that the AFF would be unable to secure prints. With time clearly running out, Knowles and Co. "respectfully declined participation" in the event, and the AFF went on with their own slate of spookshows... Friday, Oct. 20, at 9:30pm, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will be hosting the video release party celebrating the digitally mastered, Brown Whörnet-scored version of F.W. Murnau's 1922 classic Nosferatu, which first debuted at the Alamo two years back. Tickets for the event are $10. This beats E. Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire -- a fictional account of the making of Murnau's classic, which also just screened at the AFF -- to the gate by a month or more, and, of course, you don't get "spooky treats" and soundtrack CDs with the Merhige film, either.