Short Cuts

The Good, the Bad, and the "Yo Mama's So Ugly, She Makes Blind Kids Cry-- Dept.: Sheesh! I've been trying to come up with a list of Austin-film specific events that fit the parameters above, but even in a year like 2001 there was a heckuva lot more good than bad, and precious little that was downright ugly. But what the hell, it's a good header, and I haven't heard a decent snap since Clive Barker dissed me way back when, so we'll keep it and dwell on the plus side of the equation, i.e., The Good. In no particular order, then, the highlights of the Austin film community this past year: The Movie Store's awesomely cool splash-panel mural on the west side of their store at 43rd and Guadalupe. Painstakingly rendered by Austin artist Isaac Brown, the fantastic fresco features everyone(-thing?) from Robby the Robot and Barbarella to Flash ("Ah-Ahhhhh!") Gordon and his eternal nemesis Ming the Merciless. Bonus points to those who can recall the actual name of Lang's sexy robotrix from Metropolis... The Alamo Drafthouse North: bigger, better (sort of), and doing very nicely. Go Team Tim & Karrie!... Corey Ryan and Flicker Austin, who steadfastly proved that not only is small-gauge filmmaking a viable option in DV-obsessed times, but it's also far more interesting much of the time... Rusty Kelley and Duncan Knappen, young filmmakers and HBO Kidflicks faves who, by all indications, should own their own studio by this time next year... Six in Austin (www.sixinaustin.com), the brilliant, funny, and, in Gonzo Gonzáles' case, creepy six-directors-in-one anthology film produced by Anne del Castillo and Tamara Klindt, which is one of the best micro-budget, DV pictures thus far. You haven't seen it yet, I know, but you will, Anne promises... The culmination of years of work on the part of Austin animator Bob Sabiston (www.flatblackfilms.com) and his proprietary "rotoshop" animation software was realized in Richard Linklater's breathtaking and profound Waking Life, which, by the way, should be Oscar-bound if there's still anything right with the world at all... Austin Studios out at the old Robert Mueller Airport grounds: more movies, fewer parking hassles... Alan Ball's 16Color.com, now in V3.0, proudly helping you put off until tomorrow what could be done today since 1998... As for The Bad, national theatre chains Regal Cinemas and General Cinemas began dropping like flies, while sentimental favorite in the arthouse category the Village expired but was reborn as the Alamo North. Not so bad, eh? Next week: Criswell's ghost and I predict the future of Austin Film. Excelsior!