Short Cuts

Señorita Extraviada

Opie Outed Dept.: Sick of hearing about all the behind-the-scenes machinations on what was once Ron Howard's mega-budget Disney remake of The Alamo slated to begin shooting in and around Central Texas sometime this fall? Tough sprockets, pal: Reuters/Variety reported last week that Howard, after way too much maneuvering and second-guessing to get into here, is officially off the picture, and John Lee Hancock (The Rookie) is on board to helm. Hancock's name had been bandied about after Howard initially balked at Disney's desire that he promise to deliver a PG-13 film (Howard wanted leeway to hit an R, which considering the topic is completely understandable), but as of a couple weeks ago there was apparently still a possibility that Opie might still sit in the big chair. Not so now: Howard and Imagine partner Brian Grazer have announced that they'll stay on in a producing capacity but hand over the directing reins to Hancock. According to Variety's report, "The Alamo standoff was squarely about money and about Walt Disney Co. chairman Michael Eisner's clear concern about making movie decisions that would anger shareholders," but even with a "pared down" budget of $75 million or so, it's hard to imagine the much-vaunted realism of Traffic scribe Stephen Gaghan's take on the enormously bloody Alamo story (which itself takes off from an original script by John Sayles) could fly with anything short of a hard R rating. Time will tell, of course, but here's hoping we won't be seeing any Disneyland Alamo rides anytime soon... Social activist groups the American Friends Service Committee, Women on the Border, Austin Tan Carca de la Frontera, and P.O.V. are sponsoring a benefit film screening of Lourdes Portillo's film Señorita Extraviada (Missing Young Women) and a performance by "Tejana-punk-Buddhist" Tammy Gomez, at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown (409 Colorado), Sunday, Aug. 11, 3-5pm. Portillo's film is "a haunting investigation into an unspeakable crime wave amid the corruption of Juarez. Since 1993 over 270 young women have been raped and murdered ... while authorities ignore pleas for justice from the victims' families." The screening will be followed by a performance by Gomez and a community discussion. A $5 minimum donation (to AFSC and the Border Committee of Women Workers) is suggested.