Rodriguez on the (re)make
He’s a king of the Austin film scene, and tight-lipped be the royal Robert Rodriguez. But Rodriguez opened up at a Comic-Con panel with news that he’ll be kinda, sorta still directing parts of the remake and Conan the Barbarian spin-off Red Sonja starring Rose McGowan, though frequent assistant director Doug Aarniokoski will be the credited director, according to E! Online. Red Sonja will be shot “on location,” with scouting reportedly taking place in incentive-loving Louisiana and Michigan, though the latter seems less likely. Rodriguez will shoot the many green-screen shots at home in Austin, we can presume. Oh, he also said Frank Miller has a Sin City 2 script in the can but gave no clues on a shooting date. The biggest news? Rodriguez firmly tossed his hat in the ring for a Conan remake, though he may again be listed simply as producer because of his longstanding dispute with the Directors Guild of America. And don’t bet on him directing a Barbarella remake anytime soon.
Honoring a film Shepard
Multiple hyphenate Sam Shepard (screenwriter, playwright, actor, director) will receive the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2008 Austin Film Festival on Oct. 18, and he may not have far to travel to receive it. He’s attached to star in Serenity Falls, a noirish Western that Lisa Jenkins‘ DreamFly Productions is looking to shoot in Dallas in September with writer/director Mark Millhone, director of photography Jim Denault (Boys Don’t Cry), and already-cast Omar Epps and Edward James Olmos. Why should Austin care? Jenkins hopes to follow it immediately with a local shoot – the romantic comedy The Other Jennifer, also based on a Millhone script, with Meryl Streep’s daughter Mamie Gummer starring. Jenkins, a former Fox Sports Net producer, is aiming to amass a group of private Texas investors to shoot films in Texas. “We have the infrastructure,” she says. “We can do it here.”
And the rest …
An open casting call for Latino boys ages 4 to 6 is set for Aug. 2 in San Antonio, for a principal role in The Girl. The film stars Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) as “a young mother from South Texas who is thrown into an unexpected and life-changing journey when her attempt to smuggle immigrants across the border goes terribly wrong.” Call 512/586-5904 for more info… Kat Candler is teaching a 13-week Script to Screen class on Tuesday evenings starting Sept. 16 at Arts and Labor Productions. Get more info at 771-5863… Filmmaker Magazine chose the brothers Zellner (Goliath) as among its 25 New Faces of Independent Cinema, although the pair’s filmmaking savvy is old news in Austin.
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This article appears in August 1 • 2008.