Those of you who sit through the credits at the end of the new movie Outside Providence may wonder what producer Elizabeth Avellán and her partner Robert Rodriguez did to earn special thanks from the makers of this Rhode Island coming-of-age tale. Turns out that OP star Shawn Hatosy was needed for some pick-up shots while he was down here shooting The Faculty for the Austin duo. No problem — both projects worked out a temporary time share for the hot young star and thus a few takes of this Pawtucket picture were filmed here in Austin… TapeLenders Video, which has recently moved their eclectic collection of tapes from their Dobie Mall location to new digs at 1114 W. Fifth, is hosting a cast and crew party for the movie Gypsy Boys, a gay romantic comedy that’s having its world premiere at the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival. The party will be at the store, 5-7pm, Sunday, Sept. 5. Director Brian Shepp and crew members will be in attendance and refreshments will be served… Steve Akers of the Cinemaker Co-op has announced a call for photographic works by local filmmakers to show in the upcoming photo exhibit, “They Shoot Stills, Don’t They?”. The deadline is September 17 and the show opens on October 7 at the High Life Cafe. Send five slides and a SASE to: They Shoot Stills, c/o Steve Akers, 3117A Hemphill Park, Austin, TX 78705. For more details about the submission requirements write to sakers@mail.utexas.edu or call 469-2964… The Independent Film Channel kicks off its fifth birthday weekend with the premiere of “The Best of Split Screen,“ an hour-long retrospective of the TV series created and hosted by John Pierson that turns his keen eye on the indie film world. It airs on IFC at 7pm, Friday, Sept. 3, then will show again on IFC’s sister station Bravo later that night at 9:30pm. The new Split Screen season starts up on Monday, Sept. 6 at 7pm on IFC with a wild episode that features Christopher Walken (and sidekick Julian Schnabel) cooking exploding shrimp in a Little Italy eatery. Let’s just say the dish is aptly named. A couple of the segments on Friday’s “Best Of” episode are of particular local interest. “Big Miss Moviola” focuses on the inspired distributor of “lady-made movies,” Miranda July, whose movie The Amateurist won an award at last year’s CinemaTexas Film Festival and will be in attendance again at this year’s fest Sept. 22-26. Featured in the “Documation” segment is the exciting animation work of local filmmakers Bob Sabiston and Tommy Pallotta. Their highly original work is a blend of documentary renderings of everyday characters and skillful manipulation of artistic and computer tools. You’ll recognize the pair as they’re parked in this vignette outside the businesses at 43rd & Duval trolling for subjects. The segment provide a good explanation of their novel technique of merging documentary and animation. Their Flat Black Films company has just been funded by ITVS (Independent Television Service) to produce a string of freestanding short animated films to be used as two-to-four-minute interstitial segments on public television. Also, their recent project Snack and Drink just received a prestigious Award of Distinction in Computer Animation from Prix Ars Electronica 99. Congrats… And now it’s time to say good-bye. Next week Marc Savlov will take over writing this column. Keep your tips and info coming in to: “Short Cuts,” PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765 or shortcuts@auschron.com.
This article appears in September 3 • 1999.
