Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Popcorn? Oh, It Was You! Dept.: Fans of the jitters and dental mayhem have fresh cause for celebration over at Landmark’s Dobie Theatre. New manager Keith Garcia, who weeks ago promised sweeping changes with an eye toward making the theatre that much cooler, has scratched the venue’s tepid concession selection and replaced it with a host of new goodies — including a full espresso bar, Bageldogs (kind of like pigs-in-a-blanket by way of Brooklyn), and classic theatre candies such as Dots, Twizzlers, and Raisinets. All of this will be ready for your sticky fingers and frazzled nerves by the time Wes Anderson‘s highly anticipated The Royal Tenenbaums opens at the theatre on December 28, says Garcia, adding that, despite my regular pleas to the effect, it’s still up to patrons to bring their own floss… The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has created a new award category — Best Animated Feature — for this year’s Oscars. Nine films have been declared eligible for the award, of which three will be nominated, and, of course, one will take home the nekkid bald guy. With any luck it’ll be Richard Linklater‘s groundbreaking Waking Life, which is up against, among others, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Monsters, Inc., and Shrek. The smart money’s on Linklater’s film, though the Academy’s record of handing out the statue to edgy, existential dreamscapes is, admittedly, not so hot. Fingers crossed, everyone… SXSW Film news: Recent additions to the lineup at this year’s festival/conference include famed documentarian Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter, Salesman), Tim McCanlies (The Iron Giant), Bob Sabiston (Waking Life), and Lawrence Wright (writer of the suddenly-a-documentary 1998 feature The Siege). SXSW runs March 8-16 this year, and all necessary info is available at www.sxsw.com.
This article appears in December 21 • 2001.