Amidst all the razzmatazz and Hollywood glam surrounding last Thursday’s fun, fun, fun premiere of Contact at the Paramount and its attendant parties at the new Austin Film Center and the also-new Antone’s, it was easy to overlook the reason for the event. It was a benefit to raise money for both the Austin Circle of Theatres’ Aus-Tix/The Box Office and the Austin Film Society‘s (AFS) Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund (TFPF). Last year the TFPF gave away a total of $30,000 in production grants to 11 filmmakers. The goal this year is $50,000. That money comes from the eager community support for events such as this and also the whole-hearted contributions of participants such as Matthew McConaughey, Lynda Obst, and Richard Linklater. The AFS also services the community-at-large in a variety of ways, most notably with its seemingly never-ending (and quite frequently free) series of film screenings. Over the past weeks, for example, we’ve been treated to the AFS Summer Free-for-All, a free weekly series of assorted goodies. (This week’s offering is Andrei Rublev by the Russian screen poet Andrei Tarkovsky; it shows Tuesday, 7pm, at the Union Theatre.) Membership in the AFS is one of the things that helps enable these screenings, even though one needn’t be a member to attend. One comment that struck me during the Contact Q&A was Linklater’s response when someone asked the panelists to name their favorite film. McConaughey and Obst both were ready with perfectly cool and interesting answers but Linklater, bless his heart, responded by saying that he could perhaps only offer a Top 500. It reminded me of how the film society was primarily born of Linklater’s eclectic passion for movies; of how watching, exhibiting, discussing, and discovering movies informs his own filmmaking; and of how the AFS on a consistent and ongoing basis provides one of the best film educations available on the planet, anytime, anywhere. Here’s my point: Join up; become a member. Several plans are available ranging from $20 to $100. Amazingly, the AFS this year has not been experiencing the level of new membership growth that had been targeted. Show your support for all that they do to make Austin one of the best places on earth for a film enthusiast to live. Call ’em for details at 322-0145…
Once upon a time, I harbored Mary Tyler Moore-like dreams of working in a WJM-ish newsroom… and, well, you get the picture. (I even spent a good amount of time in Minneapolis during the early Seventies.) Now there’s a new MTV sitcom called Austin Stories that’s currently setting up shop here in town to shoot a season’s worth of episodes. We hear that one of the three central twentysomething characters is a female journalist who works at a fictional alternative paper called the Austin Weekly. This time, the Austin Stories producers have issued a call for featured characters and extras. They’re looking for “young hipsters, Drag kids, men and women over 65, granola types, comedians… wild & funny individuals, all types.” Experience isn’t necessary and the positions are paid. If interested, send your photo and info to: Austin Stories, Box 228, 1712 E. Riverside, Austin, TX, 78741. I’d apply if only Mr. Grant didn’t keep me so busy.
This article appears in July 18 • 1997 and July 18 • 1997 (Cover).
