Michael Shannon on the red carpet for Jeff Nichols' Midnight Special at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival Credit: photo by Gary Miller

If recent Oscar nominee Michael Shannon hasn’t returned his tux yet from Sunday’s ceremony, he might want to hold on to it another couple of weeks for the Texas Film Awards.

Michael Shannon on the red carpet for Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival Credit: photo by Gary Miller

We kid. The dress code for the annual celebration of Lone Star cinema leans more toward the Texas tuxedo – think pearl-snap shirts and scuffed Stetsons. Still, no matter Shannon’s sartorial choices, we’re betting he’ll be wearing a smile as he hands over the award to his longtime friend and artistic collaborator Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special, Mud, Loving).

Shannon is one of four names announced today as upcoming presenters at the Texas Film Awards, joining this year’s already-announced crop of honorees.

Also on tap for the March 9 event:

• David Gordon Green – director of such films as George Washington, Pineapple Express, and the upcoming Stronger, starring Jake Gyllenhaal – will present the Rising Star Award to Tye Sheridan. Green directed Sheridan in 2013’s Joe and was himself inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in 2014.

Nick Kroll

• Former San Antonio mayor and Clinton administration HUD secretary Henry Cisneros will present trailblazing documentarian Hector Galán with the first-ever Austin Chronicle Ann Richards Award. Cisneros has previously collaborated with Galán on several film projects, including providing narration for the documentaries Children of Giant and Chicano! History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement.

• Austin Film Society Founder and Artistic Director Richard Linklater – and, oh yeah, no slouch behind the camera, either! – will present living legend Shirley MacLaine with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Linklater directed MacLaine in his acclaimed 2012 film Bernie, a true-crime dark comedy set in small-town East Texas.

• Nick Kroll may be best known for his prodigious comic talents (The League, Nick Kroll Show), but when he does drama, he’s likely working with Austin producer Sarah Green, as in Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups and Jeff Nichols’ Loving.

Still to be announced is the evening’s master of ceremonies; previous emcees have included Mike Judge, Luke Wilson, Dan Rather, and Ann Richards, who was an early champion of Texas film and still our favorite governor.

Tickets for the 2017 Texas Film Awards – happening Thursday, March 9 at Austin Studios – are on sale now. You can also snap up tickets to this Sunday’s screening of Star of Texas Award winner Terms of Endearment.

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This article appears in February 24 • 2017.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...