- John Waters’ One-Man Show Coming to Austin
Probably a lot like This Filthy World. Could be good. - Should publicly funded content belog to the public?
I love the idea of all that great CBC and TVO content being public domain, and I think it should eventually be (though I'd say 7 years is a more reasonable time period). But for projects merely SUBSIDIZED by government money, I'm not so sure. (What better way to drive artists south than to shorten the potential commercial life of their work?) But I do think that some eventual concession makes sense–maybe lifetime of the artist? - Fantastic Mr. Fox Behind-the-scenes
Cool little behind-the-scenes feature about the new Wes Anderson flick, The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The film is based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name. (via Aint It Cool) - Cronenberg on Cronenberg
This may very well be my next book purchase. I wonder if he talks about his role in Nightbreed. Probably not.
Link Roundup for August 24th through September 2nd
- Tiny Desk Contert: Bill Callahan
Austinite Bill Callahan (formerly known as Smog) performs three songs for the folks at NPR. Unbelievably good. I was lucky enough to see Callahan perform at a tiny Austin club with Joanna Newsom a few years back, and it was easily one of my favorite shows ever. (Via Tom Thornton) - Beavis and Butthead Return to Promote Extract
Austinite Mike Judge has brought beloved animated slackers Beavis and Butthead out of retirement to promote his new film, Extract. (via @donswaynos) - Frank Kozik’s Top 10 Criterion Films
(via @fluxistrad)
Alt Classics: Dead Man and Deep Red
Next Sunday (September 6th), they’re screening two great movies at the Alamo: Jim Jarmusch’s bizarro western masterpiece Dead Man, and Dario Argento’s horror-as-high-art classic Deep Red. Both are worth seeing, and though I own them both on DVD, I’m still bummed to be missing these rare theatrical screenings.
Dead Man is the film that got me interested in Jarmusch, and the strange, bleak, existential western still impresses well over a decade later. The opening scene’s ridiculous (in a good way) performance by Crispin Glover is, on its own, worth the price of admission. And the electric (but somehow timeless) score by Neil Young is the icing on the cake. Besides Edward Scissorhands, this is Johnny Depp’s best role, and, I think, Jarmusch’s best film.
Deep Red was one of the last Argento films I saw–even after seeing Mother of Tears. So I have a deeper affection for Suspiria, I think (as I’ve spent a lot more time with it). But I can tell you that Red is a fantastic, near-perfect example of Argento’s mad genius. And that a hell of a lot of people think it’s his masterwork.
So if you’re in Austin this weekend, I’d recommend hunkering down at the Ritz Sunday night. These two classics will make a great (but very dark) double-bill.
Link Roundup for August 11th through August 24th
- digress.it
Very, very cool WordPress plugin that lets you add comments/annotations to individual paragraphs in your posts. (via @doctorow) - Big Fan Trailer
Not sure what to think of this one–starring Patton Oswalt (yay!) and written/directed by ex-Onion editor Robert Siegel (yay!), this flick was apparently originally written as a comedy, but wound up a drama. Hmm… - Doug Pray’s "Art & Copy"
A new documentary by Doug Pray (who made Scratch, Hype!, and Surfwise) about the advertising business and its superstars. - Nick Cave’s New Novel: The Death of Bunny Munro
Cave's first novel since his debut, in 1989. From the sound of the blurb, Cave took a bit of inspiration from Cormac McCarthy while working on the soundtrack for "The Road".I've never read Cave's other novel, "And the Ass Saw the Angel"–I should get around to that.
Link Roundup for August 3rd through August 9th
- Fantastic Fest’s "Totally Awesome Video Games" Challenge
Uwe Boll will judge the newest filmmaking frenzy, in which you're supposed to adapt an old-school video game for the screen. I'm working on a dramatic version of Defender right now. - 42nd Street Forever 5: Alamo Drafthouse Edition
Now, non-Austinites can enjoy a taste of the Alamo's amazing collection of vintage trailers. Some are awful, some are amazing, all are entertaining. - A.O. Scott, Michael Phillips to Take Over ‘At the Movies’
- Design Observer: Remembering Julius Shulman
Nice piece on the famed architectural photographer.
Link Roundup for July 5th through August 2nd
- AIGA Presents: Milton Glaser – To Inform & Delight
Next Wednesday (August 12), the AIGA will host a screening of Wendy Keyes' doc about the American graphic design icon Milton Glaser. - Evil Dead, The Musical! Coming to Austin
It looks like Salvage Vanguard will be doing a production of Evil Dead, the Musical! I've seen this show in Toronto a few times, and it's brilliant. - Beer Drinkin’ Gargoyles
Oddly inappropriate, but the Fangoria website has a good introduction to the Stone Brewery. Arrogant Bastard and Stone Smoked Porter are two of my favorite brews these days. - Sound Tunnel
Link Roundup for May 1st through 8th
- David Lynch Presents: Interview Project
This looks great. (via @fluxistrad) - Kindle 2 Usability Review
Jakob Nielsen's review of the Kindle 2. Kind of weird that Amazon has ALREADY unveiled the Kindle 3, no? The 2nd gen has only been available for a few months. - Head-banging Parrot Proves Birds Can Dance
We proved it! Fucking finally. - How Design Conference Coming to Austin
If this were a little less expensive and at a different time, I'd totally go.
Cox Coming to Austin
UPDATE: These screenings have all been canceled. Bummer. They are still showing Repo Man for Music Monday, but it will be Coxless.
On May 17th and 18th, British-born indie icon Alex Cox will present three films at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin. Two of the films (Repo Man and Searchers 2.0), are his. The third (Michele Lupo’s 1966 Spaghetti Western Arizona Colt) is apparently one of Cox’s favorite European Westerns, which means it’s probably quite good.
I’ve been on a mild Cox kick lately, and I’m super excited to hear him talk about his films. I’m also fairly excited to see Repo Man on the big screen with an audience.
Find tickets for these shows here, here and here.
Which reminds me, here’s the beginning of a great Believer piece about Repo Man, and a Repo-themed scavenger hunt organized by the folks at the Alamo. If you want to read the rest, I’ll lend you the issue. If I can find it.
Link Roundup for March 2nd through May 8th
- Short Letterpress Documentary
A short (and apparently old) but great little documentary about a Massachusetts letterpress printing shop. Looks like this made the rounds a long time ago, but I'd never seen it. Makes me want to buy or build a letterpress. - Showlist Austin – A SXSW Party Guide
Speaking of SXSW parties, Show List Austin (which is always a handy reference guide for live music-loving Austinites) is practically indispensable for planning out your SXSW day party schedule. They don't list official showcases, but the list of free parties is brain-meltingly long. - Data Pop 09
Data Pop 09 will celebrate the fine art of chiptunes–that is, making music with instruments fashioned form old video games. I love this.
Link Roundup for March 2nd
- Cinematic Titanic Come to Austin
If you live in Austin, you should check out Cinematic Titanic this weekend–it's the original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in a traveling show, riffing on a different movie every night. Of course, Austin has its own gang of handsome heckler heroes in the Master Pancake Theatre crew, but still… MST3K!!! - Arthouse to Distribute Visual Acoustics
The folks at Arthouse films have acquired the rights to Eric Bricker's Visual Acoustics, a fantastic documentary portrait of architectural photographer Julius Schulman. They plan a theatrical release sometime this year, followed by a DVD release. Recommended. - Patton Oswalt Is Gay-tham for Statham
How did I not know Patton Oswalt had a myspace blog? Anyway–I agree with him on this Jason Statham thing. Totally badass action hero whose movies are somehow completley disposable, but totally awesome at the same time. Via the Alamo Blog. - The Whole Shootin Match on 3-Disc DVD
Austinite Eagle Pennell's lost (sort of) iindie slacker (sort of) classic The Whole Shootin' Match is now available on DVD, in a handsome 3-disc set. Definitely worth getting. I've also noticed that one of its stars, Lou Perryman (a great Texas character actor who was also in Texas Chainsaw Massacre II) has been making the rounds commenting on blog posts and articles about it. Lou seems like a great guy–I saw him on a TCM panel at Fangoria weekend last year, and on a panel for Shootin' Match during a special SXSW screening in 07.