The Texas Homeless Network presents the Face the Homeless Film Fest, Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Alamo Ritz, 320 E. Sixth. The program includes the Texas premiere of Kicking It, a documentary about the 2006 Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. That film is 3-5pm ($25); the full event is 8:30am-5pm ($75). Among those in attendance: a player with the Entourage Austin Street Soccer team who's been selected for the national team that's going to Australia for the 2008 HWC in December.
Full event info with this column online; see also www.kickingitthefilm.com, www.streetsocceraustin.org, and www.homelessworldcup.org.
St. Edward's women (17-3 last season) are ranked 23rd in the NCAA Division II preseason rankings. They start their season today with a scrimmage against Southwestern: Thursday, Aug. 28, 5pm. The Hilltopper men start their regular season Sunday, Aug. 31, 1pm against Regis. Both teams compete in the tough Heartland Conference, along with national powers St. Mary's and Incarnate Word of San Antonio.
Below: more home teams: Longhorns, Stoke City, U.S. Men and Women, MLS in CONCACAF.
Hey gang. Voting closes tonight at midnight for this month's Film Fight. It's still a pretty tight race, so don't think your vote doesn't count. Let me put it this way – if Josh went out and found himself a jury of his peers – well, and maybe throw in the stenographer, judge, and whatever that big bald guy on Night Court played – then he could really win this thing.
We'll announce the winner at tomorrow night's Happy Hour at Spider House. We'll also give away some stuff, show a couple shorts, and sit around and do everything in our power to not talk about Shakespeare. Not ever, ever again.
The Alamo Drafthouse announced yesterday on their blog that Zack and Miri Make a Porno will open this year's Fantastic Fest, with writer/director Kevin Smith in attendance for an introduction and Q&A.
It's been a while since I've been enthusiastic about a Kevin Smith flick, although he's such a funny, sharp, likable guy, it's hard to begrudge him, exactly, when his films disappoint – kinda like when your kid consistently brings home C's on his report card. I mean, sure, you love your kid and you always will, but wouldn't it be awesome if just once he made honor roll?
All that said – and I'm just going with the gut here – but the gut's pretty excited about Zack and Miri. Based on title alone (and this teaser trailer... and the fact the film just had its NC-17 rating overturned for R), one can safely say this is going to be filthy, which is what Smith does best. And the cast is chockablock with, cough, "rising stars" like Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, and Craig Robinson.
Zack and Miri's official site can be found here. Find out more about Fantastic Fest here.
I devoted last week's TV Eye column to Skins, the "new" series that just debuted on BBC America. I say new in quotes because the series is already two seasons old abroad. The good news is that U.S. audiences can be assured that the series is not going to disappear after a too short run (Freaks and Geeks comes to mind).
Anyway...I was curious about the title and write to the p.r. folks to inquire. I imagined "skins" is British slang for something, but what? The response came after deadline:
"I recently heard the creator speak about this and he said it
wasn't one thing ... it is slang for cigarette papers, condoms but it has other potential, deeper meanings."
The 2008 Little League World Series has narrowed the pool down to four teams and four final games to be held this weekend. It's Japan versus Mexico in the International Championship game (11:30am, Saturday, ABC) and Hawaii and Louisiana playing to see who's best in the U.S. (2:30pm, Saturday, ABC). The Championship Game will take place Sunday at 2:30pm with the Consolation Game being played at 11am (both on ABC). For more on LLWS schedules and scores click here.
If you got a young'un who's not ready for the Little League action to end, Activision has got you covered. Little League World Series 2008 is out now for the Wii (and Nintendo DS) and is the first officially licensed LL game for next-gen consumers. The motion-sensing controls allow easy accessibility for players of all ages and all skill levels. Sixteen teams from around the globe are featured (eight from the U.S.) as well as three Little League stadiums (Lamade Stadium, Volunteer Stadium, and All-Star Field). LLWS 2008 also features fun power-ups, World Series mode, skill challenges, and much more to keep the young baseball fan fixated until next season.
I dodged your earlier question of Branagh vs. Olivier; I think I'd rather circle option C – Orson Welles. Only his Othello is widely available (although Chimes at Midnight and Macbeth are both posted on YouTube); so why not celebrate the Big Boy Orson tonight by watching The Third Man on Turner Classic Movies? That's what I'll be doing, reveling not just in one of the greatest films of all time, but also the fact that not once does anybody bust out in verse.
So this is me saying sayonara to Shakespeare. Dear reader, you can still vote and comment on every day's debate through till next Thursday. We close voting next Thursday, and then we'll announce the winner of Film Fight at our Happy Hour event at Spider House that night (Thursday, Aug. 28, 7:30pm). There will be prize giveaways and drink specials and an all-around good time to be had, so please, come out and say hi.
And let us know if you have any ideas for next month's Film Fight, eh? We're all ears.
Whoa! I don't know who "Connie" is on the last posting to the ME Television blog I posted regarding the layoffs of VJs Paul Saucido and Bavu Blakes, but when "she" wrote that as of Friday, ME TV was kaput, I knew I had to do some checking.
This message just came to TV Eye from Connie Wodlinger, executive director at ME Television:
"I understand some misinformation has been posted to your blog. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
ME Television has had some significant layoffs, but the management team and a base crew remain in place. The network will continue to produce a 24-hour on-air signal as we aggressively pursue several viable options to return to full production and move forward.
– Connie Wodlinger"
Surprise layoffs, mystery commenters, and misinformation. If anybody wants to tell us the real story, TV Eye's all ears.
Craftsters will recognize Jennifer as a member of the Austin Craft Mafia, a group of local craft mavens who sew, hot glue, knit, and crochet fun and funky arts and crafts for the modern guy and gal. If you're a crafter and you don't know Craft-o-Rama, well, what have you been waiting for? The bright and airy shop is designed for the inner seamstress in you, but have just enough yarn and embroidery threads to keep fiber fanatics happy too. Whether it's a book release party or an occasional swap meet, Hayley Pannone (and mommy in waiting) does a swell job of making the event festive and full of casual, crafty fun.
I have to second your Shakespeare fatigue. We both thought last night's screening of Hamlet 2 might give us fresh legs, but, disappointingly that wasn't the case. I didn't hate it like you did – it was just another indie comedy that regurgitated elements, from gross-out to twee to self-referential, that I'd already seen in two-dozen other indie comedies – but Steve Coogan, no matter how uneven his character, still manages to make me laugh more often than not. Honestly, the most interesting thing about the film – which is about a failed actor/high school drama coach who writes a sequel to Hamlet, despite, as one character points out, the fact that almost everyone is dead at the end of Hamlet 1 – was the high school production itself and not the piffling plot about Coogan's sad-sack drama coach or the quasi-inspirational story of inspiring teens to make art. It's a great idea -- let's see, everybody's dead, so where do we go next?! -- but Hamlet 2's primary interest is in Coogan's roller-blading pratfalls. Ah well...
In 1986 Aliens delighted moviegoers with a simple recipe: more of the same. So what happens with so many of its sequential brethren? Yes, I’m looking at you, Lost Boys: The Tribe. And you, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. And definitely you, Weekend at Bernie’s II. Maybe in the end we just appreciate the opportunity to respond incredulously. After all, Jurassic Park III did gross some 180 million. And last year I did leave my family on Christmas day to see the much anticipated AVP2. Don’t judge. It’s not easy defending new Rambo as you plan the month of October around the release of the newest Saw installment. The good news? If you can relate, then you can also find some comfort among friends this Sunday at the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz as they screen the winning selections from this year’s Unnecessary Sequel Contest… 2.
First of all, Miss Jones, if you take away my knee-jerk naysaying, you’ll take away the very thing that makes me me. Rash judgments are my bread and butter, my stock in trade, my bailiwick, my sine qua non. They’re what got me through college and the Peace Corps and the seminary and Vietnam. They’re as Josh Rosenblatt as chocolate cake, as cigarettes, as long walks off short piers. Take away my rash judgments and you might as well do Film Fight with the movie critic for Family Circle Magazine. Or The Austin American-Statesman.
Second of all, much to my shock and dismay, I agree with all your assessments about Orson Welles, Ian McKellen, and Maureen O’Hara. Technicolor was just made for her, wasn’t it? Have you seen How Green Was My Valley, by the way? Man, is that an entertaining movie about Welsh poverty and collapsing mine shafts.
I just have to take issue with two points you made:
One, I don’t have a problem with Ethan Hawke in general, just Ethan Hawke as Hamlet. And as a novelist, I guess. And as a director, I have a small problem with him. Oh, and as a pop philosopher in Richard Linklater movies. And maybe as a painter in Charles Dickens adaptations; I don’t remember. Other than that, I think he’s great.
And secondly, if you had bothered to watch any of John Wayne’s underrated 20th Century Fox silent B-movie pirate classics, like Daredevilry on the High Seas, Hard to Starboard!, The Big Storm, The Big Storm II: Change of Socks, or Jub Jub the Chimpanzee vs. the Barbary Pirates, you’d know that he spent the better part of his early career soaking wet. In fact he was the first and last actor to have a “constant dampness” clause in his studio contract, leading director Raoul Walsh to comment on the set of The Big Trail, “John Wayne is the soggiest actor I’ve seen since ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle.”
First of all, my apologies to our faithful readership, who no doubt have been wondering why we’ve gone silent. Josh and I went on a little Film Fight field trip tonight to see Hamlet 2, which opens in Austin tomorrow (at which point Josh and I will have more to say about that).
(And since we’re talking, dear readership, I have to say I’m quite moved – if bewildered – that you continue to vote for me on yesterday’s topic even after I admitted I should lose. That is either blind devotion, or you didn’t actually bother to read the posts before you gave me your vote. That’s fine – whole governments have been built on an uninformed populace. So I’d like to thank you [and the academy] – couldn’t have done it without you.)
Right, so back to the topic of the day: performances in Shakespeare adaptations.
Now, you’ve got a leg up on me, having just watched Almereyda’s Hamlet with Ethan Hawke. (Or did you just YouTube a couple of clips and start assembling the snark? In which case… harrumph.) I haven’t seen it since it came out, although I remember at the time thinking there was some interesting stuff going on. I rather loved Bill Murray’s Polonius, and transplanting “to be or not to be” to a vacant-eyed ramble through Blockbuster Video is indisputably an inspired touch.
I admit, rewatching the clip on YouTube– which is of course taking the scene out of context, and taking the film out of its ideal viewing experience – I was a little taken aback by Hawke’s flat delivery. Still, if you’re going to reimagine Hamlet as a whining, slacker filmmaker, then Hawke’s your guy. Maybe he didn’t do himself any favors taking on a role – or rather a reinterpretation of a role – that played too close to his so-called public image, but I’ve never heard you complain, “Oh gawd, it’s Cary Grant playing another witty sophisticate.”
Off your list of Ophelias, I choose Helena Bonham Carter. Though I made a deal with myself many years ago never to speak ill of Kate Winslet (if only on the off chance that she might one day show up at my front door with a flat tire asking if she can use my phone and I’d say “Of course” and she’d come in and use the phone but whoever she was calling wouldn’t answer and I’d say “I know how to change a tire” and then I’d change the tire and she’d be so impressed and she’d laugh and I’d laugh and then we’d go out for pancakes and she’d fall in love with me and move in and then get bored and leave and never return my calls), she falls victim to Kenneth Branagh’s high-pitched directorial vision in Hamlet and comes off sounding like a banshee.
I never saw Jean Simmons’ Ophelia. But I loved her in Guys and Dolls, so I'm sure she's great.
Nala is a cartoon lion, and I don’t feel like writing about a cartoon lion because I’m not quite willing to part with my dignity just yet (though I’m close).
And Julia Stiles … well, she’s Julia Stiles, isn’t she? She belongs in a discussion with Helena Bonham Carter and Kate Winslet the same way her co-star/mopey novelist Ethan Hawke belongs in a discussion with Laurence Olivier and J.D. Salinger.
“Why is Shakespeare so popular with filmmakers when he contains so few car chases and explosions? Because he is the measuring stick by which actors and directors test themselves.” – Roger Ebert
Despite being second only to Juliet in terms of tragic female figures – well, of the non-murderous variety – Ophelia’s kind of a thankless part. She gets lectured and hectored, used and abused, by father, brother, lover, and king, and in the end, she ends herself in an everlasting dunk. Miserable creature, that – yet every ingénue wants to play her onscreen. It’s great prep work, really – just look what a half-dozen screen Ophelias have spun from their time with the Bard.
Jean Simmons (Olivier, 1948): If a woman’s love be brief, than Ophelia’s part is even more negligible; she’s an important plot device, sure, but really, this is a boy’s club through and through. A good dress rehearsal, then, for Simmons’ later work: She’s the only one who couldn’t plausibly stand up and shout, “I am Spartacus!”
After its eleventh, successful year, it seemed like all was going well with Cine las Americas, the annual April film festival celebrating Latino and Native American films from across the Americas. But this week, a small bombshell was dropped when it was revealed that Programming Director Jacqueline Rush Rivera is leaving the festival after five years.
During Rivera's short tenure, and in tandem with CLA Executive Director Eugenio del Bosque, a small staff, and a host of volunteers, the festival and its related programs surged forward in content, breadth, and scope. So why leave when things seem to be on the rise? The dreaded budgetary concerns.
While offering nothing but praise for Rivera and her contribution to CLA, del Bosque explains, "one of [Cine's] key challenges has always been funding of year-round programming operations." He further states that the board has been working over the summer "to increase the membership base for our film exhibition programs, expand our education schedule, and strengthen and diversify our sources of income. As part of this work, we made the difficult decision to combine the Executive Director and Programming Director positions, while realigning responsibilities among other staff roles. I remain in the Executive Director position and will once again assume the programming responsibilities that I previously held at Cine Las Americas."
That's little solace for a person who has been integral to the success of, not only the festival, but to the year-round programs that give CLA visibility throughout the year. But not to worry, Rivera will land on her feet. She is currently looking for work here and abroad and has already "been contacted to run the local campaigns for two film openings," she says via e-mail. Rivera expects to be in Austin at least through October.
