Short Cuts

Film director Edward Dmytryk died last week. During the years in the late Seventies when Dmytryk taught filmmaking at the University of Texas he crossed paths with a great many Austinites. It is unfortunate that he is not better remembered for some of his great early films, such as Crossfire and Cornered, and is best remembered for being a member of the Hollywood Ten, the original group of screenwriters found guilty of Communist association and sent to prison in 1947 by the witch-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee. Even more fatefully, Dmytryk is destined to be remembered as the only one of the 10 who recanted and named names in a desperate attempt to reclaim his life. Knowing him was interesting for me. His experience taught me much about compassion. Theretofore, I had been hardhearted toward anyone deemed to have been a collaborator with the forces of the Dark Age. But when you witness the personal toll the period had on individuals' lives -- in wrecked marriages and ruined careers -- your definition of victimization grows a little more expansive. I don't know that it will ever grow broad enough for me to include tributes like giving Elia Kazan a lifetime achievement award (versus the directing awards Kazan had already, most deservedly, been accorded), but I did learn from my contact with Edward Dmytryk that predetermined biases are dangerous and vindictive things...

Some of you, I know, are waiting impatiently for the Austin opening of The Blair Witch Project on July 16. If you just can't wait another week for this smartly done spook story, you might consider tuning in to the Science Fiction Channel special called The Curse of the Blair Witch. It first airs on Monday, July 12, at 9pm and midnight, and will repeat several times throughout the month. The special is made by the same folks who did the original film, so they ought to know what they're doing...

The Austin Film Alliance is expanding the concept of its monthly social and networking gathering into something called a Floating Happy Hour. Instead of convening at the same location each time, the happy hours from now on will be held in a different location. The next Happy Hour will be at County Line on the Lake (5204 FM 2222), on Wednesday, July 14, 5-7pm...

A couple of film audition calls have filtered in. First, Brown Ring of Quality Productions seeks actors and actresses for The Right Girl, a low-budget, independent feature film to be shot in September. Roles are available for a wide range of ages. The auditions will be cold readings from the script. Bring headshots and résumés. Additional information is available online at http://www.io.com/~karinlee/TheRightGirl/. Call 338-0925 for appointments on July 17 and 24. Also seeking actors is Kevin West, the director of Barn of the Blood Llama (visit the site at http://www.lamc.utexas.edu/klw/welcome.html). His new film, Night of the Killer Piñatas, promises to continue in the same horror/comedy/schlock vein as his earlier work. West is looking for a variety of types (but "no easily offended persons, please") for the project, which will begin shooting in August. Auditions will be cold readings of the script and held at the Dougherty Art Center on July 15, 7-9:30pm, and July 17, 10am-2pm; call 927-2348 or 326-4243 to schedule an appointment, or send e-mail to [email protected]. Actors will read selections from the script.