Short Cuts

Bill Broyles, Square Shooter Dept.: A recent article in The New Yorker by Tad Friend tackled the always-thorny problem of screenwriting credits and the arcane and increasingly convoluted methods by which credit disputes are resolved (or not resolved, depending on which aggrieved party holds the floor). At one point, Friend's lengthy piece, which ran in the Nov. 3 issue, delves into Austin screenwriter William Broyles' (Planet of the Apes) credits conundrum on Apollo 13, and specifically references a quote from longtime Ron Howard producer Brian Grazer, who curiously notes that Broyles and Al Reinert's original script for the film had "a lot of ass-slapping in bars" and that John Sayles "wrote whatever dialogue you remember" in the film. Not so, responded Broyles, who has a letter to the magazine in the current Nov. 10 issue. Broyles notes that the two most famous lines in the film -- "Houston, we have a problem," and "Failure is not an option" -- were in his and Reinert's original draft and that "if someone had his ass slapped in a bar it did not happen in our script." Sayles, Broyles correctly notes, was brought in late in the game to do a production polish, and refers to Sayles work as "skillful" and compares it to an editorial shine on a piece of magazine writing, which "did make our script better (for which I will always be grateful)." For Grazer, however, Broyles has far more withering comments: "Producers like Grazer tend to exaggerate the contribution of the rewriter they install on the set. This allows the producer, who may be devoid of writing or any other talent, to magnify his or her own contribution to the final movie." Ouch, that's gotta smart. Broyles, by the way, is slated to adapt Anthony Swofford's Jarhead -- a nonfiction account of the author's time spent as a Marine in the first Gulf War -- to the screen for Universal (a perfect match for Broyles, who was a decorated Marine himself before founding Texas Monthly and later moving into screenwriting)... If you haven't seen it (we have, and we think your life is empty and meaningless until you have, too), here's your chance: Local filmmaker Kat Candler's 1999 film Cicadas is having its television premiere tonight, Thursday, Nov. 13, 11pm, on the Austin Music Network (Time Warner Cable Channel 15). All Austin, all the time, as it should be in a fair and just universe... Speaking of Austin all the time, time is running out for filmmakers to submit their work for consideration in South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival 2004 (March 12-20). Monday, Dec. 1, is the final deadline for submissions, which means if you haven't started casting yet, you're either in all kinds of trouble or your film is Claymation. (Still, getting those tiny fingers articulated is a bitch. I'd get cracking if I were you.) Head on over to www.sxsw.com/film for entry info and, oh, so much more. Ballers in da Hizzouse Dept.: Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures are looking for a few good men to play footballers in their upcoming adaptation of H.G. Bissinger's Texas high school football epic, Friday Night Lights, which will begin filming in Austin in January 2004. To that end, they're holding open auditions Thursday & Friday, Nov. 20 & 21, noon-6pm, and Saturday, Nov. 22, 6-9pm, at the Omni Hotel (700 San Jacinto). Players should minimally have high school and some collegiate football experience. Those chosen during this audition will be asked to return in January for a four-day tryout camp in Austin.