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Austin, Film

Please help one of the last great video rental stores in America

When I moved to Austin, TX, in 2008, it was exactly what my weary soul needed. I had left a career in Los Angeles as a Hollywood assistant and was seeking solace in a new town — a town I had never even been to but knew would be my salvation.

You see, Los Angeles had taken my love for film — a love that includes forcing horrified friends to watch Last Tango in Paris at the tender age of 16 and being the proud owner of the first DVD release of David Lynch’s Eraserhead and putting photos of a shirtless Marlon Brando from A Streecar Named Desire on my college dorm wall and carrying around a ragged copy of Harpo Marx’s autobiography Harpo Speaks! — and completely squashed it.

Realizing that Hollywood was only marginally full of masters of art and creativity was one of my biggest heartbreaks as I entered adulthood. Instead of being immersed in the excitement and magic of cinema, I worked with producers, agents and lawyers — three types of common players in Hollywood who are often angry, greedy (more…)

May 22, 2019 by hipstercrite

Film, Pop Culture

Dear Gene Wilder…

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I wrote this last year on the Before I Die wall.

We never met, but like many fans, I felt like I knew you.

It’s a funny concept, isn’t it? The idea that millions of people around the world feel close to you simply because your job is to act onscreen.

I often wonder what it must be like for celebrities. Humbling? Annoying? At first humbling, then annoying?

For us fans, it’s often the highlight of our weeks, months or years.

There were few famous people I wanted to meet in this world, but you were one of them. Something about you felt familiar. Maybe it was because you were Jewish, and I’m Jewish, and though neither one of us practiced, it felt like an important part of who we are.

Or maybe it was the way you presented yourself onscreen. Though you could act manic, there was a softness to you, betrayed by your bright blue eyes. You had the ability to look as though you were about to burst into tears or hysterically (more…)

August 30, 2016 by hipstercrite

Film, Pop Culture

On Hollywood Reboots, Female Roles & the New Ghostbusters

I’m excited for the new Ghostbusters because there are four kick-ass women in it; what I’m not excited about is that they brought back the Ghostbusters. (I plan on seeing it at the theater nonetheless.) My conflicted emotions were only amplified when I read New York Times’ June 21st interview with the four lead actresses and director.

After director Paul Feig explained that he was courted by former Sony studio head Amy Pascal to direct the film because it was a “great franchise sitting there,” Times journalist Dave Itzkoff asked Feig: “Why are some people approaching these big-budget fantasy movies — like the new “Star Wars” or your film — as battlegrounds for social ideas?

FEIG: I think it’s the death throes of the old guard. It makes a smaller minority scream louder, because they’re losing their grip on the cliff. I understand, if somebody was remaking “The Godfather,” I would be like, “Wait a minute.” But when everybody’s like, “It’s a cash grab”? Everything ever made in Hollywood (more…)

June 27, 2016 by hipstercrite

Austin, Film, Music, Pop Culture, Writing

A Comprehensive List of Austin’s Best Blogs

(Update: I wrote this blog post in 2012 and just updated as of April 28, 2015)

There are an ass-load of awesome blogs in Austin, Texas.

(I think) I read a statistic somewhere that Austin has more bloggers per capita than any place in the country.

Since I have zero proof that Austin has the most bloggers of any place in America, one fact I do know is that Men’s Health Magazine labeled Austin the #8 most socially networked city in America.

Since we boast such awesome blogging talent, I wanted to create a comprehensive list of Austin bloggers for those interested in the Austin scene. We have amazing writers who cover everything from lifestyle, music, food, humor, travel and dating. Take some time and get to know these great Austinites.

If you don’t see one of your favorite Austin blogs listed that may be because a.) I’m only listing blogs that have blogged within the past six month and blog more than once a month and b.) I’m a jackass, I didn’t know that the blog existed and (more…)

April 29, 2015 by hipstercrite

Film, Pop Culture

Why independent films are so important

Sara Colangelo, writer & director of Little Accidents.

Last week, I had the pleasure of briefly working with Sundance Film Forward as they screened two of their festival films, Little Accidents and Imperial Dreams, in Austin (with additional screenings in San Marcos and San Antonio).

Film Forward, in partnership with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings socially relevant, independent films, along with their respective filmmakers, to communities across the globe. Screenings have taken place everywhere from Californian border towns to Kenyan refugee camps, and they are always free and open to the public.

Watching this year’s selected films- Imperial Dreams, Malik Vitthal’s depiction of an ex-con in South Central trying to make a better life for he and (more…)

March 3, 2015 by hipstercrite

Austin, Film, Pop Culture

Sundance is coming to Austin with free, public screenings

Since its inception, Sundance has worked diligently to showcase thought-provoking films from up-and-coming talent. This mission was amplified in 2011 by the creation of Sundance Film Forward, a touring program of the Institute’s most culturally relevant films. Each year, Film Forward brings eight films and their respective filmmakers to communities across the globe, offering free screenings and workshops and fostering dialogue around the societal issues the selected films present.

This coming Monday and Tuesday, February 23rd and 24th, Film Forward will be in Austin screening two features: Imperial Dreams and Little Accidents. Imperial Dreams, the Sundance 2015 audience award winner written and directed by Malik Vitthal, demonstrates in gritty detail the daily challenges, big and small, that ex-convicts, particularly people of color, face after leaving prison. In Sara Colangelo’s Little Accidents, the first-time filmmaker tenderly imagines the gamut of emotions one small Appalachian (more…)

February 20, 2015 by hipstercrite

Film, Pop Culture

Help Bring What We Do in the Shadows to ‘Merica!

Last year, I saw one of the funniest movies ever.

I’m often full of hyperboles, but I’m not shitting you here.

It’s called What We Do in the Shadows and stars the film’s writers and directors, New Zealanders Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement.

I watched the film at SXSW 2014 (it initially premiered at Sundance 2014), and I nearly crapped myself. From laughter. Not the free SXSW tacos.

Imagine This is Spinal Tap but with lovable vampires from New Zealand.

Are you imagining it?

Now imagine yourself riding a horse bareback with Fabio.

For the past 11 months, I’ve anxiously awaited the US release of What We Do in the Shadows. I even tweeted at the film’s official Twitter account, @deliciousnecks, hoping for some answers. I was told that a release would come very soon.

So, that brings me today.I was tooling around Kickstarter and was surprised to discover a campaign posted by Jemaine Clement asking for funds to do a US release for What We Do in the Shadows.

I had two (more…)

February 10, 2015 by hipstercrite

Film, Pop Culture

The World is F’ed Up Right Now, So I Wrote Some X-files Fan Fiction

Guys, shit is fucked up in the world right now, so I wrote some X-files fan fiction.

I hope you enjoy it.

As I’ve shared before, I spent a lot of my teenage years dreaming about the lives of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (mostly about them getting it on.)

Even now, when I have trouble sleeping, my imagination picks up where the show and second movie left off.

I think about this shit a lot, so I thought I’d write it down.

So, if you’re a weirdo like me, I hope you enjoy.

And please don’t judge my writing; it’s fan fiction.

(P.S. Writing about sexy times is hard for me, so it might take a couple of bottles of wine before I write sexy-fun-time-stuff.)

—-

When we last saw Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, they were clinging to one another in a New Mexico hotel bed, desperately staving off fear and hopelessness. They had just discovered that the end of the world was near, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Side note: In the world of X-files, the end of the world (more…)

November 6, 2014 by hipstercrite

Austin, Fashion/Design, Film, Music, Pop Culture

12 Austin-Themed Halloween Costume Ideas

Hey, Austinite!

Still need a costume idea?

Well, I gotta list for you.

Check it: all Austin-themed costumes.

I’ve got costumes for people of all races, ages and genders. Some costumes poke fun, while others are meant to honor Austin’s greatest heroes.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Matthew McConaughey
Top: Just Keep Livin’ shirt featuring words of wisdom by McConaughey (these babies can be found at Dillards)
Bottom: Shorts
Shoes: Flip flops
Accessories: Bongos, sunglasses
Notes: Clothing optional

source

Romeo Rose
Top: A Renaissance or “Purple Rain” shirt from the Halloween store
Bottom: Printed pants- the more garish, the better
Shoes: Pointed cowboy boots
Accessories: Buck teeth, necklace of your initials, a rose, smarm

source

Jeremiah the Innocent (a.k.a. the Hi, How Are You? Frog)
Top: White t-shirt with “Hi, How Are You?” written in scraggily writing
Bottom: White pants
Shoes: Paper mache frog hands and feet
Accessories: Headband affixed with pipe cleaners (more…)

October 30, 2014 by hipstercrite

Film, Pop Culture

Help the historic Texas Theatre become even more awesome

Texas Theatre Oak Cliff

My friends over at the Texas Theatre in Dallas are running a Seed & Spark campaign to add digital projection to their theater.

And this blog post is to encourage you to consider donating to them.

Why the hell should I help the Texas Theatre get a digital projector, you ask?

Well for one, a digital projector, in conjunction with their current 35mm projector, will help the theater expand their business and continue to stay around for many years to come.

And, the reason why the Texas Theatre should be around for many years to come is because it’s a historical landmark. Not only was the theater founded by Howard Hughes (and boasts the first movie theater AC unit in Texas), but it’s also the location where Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended after “assassinating” Kennedy.

How do you like them apples?

Hughes and Oswald.

Both Texans.

Both crazies.

This Oak Cliff gem takes a creative cue from funky film theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse. At this theater, libations (more…)

October 27, 2014 by hipstercrite

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