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SXSW

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
Austin, Film, Music, Pop Culture, Writing

Has SXSW Music Gotten Too Big For Its Britches?

SXSW crowd

 via www.lauragibsonmusic.com

 

Well, SXSW is over.

We all survived.

We had a busy week with our film, Loves Her Gun. I won’t bore you with the details, but if you’re interested in reading reviews, awards etc. that the film received, check out our Facebook page.

Participating in the film portion of the festival spoils you. It’s contained and organized, no unofficial events surround it and you casually run into peers and friends within the Austin film community and beyond. It is always a pleasure and a treat to experience this part of the festival.

I could tell the second that SXSW Film and Interactive had ended and Music began when we tried driving out of our neighborhood. Living on the eastside now means you co-exist with official and unofficial music events. No longer do you have to live a couple of blocks east of downtown to experience this; you can live as far as a few miles away to feel the effect. The story I’m about to tell you I already shared on my Facebook (more…)

March 18, 2013 by
Austin, Film, Hipstercrite Life, Pop Culture

One Week Before SXSW!

lhg

 

It’s one week before SXSW starts and one week and one day before the premiere of our film Loves Her Gun.

I’m nervous and I’m excited and hopeful and fearful.

What if no one likes the film?

What if during the film, the audience collectively rises in a wave of anger, throws vegetables or dead animals they had been hiding in their purses and pockets at the screen and tackle me into the theater seats to ensure my broken arms never write again?

Like George McFly to Marty when he sheepishly explains why he can’t ask Lorraine out, “I don’t know if I could take that kind of a rejection.”

This movie is my density.

I’m scared shitless!

I’ve never experienced anything like this.

Will you still love me even if my dangling broken limbs are covered in tomato juice?

Over the next week, I’ll probably be posting a significant amount about the film since it will be taking up a good chunk of my life.

It’s a tough industry and every share and retweet about our film (more…)

March 1, 2013 by
Austin, Music, Pop Culture, Writing

RSVPster: Revolutionizing the SXSW festival going experience

rsvpster

Have y’all heard of RSVPster, yet?

How could you not with their recent FREAKIN’ AWESOME Forbes interview and all.

This brilliant service created by one Austin woman, Jennifer Sinski, is revolutionizing the festival going experience.

So, we all know how insanely Godzilla-like SXSW has become, right? All the unofficial parties, shows, taco face-stuffing contests and free swag that is open to us is often hard to keep up with. Sinski, who was already the go-to party RSVPer for her friends, came up with the idea in 2011 to have a concierge service that does the SXSW RSVPing for you- all for a mere $40. Not only will RSVPster get you on the list of every open, unofficial party and event at the festival, they will also send you a full calendar of dates and time to update to your iCal or Google Cal.

In its first year, RSVPster proved to be popular and Sinski brought on business partner, Miles Dahmann. Word of mouth spread quickly and the site gained customers and press. Now in its (more…)

February 26, 2013 by
Austin, Pop Culture

SXSW Is Coming…

SXSW is fast approaching and everyone is talkin’ about their plans.

I haven’t RSVP’d for a single party.

This time of year equally attracts me and repels me. The prospects of running into old friends, seeing informative films, meeting interesting folks and watching Dave Foley piss on a wall make me giddy. The knowing that thousands upon thousands of assholes will also be piling into town, causing traffic, taking our parking spots and playing shitty music SCARES THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF ME.

I don’t know how I feel right now.

All I know is this…

double entendre

 

February 27, 2012 by
Austin

Austin Is Changing: How Do You Feel About It?

On my CultureMap column, I’ve written a number of posts about how wonderful Austin is and how much I love this adopted city of mine. For this, I’ve received comments telling me to “go home” and that “I’m the problem with Austin’s recent changes.”

These comments make me think of a conversation I had with a waitress at relatively new neighborhood restaurant here in town. The restaurant does not stay open late and caters towards respectable diners, but that hasn’t stop a disgruntled neighbor from chasing down patrons who park in his neighborhood with a hammer.

I think it’s fair to say that some Austinites don’t like change.

The only other town where I saw physical opposition towards not just newcomers, but visitors too, was Marfa, Texas, where a man in a cowboy hat stalked us down Main Street giving us a sermon about the evil city dwellers from Austin, New York and LA.

Change can suck ass. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

I’ve been here 3 1/2 years and even I can remember (more…)

January 23, 2012 by
Film

When Your Movie is On Netflix

I mentioned awhile back that my boyfriend is a  filmmaker. In the summer of 2011, we wrote a screenplay called Loves Her Gun and shot it in September. We’re working on the edits now. It’s really weird watching footage of something you created. It’s like giving birth…for hours and hours. It’s both bowel-emptying exciting and downright terrifying.

This film is the second one my boyfriend has directed. His first film is an animated love story that takes place on Mars. The film is called MARS. My boyfriend’s last name is Marslett. Needless to say, the word “Mars” is a common word in our vocabulary. The film stars Mark Duplass (“The League”, Cyrus), Kinky Friedman, James Kochalka and Howe Gelb. MARS just premiered on Netflix Instant last week and it’s been in the top 20 most downloaded films for the past eight days.

It’s interesting making a movie. Well, it’s interesting creating anything. There are always going to be lovers and haters. The reviews on Geoff’s film are mixed. Either (more…)

January 5, 2012 by
Austin, Film, Music, Pop Culture

The Characters of SXSW

Austin-based company Software Advice sent me an AWESOME sketch breakdown they did of the different archetypes one would see at SXSW. They’re pretty spot-on. Here is a little snippet below, but you can check out the rest of their hilarious drawings here, or follow them on Twitter here, or ‘like’ their Facebook fan page here.

(Interactive) Aspiring Entrepreneur

“We’re Twitter meets Zynga with an API that transforms the social graph.”

He’s an alpha male in a beta body, rockin’ the hoodie and flip flops – just like Zuck. SXSW Interactive attracts a swarm of these php-smokin’, eager beavers. You’ll find him at “Business Model 101: How To Actually Make Money?,” but he wishes he was at the Android Developer Meetup. You’ll often find the PR Chick and the Venture Capitalist in hot pursuit – a stunning reversal of the social order that was in place during college, last year. At least one of these aspiring entrepreneurs will join the digital elite within a year. And OMG, you totally ordered (more…)

March 18, 2011 by
Austin, Film, Music

The Best Part of SXSW Is…

My friend from college, Joe Nicolosi, is a super talented filmmaker. Everyone in Austin knows it, but now it looks like the world does too! Joe is the filmmaker behind the SXSW “film bumpers” you see before a screening. Truth be told, Joe’s various bumpers are better than many of the movies this year. This guy has real talent and you should check out the video below. Within two days, his short video, Mario, went from 300 Youtube hits to over 300,000 and climbing! I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more of this guy soon…

March 17, 2011 by
Austin, Film, Music, Pop Culture

SXSW Adventures Continued: These Are the Daves I Know

So, the other night we hung out with Dave Foley again. He got us into the green room at the IFC SXSW venue and we hung out with Michael Ian Black, Aziz Ansari, and Thomas Lennon. I was too nervous to say anything to them. The evening then took us all over Austin where at any given time you could see me walking with my arm around Dave Foley, me slapping Dave Foley when he would say something insanely dirty, Dave Foley peeing on the side of a building, and Dave Foley lying down on the ground. Dave was stopped every five minutes with people literally freaking out when they recognized him. Dave got a wee bit tipsy and there is a good chance he may hate us now. It was quite the evening. Here are some snapshots.

March 17, 2011 by