Make Watch Love Film and Celebrate Austin Studios Day!

With a hopefully ridiculously large pair of scissors, filmmakers Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez will slice through a 70mm celluloid ribbon this evening, commencing the Austin Film Society's Make Watch Love Film Party, celebrating the Grand Re-Opening of Austin Studios. The old airplane hangers on East 51st have gotten a dramatic face lift, thanks to a $5 million bond measure passed by Austin residents in 2006, including full soundproofing and air-conditioning for two stages, improved security and safety, and state-of-the-art digital infrastructure with a 3 wall hard cyclorama (read: gigantic green screen!), which is the largest in Texas.

What does this mean for Austin, you ask? In a word: JOBS. Since its inception in 2001, Austin Studios has brought more than a billion dollars into the Austin economy and the recent improvements give filmmakers, game developers and commercial media greater incentive to continue bringing their work and art to Austin. In fact, as part of the celebration tonight, not only will you be able to tour the 100,000 square feet of renovated studio space while you enjoy food and drinks, but you will also have the chance to rub elbows and possibly drop a resume with some of Austin's premier film, video, digital media and gaming companies. It is a party where you could get a gig, which is the best type of party in our estimation.

Coinciding with the celebration, City of Austin Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken will present a proclamation that January 30, 2009 is "Austin Studios Day" and actress Dana Wheeler-Nicholson of Friday Night Lights will christen Stage Three with a bottle of bubbly. Considering that Governor Rick Perry has proposed $60 million dollars in film incentives for the 2010 Texas State Budget to help lure more productions to our great state, we can only hope that many more days in the future, while not officially proclaimed as such, will be Austin Studios days.