Doug Benson’s having a busy month. He’ll be performing both of his signature shows at SXSW Comedy this year. He kicked off the South Beach Comedy Festival last week. And, for four glorious days, he’s performing on the 311 Cruise for a boatload of mellow rock fans floating around the Turks and Caicos islands. Pretty rough, right? A veteran of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and a former regular contributor to Best Week Ever, Benson’s perhaps best known for Super High Me, a 2007 semi-mockumentary that uncovers exactly what happens when you and smoke weed every day. He’s also the creator of The Marijuana-Logues, a stage show and book that helped earn him High Times’ Stoner of the Year award in 2006. Aaaand, in 2009, he spearheaded the Medical Marijuana Tour. Seeing a theme? We caught up with Doug to discuss Oscar picks, TSA awkwardness and more. more ›

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has honored animated short films ever since the fifth Oscars in 1932. The first eight winners were Disney productions, with as many as four of the studio's shorts competing against each other for the award in a single year. more ›

It's pretty quiet on local screens as we head into Oscar weekend, but for those of you who still need to catch up, many of the major nominees are still playing across town. It's a great weekend to do that, because there are no major releases that'll be opening today. more ›

• Obama administration drops defense of DOMA
• Wisconsin Gov. pranked by gonzo journalist, reveals union-busting plans
• Clashes reported in Tripoli as pressure mounts on Gaddafi

This weekend, every entertainer you’ve ever heard of is going to be in Los Angeles, and for the first time in a while, it’s not to do a telethon or destroy a semi-sweet memory of a song that really wasn’t that good in the first place. We’re talking, of course, about the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. But yelling at the television isn’t nearly as fun when you’re alone. So hit one of the swingin’ parties going on all over Austin. more ›

• Department of Transportation investigating Prius brake issue.
• President Obama condemns Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill.
• Self-Help Guru faces charges of manslaughter.

• Republicans win governors’ races in New Jersey and Virginia
• Maine voters repeal their state's new law allowing same-sex marriage
• Warren Buffett buys a railroad: Berkshire Hathaway acquires Burlington Northern Santa Fe

• Obama's Blackberry ushers 2002 technology into the White House.
• The First Family causes J.Crew website to crash.
• Oath do over!

The Black Crowes are accusing Maxim Magazine of writing a review of their record without actually listening to it. When Busey Attacks: Gary Busey crashes the Oscars, much to the chagrin of Ryan Seacrest. Over the weekend, Hillary Clinton provides the public with further evidence that she's basically already lost by doing the one thing she shouldn't do: Go even MORE negative. Check this video footage from Rhode Island last Saturday... Ralph Nader's running for President again. We guess he's just bored or something. What other reason could he possibly have? more ›

Tired of staying in your house to watch the Oscars, all seventy hours of them? Want to heckle in the company of others? Couture make you really hungry? more ›

• McCain sex scandal or improper journalism? You decide.
• Here is some raw video of the satellite shoot-down from yesterday.
• Hillary mentions Kirk Watson's gaffe in this campaign video.

So, we know that there is some other film awards show going on this weekend that involves statues and crimson carpets and such, but how many nominees can claim Austin as their hometown? None that we can think of, which is what makes the Film Independent's Spirit Awards a bazillion times more interesting to us than the stodgy old Oscars! more ›

With incredibly varied subject matter, there is sure to be an Oscar nominated film that you really love, that is if you don't fawn over every single one. And, come on, if you hate any of the films, the next picture will start in about 20 minutes, at the most. more ›

• Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his downtown Manhattan apartment by the police. Some reports say he died from an overdose.
• Vermonters get to weigh in this week on a bill before the Legislature that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.
• Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured from the Gaza Strip into Egypt Wednesday after masked gunmen with explosives destroyed most of the seven-mile barrier dividing the border town of Rafah.

Consider Tuesday night another notch in Austin’s bedpost of filmmaking opportunity as the Austin Film Festival debuts its new year-round Conversations in Film series. This first installment “Script to Screen: Making the Short Film” will target the writers among us, but will also be useful to directors and filmmakers who need distribution tips for their shorts. Three Austin area award-winning filmmakers will lead the discussion, as well as screen their most recent/notable shorts:Steve Collins is... more ›

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photo by Aubrey Edwards *The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note Once again, yours truly is rushing to slide in this Austinist column of mine before The Laurie Show hits the airwaves later tonight on KUT 90.5. It's been a hell of a week, kids. In between completing new episodes of Before the Break, inviting The Lovely Sparrows to... more ›

The Golden Globes are not the most esteemed of the arts awards, but their nominations can sometimes be a sign of what films/people/TV shows will be nominated for Oscars and Emmys. If you are into that kind of thing, you probably already picked your favorites when the nominations were announced Thursday morning. more ›

The Austin Film Festival may officially be over, but the good folks at AFF are not done bringing you excellent film. Tonight and tomorrow they team up with the International Documentary Association to present Docuweek, a public theatrical exhibition of outstanding new works that helps to qualify feature and short documentaries for Academy Award considerations. Since its inception 10 years ago, 17 of the screened films have been nominated for Oscars, with 4 winning AFF... more ›

We like beer and nachos with our movies. Even more, we like a double feature. It also makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside to support The Alamo Downtown while drinking beer, eating nachos and watching a double feature. Veritable screaming and writhing ecstasy comes from supporting indie filmmakers while drinking beer, eating nachos and, yes, you guessed it--watching Dear Pillow and Kissing On The Mouth in a special engagement this Thursday, June 15th... more ›

Back in 1996, when Al Gore had only just invented the internet, The Webby Awards were born. A kind of e-Oscar, they recognize online excellence; Webby nominees must possess websites whose "design, creativity, usability and functionality" rise above the rest. Like the Oscars, the Webby Awards are powered by an "academy," in this case The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which boasts such members as David Bowie and Matt Groening. Assuming these... more ›

Torontoist throws down the gauntlet and challenges all comers: pillow fight, bitch. They also stand up for a fellow blogger taking heat from the TTC and welcome city-wide WiFi. SFist can finally admit it: It's possible that Bary Bonds juiced. Is Bay Area artist (tempted to put quotes around that) Thomas Kinkaid "kinda crappy" or "explosively crappy" or does he just like marking territory? SFist wonders. Technology comes in the form of new Mac goodness... more ›

We reviewed Not Clown. Hilarious!. So much good music this weekend. You wouldn't have believed it if you didn't read it here. We might be the best blog in town, but there are plenty of other great ones out there. Jason McElwain, hoops legend. The feel-good story of the year (with video). The Texas re-districting battle takes to the Supreme Court. Round Rock Express tickets went on sale. The Great Mundane prepares to bring... more ›

FRIDAY [3] [music] Ariel Pink, Belong, Weird Weeds and Ralph White at Emo's (Inside) (link) [music] What Made Milwaukee Famous, Deathray Davis, AUX at Emo's (Outside) (link) [music] Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables and Bedouin Soundclash at Stubb's (link) [music] Bucketheard and Kid Beyond at La Zona Rosa (link) [music] Dirty Hearts at End of an Ear (Free, 6pm) (link) [DJ] Whee!Explode! By Learning Secrets and DJ Ian Orth at The Peacock (10pm-2am) (link) [fashion] ATX... more ›

We're sure you've got all of this Sunday reserved for the Oscars (pre-party coverage starts at like noon, people!), so maybe this weekend you should catch up on all your Oscar-nominated movie watching. But just in case you're in the mood for some flicks that will most likely never win Oscars, here are this week's new movie releases, in no particular order. 16 Blocks The release of this film makes us imagine that somewhere... more ›

You might feel lost and confused and out of place in this conservative, W voting, war loving society (well, half of it), but just remember this next time you are thinking about a one way ticket to Canada: Jon Stewart is hosting the Oscars! Y'all, did you hear us? Jon Stewart! Something has to be right in the world. We don't pretend to be experts, but our predictions are: Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman... more ›

It's Tuesday, which means that your local DVD shop has several shiny new titles on the shelf. This week's biggest entry is James Mangold's Walk The Line, a Johnny Cash biopic in the mold of Ray that is up for five Oscars this weekend. The film wisely steers clear of a wide-scope biography, and instead concentrates on Cash's romance with second wife June Carter, his early music career at Sun Records, and his struggles... more ›

Still cryin' in your latte because that invitation to the Oscars Grammys People's Choice Awards never came in the mail this year? Dry your sad-bastard tears because poppa Austinist has found an event just for you. more ›

It could have been a lot worse. Mariah Carey could have walked away with Song, Record, or even Album of the Year; at that point, we would've completely given up on the music industry. Not that we have an extreme degree of faith in the corporate arts as is, but giving the big one to an album titled The Emancipation of Mimi would have all-but confirmed that those people are insane, evil, and totally... more ›

Huh? Whaaa? Where the hell have we been? What day is it? It’s Friday already? It’s 2006 already??? Holy crap. Well, hopefully everyone had a happy holiday and a booze-infused (but responsible) New Year’s. Been to the local Cineplex lately? Maybe you saw Wolf Creek, or Hostel, or Bloodrayne. If so, we hope your friends adequately made fun of you. Perhaps you’ve seen Casanova? Heath Ledger’s career is back on track, baby! Just like... more ›