A bearded Nick Offerman, sporting not the trademark Ron Swanson coiffure, but a svelte buzz cut, sauntered onto the historic Paramount Theatre stage shirtless, his exposed, barreled torso garnering charmed gasps from the audience. He took his time draping himself in a button-down shirt that can only be described as a perfect marriage of “Born in the U.S.A.” Americana and Garth Brooks-era brushpopper. more ›

Point Blank (Regal Arbor, Violet Crown Cinema) This relentless thriller from French director Fred Cavaye wastes no time throwing you into the action. The movie begins with a chase scene and barely stops to let you catch your breath over the course of its 84-minute running time. more ›

This weekend's lone indie release is an import that features a few notable American actors. This one debuted on the festival circuit back in 2009 when it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was acquired for the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films and started playing bigger markets back in April. more ›

Coming to the Paramount this Saturday and Sunday: 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's and 1963's Charade, both featuring the effervescent Audrey Hepburn. These two films share something else in common, as they are both scored with music by prolific composer Henry Mancini. more ›

First-time director Richard Ayoade honed his skills in television comedy with hit British shows like The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd. More recently he's crossed the pond to direct a few episodes of NBC's Community. more ›

The later films of Orson Welles are being featured at the Paramount this week. They were supposed to start tonight, but a sold-out special screening of Terrence Malick's Tree of Life is on instead. Tomorrow night, 1958's Touch of Evil and 1973's F for Fake will be shown, and the Paramount will even have costume pieces formerly worn by Welles on display for the screenings! more ›

One of our favorite things to do during a steamy Austin summer is to enjoy a classic film in the cool air-conditioning of Austin's historic Paramount Theatre. The 2011 Paramount Summer Classic Film Series schedule was released a couple weeks ago; this summer's selections are a diverse mix of some very familiar titles and some foreign and lesser-known. more ›

One of the World Premiere screenings at SXSW this year is Rodman Flender's documentary Conan O'Brien Can't Stop. After O'Brien's highly publicized parting with NBC, the comedian embarked on the “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour.” This film follows the 32-city tour and is packed with intimate behind-the-scenes footage. more ›

Two very different 1940's road films will be showing at the Paramount this weekend: 1941's Sullivan's Travels and 1942's Road to Morocco. more ›

Most Austin film fanatics have caught a screening at the historic Paramount Theatre, perhaps as part of SXSW or Austin Film Festival's red carpet premieres or the famed Summer Series, but many don't know that the Paramount hosts regular film events and plans to broaden their calendar in the coming year with the assistance of their new Film Programmer. The theatre attracts both big-ticket shows and classic staples, so it's no surprise that they chose to hire local cinephile Jesse Trussell to help expand their offerings. Trussell previously worked as the Film Competition Programmer and the Young Filmmaker's Program Director at Austin Film Festival, and most recently managed accounts for distribution powerhouse B-Side Entertainment (now the Independent Filmmaker Project); additionally, he's curated his own outdoor summer screening series, hosted panels at a variety of festivals, started grassroots efforts to publicize personal favorites (like the now-in-theaters Greek masterpiece, "Dogtooth") -- plus, we guarantee his encyclopedic knowledge of film lore is an asset to any trivia night team. We sat down with Jesse to discuss the future of the Paramount and his thoughts on Austin cinema. more ›

OK. How could you possibly make literature better? Well, for starters, you take out the wimpy friendliness of it all. Next, you get really real and unleash some bloodthirsty writers’ words upon each other. Then some less bloodthirsty but perhaps more famous writers adjudicate on things unrelated to the aforementioned bloodthirsty writers’ words. Then, as one might expect, you make the writers compete in a final round of no literary merit. Which is to say, it is unliterary. There - you made literature better! more ›

By now, you're probably either with Joanna Newsom or you're against her, but one thing can be said for sure: there's no one else quite like her. The super-skilled fashion aficionada, music video star, world-class pop harpist, and crush for boys and girls around the world is touring in support of her maniacally ambitious triple-LP Have One On Me, which is such a complex work people are still trying to entangle its many threads nearly seven months after its release. more ›

As we near the end of summer, things are slowing down for high quality new releases. This is a good chance to catch up on some of the great films that are still playing in town that you may have been too busy to see (like I Am Love, Winter's Bone and Get Low). more ›

This weekend, you’re in for a treat. Tonight through Saturday, the Paramount's Summer Film Series will be bringing us 1961's film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical West Side Story, based on Shakespere’s Romeo and Juliet. more ›

One of our favorite Austin landmarks, the Paramount Theatre, started repairs on its almost 100-year-old plumbing system this morning. The Paramount says that work "is being done to repair plumbing problems that require immediate attention." Programming will continue as usual (but the downstairs men's room may be closed since a large hole has been dug in the concrete in front of it). At this point, the estimates for these improvements on the aged plumbing system range from between $10,000 to $20,000. Paramount is accepting donations towards these repairs; donations of $250 or more could get you a DVD of home-improvement classics . [Paramount Theatre] more ›

It's a historic weekend here in Austin for film lovers as the iconic Dobie Theatre is closing its doors on Sunday night. It remains to be seen if new owners will come to the rescue, but Landmark is still opening two local exclusives on Friday afternoon if you want to get out for one last screening. more ›

If you need help planning a trip to the movies, here are some of the weekend's highlights across town: more ›

My Generation doesn't air on network TV until September 23, but an exclusive screening of the pilot will be held at the Paramount Theatre downtown next Tuesday evening, August 17. They will be gauging what locals think of the show, and some people who leave feedback may appear on TV. RSVP is required; RSVP here. more ›

Living in Austin gives film fans more choices than just the wide releases that flood the multiplex. Here's a look at some of the smaller films and special events opening across town this weekend. more ›

Look at him over there, coyly twisting that blade between his fingers! Who wouldn't want to get a closer look at that! If you missed the heads-up about Anthony Bourdain's two-day Austin tour, let us remind you that Mr. Insatiable will be appearing Monday, June 28th at 8PM for a reading from his latest book Medium Raw followed by Q&A at the Paramount Theater. No reservations (see what we just did there)? There may be a limited number of seats available the evening of the performance at the Paramount Box Office starting 20 minutes before the show or at the discretion of House Management. more ›

The Paramount Theatre's Summer Classic Film Series had a baby and they've been keeping it under wraps. They named it the Winter Film Series and it's been taking place under the radar. If you happened to miss the Mel Brooks tribute and the Tim Burton double feature, you can still get all fantastical whilst oozing romanticism with their nod to Australian director Baz Luhrmann this Saturday and Sunday. more ›

The Paramount continues their Depression-era comedy theme for the month with 1936's My Man Godfrey and 1937's Easy Living showing Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Both of these comedies throw everyday folk (if you can call a "forgotten man" everyday folk) into strange circumstances involving wealthy families. more ›

Tonight and tomorrow night, the Paramount Theater will be screening two classic favorites starring Cary Grant: 1940's The Philadelphia Story and 1937's The Awful Truth. Both films feature Grant as a wealthy divorcee and both are certain to make you laugh. more ›

Casablanca Kicks Off The Paramount's Summer Film Series. Come see Casablanca tonight on the big screen at The Paramount. The opening night of the Summer Film Series features the greatest expat, war-torn-love, girl-in-a-bar-story ever. There's no better venue in town to see Bogart & Bergman on the big screen and be transported back to 1942, when the film was screened there in its original run. We'll always have . . . The Paramount — that is, if you make it tonight, kid. $8 tickets should be available at the door. more ›

Kicking off in early October with American novelist and general literary badass Elizabeth Gilbert, the Paramount will play host to a variety of big productions (Of Mice and Men, Cirque Shanghai, Stomp), musicians (Rufus Wainwright, Wynton Marsalis, Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band), and heroes of public radio (David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell) through next May. Other notable surprises among the schedule include John Waters' doubtlessly over-the-top 'Holiday Show', the adorably rascally Don Rickles, and actress Diane Keaton. more ›

Bill Callahan has announced his summer tour dates, including a final show here in Austin at the Parish on July 5. more ›

Sometimes a person's name seems to dictate the profession they'll pursue. (Was there ever any real doubt that Will Wynn would find himself in politics?) If your parents saddle you with a moniker like "Mike Super", the odds are you'll have an easier time succeeding with a career as a performing stage magician than, say, a trial lawyer. Super's name might have been enough to get him in the door, but his stage persona—part Midwestern "aww shucks" type, part pop culture-obsessed motormouth—makes his magic show succeed as a 90+ minute performance. more ›

The more essential an artist is, the more difficult to introduce them. Often the best thing to do is offer no more than their name and maybe the title of the album before pressing the play button. As difficult as Kottke may be to satisfactorily introduce—cliché terms such as ‘pioneer’ and ‘prodigy’ will inevitably aboud—it’s more difficult to mention his iconic folk status while conveying at the same time the uniqueness of his acoustic guitar within the genre, to describe the way he can sound simultaneously classic and fresh. Happily, just one listen to "Vaseline Machine Gun," which opens with a bottleneck version of "Taps," will get us there. more ›