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?...

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!...

Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater and Jesse Harris walk the red carpet at Austin Film Society's screening of "The Hottest State" Wednesday at the Paramount. Photos by Kristin B. If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.......

Hot on the heels of the Austin City Council rolling out the incentive red carpet to keep Friday Night Lights turned on, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1634 this weekend, also known as the Texas Film Incentive Program. The bill, authored by Rep. Dawnna Dukes (Austin, represent!) and spearheaded by Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) along side our very own Governor Rick Perry, will set aside $20 million worth of incentives to entice future productions......

We're just about to head to the grocery store to stock up on champagne and salty snacks for this weekend's award show marathon, but for those of you who like to venture beyond the comfort of your living rooms for these kinds of events, here are some party options: Tomorrow, you can join the Austin Film Society at Ringer's Sports Lounge where they'll be hosting a viewing party for the Independent's Spirit Awards. Two Austinites......

The premier of Clerks II is going on right now at the Paramount. The red carpet was rolled out for Kevin Smith and, well, that's it. The director was the only star who made the stroll. "Where's Jason?!?" someone shouted, referring to Jason Mewes, aka "Jay." "He's back out in L.A.," Smith shouted back. We guess if Mewes had too many commitments to attend to, it was foolish to hope for a Rosario Dawson sighting.......

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......

[The following is an editorial column by contributor Alison Coffey and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors] In the tradition of Neal Pollack's Salon.com Grammy's post, I've decided to take us on a live tour of this year's Academy Awards, minute by minute, hour by hour, boring acceptance speech by boring acceptance speech. Well, I hope not, but odds are, the acceptance speeches are going to be boring.......

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......