Spiral follows a lonely, nerdy telemarketer who sketches portraits as a hobby. But when he begins sketching a hot new ladyfriend (Amber Tamblyn), shocking secrets from his past begin to emerge. If the reviews on the Fantastic Fest B-Side site are any indication, it's quite good....

MovieMaker Magazine has just named Austin the "Number One City to Live, Work and Make Movies". This is the seventh year in a row that Austin has placed in the top three, and the second time we've been numero uno (unseating longtime fave New York City, which slipped all the way down to #4 this year)....

Production still courtesy of Troma Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead w/ Lloyd Kaufman Live! Friday, December 7thAlamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (17329 Research Blvd)(7:30pm, $10)[info] | [tickets]Over the course of the last thirty-three years, Lloyd Kaufman's Troma Entertainment has produced hundreds of films, attracted legions of devoted fans, and influenced the likes of Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Trey Parker, Eli Roth and Takashi Miike. In fact, by Kaufman's estimation, the studio now owns more than......

Photo from ImageAfter Starting today, we'll be publishing a weekly roundup of various arts & entertainment news that we've come across. Most of these developments, whether national or international, have a direct relationship with something local, whether it be an organization, individual, or our collective culture. In any case, it's a nice chance to broaden our world view -- a definite bonus (or necessity, some might argue) for a city that revels in creativity! --......

Last New Year’s Eve, experimental film artist Luke Savisky gave us the eye. This Halloween season, he'll create a surreal urban oasis on film at one of Austin’s historic parks. It may be hard to top images of a giant eyeball projected on to a downtown water tower, but Savisky’s latest large-scale film installation promises to be just as imaginative—and maybe just a little less creepy. On Friday night, Savisky will present Film Actions VI:......

Don't you just love surprises? We do! Especially ones that involve movies and John Cusack. So we were excited to hear that Grace Is Gone will screen as one of four top-secret "TBA" films at this year's Austin Film Festival. The film stars Cusack (in what some are already calling an Oscar-worthy performance) as a middle-class American father who can't figure out how to tell his two young daughters that their mother has been killed......

These days, when it ain't raining, it's blazing hot--definite shorts weather. So put on your short-shorts and head over to Salvage Vanguard Theatre next Wednesday for an assortment of offbeat short movies, all of which will quench your thirst for knowledge just like a Shiner quenches actual thirst. From car crashes to dead dogs to hustlas from Galveston, these films have it all: The Aftermath on Meadowlark Lane (David and Nathan Zellner) A car crash......

Having just recovered from the chocolate bunny/Peeps induced haze that characterizes the beginning of the Easter season in los Estados Unidos (the United States to the gringos), we found Claudia Llosa's first feature film depicting the religious festivities of the indigenous Peruvian town “Manayaycuna” to be much more shocking than our cotton-tailed-capitalistic-glut could ever hope to be. We are introduced to Madeinusa (pronounced “Mah-daya-noosa” and played luminously by Magaly Solier), the charming daughter of Cayo......

The following is a letter written by Le and Thomas Popov, owners of South Congress boutique FactoryPeople. As life-long independent music lovers and long-time Austinites (at least one of has lived here since 1989), we have come to love mid-March when the SXSW Music Festival brings Austin to life. After the events of this year's fest, it’s unlikely we’ll ever feel the same affection for SXSW. On Thursday, March 15th, an inspector of the City......

Runners' High Documentary Feature Competition Screening Info: 2:30pm October 21st at Hideout Regional Premiere. The Toronto Star says, "It's pure inspiration every step of the way." The SF Bay Guardian raves, "Inspirational Sports Movies are hard to beat and this one is particularly potent." When teenagers from one of the nation’s toughest neighborhoods in Oakland, California sign up to train for a marathon, they begin the journey of a lifetime. Runners High is an......

The Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (aGLIFF) runs from Friday, September 29th through October 8th. Check out the films that will be screening tomorrow night, below the jump. [aGLIFF Official Site] aGLIFF 19: "Say What?" Friday, September 29 – Sunday, October 8, 2006 Regal’s Arbor Cinema (9828 Great Hills Trail) [map] Tickets Available Now Photo from Eating Out 2......

Imagine you’re on a bus traveling halfway across the country to your destination. A destination that, in your mind will mark you a “winner” or a “loser” in life. It’s your life’s ambition waiting there, so you go. On the bus are the people your mother warned you about, types you normally wouldn’t associate with in life: An aged heroin sniffer with a porn collection; a self-imposed mute teenager who worships Nietzsche and communicates......

In the creation of art there tends to be waste. Chunks of clay hit the floor. Dollops of paint dried, and unusable on a palette. Volumes of words that go unread. In the echelon of genius, it can be the artist himself that becomes the sacrifice of the pursuit. It’s this idea that is borne out of Jeff Feuerzeig’s, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a chronicle of the life of a living artistic icon......

Nearly five months ago, seven Austinites showed their movie at the Sundance Film Festival. Now three are headed to France for Cannes, which runs May 11 to May 22. Among the lucky are Robert Rodriguez’s "Sin City" (shocker) which will compete in the main program. A low budget thriller called "Room" by Kyle Henry, a University of Texas alumnus, is showing in the Director’s Fortnight program. Keun-Pyo Park, a UT graduate film student, will screen......