David Milch ("NYPD Blue," "Deadwood"), Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) and Sydney Pollack (Tootsie, Three Days of the Condor) gathered Saturday for the Creating Classic Characters panel at the Austin Film Festival. The conversation quickly became a completely engaging discussion of the craft of writing, managing expectations of the studios, Dostoevsky and much more. Black was his general convivial and vulnerable self, while the affable Pollack spoke with great humility about... more ›

Apparently Snoop Dogg has grown a little tired of just rolling down the street smokin’ indo, sippin’ on gin & juice. So he decided to follow in the footsteps of fellow hip-hoptrepreneur Ice Cube and get himself in the movie game. And you get one of the first looks at his foray into the movie business, as his Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horrors will screen at this year's Austin Film Festival. In addition to the new playa on the block, AFF will also be screening Sydney Pollack's classic Tootsie. Pollack will be in town to receive the inaugural Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the AFF Awards Luncheon, to take place Saturday, October 21 at the Austin Club. more ›

Beyond screening over 100 excellent films, the Austin Film Festival also offers over 60 panels and roundtable discussions, led by more than 100 industry professionals. This year the panels will focus on ‘telling your story by any means necessary.' The panelists will give an informative look into how they sold their scripts, got distribution deals, had their pilots picked up, etc. If you are (or want to be) a writer, producer or director, you... more ›

Sydney Pollack's The Interpreter opened this weekend here in Austin. We saw it at the Gateway, snuggled between a guy with a serious popcorn eating compulsion, and a teenage girl who admired our purse. We ate peanut butter M&Ms accompanied by a small coke -- not a bad dinner by our standards. Yes, sometimes Austinist goes to the movies alone. And we are okay with that. more ›