With the faith of a thousand men, Pastor Richard Gazowsky set out ten years ago on a divine mission: to make the greatest film ever made. Nevermind that the first film he ever saw was The Lion King, at the tender age of 40. Nevermind that he had absolutely no background in directing, editing, or producing an epic so grand that it's concept was enthusiastically described as "The Ten Commandments meets Star Wars." Nevermind that his only solid source of funding was the generous tithes of his congregation at the Voice of Pentecost Church. more ›

FRIDAY [9] art • Grand Opening Party for DRAW, 150 artists strong at Gallery Lombardi (7pm - 10pm) comedy • Todd Barry, Matt Bearden at Emo's Lounge music • Deerhoof, Macromantics, Experimental Dental School at Emo's music • Primordial Undermind at End of an Ear (6pm, Free) music • The Everyday People CD Release Show with The Hero Factor, Live Oak Decline at The Parish Room music • Lucinda Williams, Heartless Bastards at Stubb's... more ›

THURSDAY [8] film • Super Happy fun Monkey Bash 5 at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Now That's What I Call a Singalong: Pop Royalty at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Terror Thursday: The Beast Must Die at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown art • Opening Reception for "In My Stairwell" by Mark Seliger at Fielding Lecht Gallery (6-9pm) art • Artistic License: Matthew Day Jackson at The Blanton (6-7pm) art • Public Tour: The Geometry... more ›

WEDNESDAY [7] music • The Shins, Viva Voce at The Backyard music • Love and Dancing, with Daetron Vargas, Disco Nihilist, Majora Y Minora, and John Gomi at The Peacock music • Spinto Band, Dios, The Changes at Emo's music • Invincible Czars, Bee vs Moth, Golden Arm Trio at Emo's Lounge music • Woodgrain Wednesday with Bavu Blakes, DJ Rapid Ric, D-Madness at The Parish Room music • Patty Griffin at Waterloo Records... more ›

TUESDAY [6] books • Utter Reading Series with Frances Schenkkan and Lori Aurelia at BookPeople (7:00pm) books • Poetry Reading with Dana Gioia, Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts at Harry Ransom Center (7:00pm) books • Nate Blakeslee presents Tulia: Race, Concaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town at Austin History Center (7:00pm) film • For the Love of Dolly at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • AFS Essential screens Turtles Can... more ›

Ed Note: Please note that the Mobile Art Place opening party mentioned yesterday is not actually free, but is open to those attending Night at the Galleries. Sorry for the inconvenience. FRIDAY [23] music • Maneja Beto, The Interest Kills, The Laughing, White Denim at The Compound ($5, 18+, 9pm, 1300 East 4th Street) comedy • The Frank Mills perform their new sketch show, "One Classy-Ass Show," at Blue Theatre (DEETS) books • Abriendo Brecha... more ›

THURSDAY [22] art • Opening Reception: Owen McAuley at d berman Gallery (6-8pm) comedy • The Frank Mills perform their new sketch show, "One Classy-Ass Show," at Blue Theatre (DEETS) party • Misprint Magazine's Beard & Moustache Competition with performances by Sharp Dressed Men (ZZTop Tribute Band), hosted by Matt Bearden, DJ sets by Stay Gold at Club de Ville (9pm) art • Artistic License: Blanton artist Fabian Marcaccio discusses his work, which is... more ›

We had a chance to check out The Lion King at Bass Concert Hall this past weekend, and we're pleased to admit that it exceeded even the high expectations our friends and colleagues had set for us. The musical adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated hit follows the same storyline and brings back most, if not all, of the original soundtrack, with a smattering of new songs inserted throughout. While most of the cast held... more ›

TUESDAY [20] books • Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan presents Rollergirl: Totally True Tales From The Track at BookPeople (7:00pm) film • TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze Pizza Party at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Polyester at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • AFS Essential: Iron Island at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar music • The Roots with Lupe Fiasco at Stubb's (Early, Sold Out) music • Kodo Drummers at The Paramount Theatre music • Hilary York... more ›

FRIDAY [16] music •Of Montreal, Elekibass, DJ Jester the Filipino Fist at Emo's (outside) music •Those Peabodys, Ume, Oh, Beast!, El Paso Hot Button at Emo's music •Spank Dance Company, Hello Lovers at Emo's Lounge music •Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Reckless Kelly at La Zona Rosa music •Long John Thomas & The Duff, Bellfuries, Eddie Clendening & The Blue Ribbon Boys, The Aquasonics at Continental Club music •Bruce Robison at Cactus Café (9pm,... more ›

THURSDAY [15] benefit •St. Valentine's Day-After Massacre, A Spay/Neuter Fundraiser at Mother Egan's (5:30pm-7pm) art •Public Tour: Michener and Modernism at Blanton Museum (7:00 - 8:00 PM) art •Public Tour: By the River by Radcliffe Bailey at Blanton Museum (12:30 - 1:00 PM) ballet •Ballet Austin presents Director's Choice at The Paramount Theatre (8pm) film •Flicker Film Festival at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film •Love Bites: The 80s Power Ballad Singalong at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown... more ›

Tickets for next spring's limited engagement of The Lion King went on sale this Saturday morning at 7am, with the first three hours reserved for in-person buyers. The first ticket buyer began camping out at 2:45pm on Friday—Katie Dominguez (left) made the trek all the way from Corpus Christi to secure optimal seats as a surprise for her three grandchildren. Awww! Hundreds were lined up by the time the box office opened; those waiting in... more ›

Tickets for the hotly anticipated Broadway Across America performances of The Lion King at Bass Concert Hall go on sale tomorrow morning. An insider tipster tells us that there's already someone lined up. As the limited engagement is almost guaranteed to sell out, UT PAC recomends that you show up in advance before tomorrow morning's ticket sale begins. For the first three hours, tickets are only available in person at the Bass Concert Hall box... more ›

Some interesting cinematic offerings for you today, movie lovers. Much better than the dismal choices of last week (we read a review somewhere on the internerd in which the writer compared watching Aeon Flux to receiving an anal probe. Harsh). So cozy up in a theatre this weekend with one or more of this week’s new movie releases. *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Forget the Christian undertones (or... more ›

The first annual Fantastic Fest kicks off this week, beginning on Thursday night and running through Sunday. Fantastic Fest is the brainchild of Paul Alvarado-Dykstra and Tim McCanlies, and they have compiled almost two dozen feature films from a dozen countries. This new festival showcases the latest live-action and animated films in the genres of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. The lineup includes: previews of Jon Favreau’s Zathura, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City:... more ›