Photo from KEYEWhen Clarence Swenson was twenty-two, he joined over 100 little people to play a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. Later this month, he (along with the other Oz Munchkins) will be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is one of the nine Munchkins still alive today; seven of the other surviving Munchkins will also attend the ceremony. Swenson appeared in the classic film as a Munchkin soldier. He......

In an unprecedented programming feat of nostalgia and star power, the Alamo Drafthouse has announced it will screen The Wizard--the awesome/corny paean to all things Nintendo--with cast members Fred Savage, Luke Edwards (the titular wizard) and director Todd Holland live in the theatre on December 7th! Sure, The Wizard was really just a 100-minute commercial for Super Mario Brothers 3. But oh what a commercial it was. Starring a just-barely-into-The Wonder Years Fred Savage, a......

The Paramount's awesome Summer Classic Film Series continues this week with some pre-code sexiness, a JAMES BOND DOUBLE FEATURE (can you tell we're excited about that?), a classic superhero flick and a Newman / Redford double-shot. And again we've got some tickets to give away! If you'd like to win tickets to Thursday's James Bond double-bill, follow the jump and fill out the form. Baby Face Tuesday, July 10 @ 7:15 pm Wednesday, July 11......

Sugar, you know it annoys your mama when you slam that screen door, so please close it quietly when you head over to Salvage Vanguard Theater to watch the Screen Door Film Festival. The fest promises to be 101 minutes of clean and dirty fun, with 8 short films ranging from 3 to 26 minutes in length and featuring diverse characters, including soldiers, sniper champions, tadpoles, and angry hookers. We're most excited about seeing "Apocalypse......

For those of you who saw Teen Wolf Too, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights or Ocean’s Twelve, you are apparently not averse to watching extremely bad sequels. We aren’t either, as long as they are accompanied by oversized pints of booze, but “bad” is not what the Alamo Drafthouse and the Fantastic Fest had in mind when they announced their Unnecessary Sequels contest last month. Tonight and tomorrow night, the rotten eggs will finally hatch and......

New music by Cursive, Kelis, Amy Millan, and more...

FRIDAY [30] [books] Dr. Zhi Gang Sha presents Soul Mind Body Medicine: A Complete Soul Healing System for Optimum Health and Vitality at BookPeople (7pm) (link) [music] Ryan Cabrera, Josh Hoge, Jay Buchanan at Stubb's (link) [music] Freddie Steady 5, Go Nova, Pocket Symphonies, Handsome Charlies at Hole in the Wall ($5, 8pm) (link) [music] The Feds and Slider at Flamingo Cantina ($5, 8:30pm) (link) [music] The Weary Boys and Mario Hardluck at Cactus Cafe......

[The following is an editorial column by contributor Alison Coffey and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors] I was walking up Sixth Avenue when Balloon Man came right up to me He was round and fat and spherical with the biggest grin I'd ever seen He bounced on up toward me but before we could be introduced He blew up very suddenly, I guess his name was probably......

Last weekend the Zilker Hillside Theatre hosted Ballet Under the Stars, a free evening ballet performance by the Austin Dance Ensemble. This weekend they bring you yet another wonderful - and free - dose of culture, this time with the Austin Civic Orchestra's Zilker Park Summer Pops Concerts. The program's theme is "Film Scores Through the Decades", and as such they'll be performing themes from movies spanning over seven decades, including The Wizard of......

The Austinist doesn't know if Pink Floyd intended its album "Dark Side of the Moon" to match up with The Wizard of Oz, but it's kind of cool (and at times, eerie) how well the music and movie correlate. See for yourself this week at the Alamo Drafthouse when it shows "The Dark Side of the Rainbow." Let us get all Saturday morning cartoons on you and say "kids, don't try this at home."......