Film News

BY JOE O'CONNELL

New 'Life' for Malick film

I told you back in October that Terrence Malick was quietly casting for
a film to be shot in Austin in the spring. According to The Hollywood
Reporter, that film is the long-gestated Tree of Life, with Heath Ledger
and Sean Penn in talks to star. Bob Hudgins of the Texas Film Commission
would neither confirm nor deny reports the film will shoot in Austin
this coming March. "We remain hopeful," he said. The script, once known
as Q, is one Malick is said to have been working on since the Seventies
and originally was a drama set in the Middle East during World War I
with a prologue set in prehistoric times. In 2005, Malick was close to
shooting the film at least partially in India with Colin Farrell
starring. As recently as last year there was talk that part of the
shooting might occur in Malick's hometown of Austin. Penn appeared in
Malick's The Thin Red Line, and Tree of Life's production company, River
Road Entertainment, made Brokeback Mountain, starring Ledger.

AFS welcomes Varnum

Now charged with keeping film writers like yours truly up to date on
Austin Film Society goings-on is Agnes Varnum, the group's new
communications manager. She comes with a solid film background centered
primarily on documentaries and will be responsible for getting out word
on a variety of AFS programs and screenings. She'll continue as an
IndieWire contributor, as well. Varnum previously was a marketing and
publicity associate for First Run/Icarus Films and associate director
for the Center for Social Media at American University.

And the rest ...

"The Second Coming," a University of Texas thesis film by Ya'Ke, won
the, gulp, $20,000 HBO Short Film Award at the recent American Black
Film Festival. The film will begin airing on HBO in February. He is
currently raising funds for his debut feature, Stolen Dreams, which he
hopes to shoot in the fall of 2008... Some say the Austin film scene was
born with the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in the
Seventies. You can see the first film and its first sequel Nov. 17 at
7pm on the lawn of Luling's Francis-Ainsworth House. Allen Danziger
(Jerry the van driver in the original film) and Bill Johnson (the
sequel's Leatherface) will be there to creep you out thoroughly... Paul
Bright wants you to add his film Theft to your Netflix queue. The comedy
formerly known as Theft of the Drag Queen's Wig had its premiere
recently in Houston. Next up is the European Film Market... Ken
Johnson's Spanish-language and Austin-shot feature, El Abandonado!, will
be available for rent from Netflix and evil, evil Blockbuster starting
Dec. 12. He's currently working on follow-up Del Mala Sangre.

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