Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 22

Screen Magazine - Index

Screen Magazine - Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 22 - Index

By Bob Hudgins
Director, Texas Film Commission
Here in Austin, we’ve recently finished the 14th
annual Austin Film Festival, the only one I know
of that focuses on the craft of screenwriting.
With four days of panels, eight days of films at
seven venues, and 3,000 attendees, there’s a very
noticeable surge of energy in downtown Austin.
At 85 different panels, attendees learn from
the best. Presenters this year included John
Milius, Oliver Stone, Jim Dauterive, Terry
George, Barry Josephson, Daniel Petrie, Jr.,
Tommy Schlamme…wow.
With the Texas Film Commission’s ongoing
support of our gaming industry, I appreciate the
festival’s inclusion of a panel examining the close
fit between the gaming and film industries, with
specific guidance on writing for games.
A budgeting panel, moderated by David Valdes,
featured Texas-based line producers/production
managers sharing their experiences with a range
of budgets, from $150,000 up to $100+ million.
Where else could you learn all this in one place?
Texas product at this year’s festival included:
• “Kabluey,” an independent comedy shot in
Austin last year.
• “A Yeti in the City,” another indie shot in
Austin.
• Oliver Stone presenting “Born on the Fourth
of July,” shot in the Dallas area in 1988.
• The documentary “Dirt Road to Psychedelia:
Austin, Texas During the 1960s.” Need I say
more?
• “The Bracelet of Borfeaux,” an independent
family film shot in the Houston area.
• The Texas Filmmakers Showcase, a compilation
of short films from Texas filmmakers. A big thankyou
to the Houston Film Commission for this one.
For 13 years, they’ve solicited shorts from Texas
residents and put the top choices into a featurelength
program. They present that program, and
the filmmakers, at the DGA Theater in Los
Angeles, and from there the program hits the
festival circuit. Great work, guys!
So, better make plans now to be in Austin
next October.
On a different topic, I hope you’ll take a look at
a gorgeous new book tied to an iconic television
event. “Lonesome Dove” screenwriter/executive
producer Bill Wittliff has just published “A Book
of Photographs From Lonesome Dove.”
These aren’t production stills. Rather, if a gifted
photographer and artist had ridden along on that
1870s cattle drive, this would have been the
result. See a selection of photos at an extensive
online exhibit of production materials from
the miniseries (www.library.txstate.edu/swwc/
ld/ldexhibit.html), and then buy the book from
The University of Texas press (www.utexas.
edu/utpress). Let the Christmas shopping begin.
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