Rock Opera Tour!!!

That's right, Bob Ray is taking "Rock Opera" on the road. And if you live out West, he might be stopping in your town. He's thinking that the tour would take place in September. So if you know of somewhere he can screen in your town, please drop him a line at crashcam@texas.net

He also needs help with finding:

--information on alternative press outlets (weekly paper, underground 'zines, bad ass radio, etc.) --some place to crash out for the night --contacts on folks who might be down for flyering up the town before the flick gets there --colleges & universities that may want to pay us to screen the flick and give a lecture or something

Here's a list of the towns he is going to try and hit: Dallas Albuquerque Denver Boulder Salt Lake City Boise Moskow, ID Missoula, MT Seattle Olympia Vancouver Portland Eugene Chico Humbolt County San Francisco Los Angeles San Diego Tucson Phoenix El Paso

Meanwhile, the film is screening at The NXNE Film & Music Festival in Toronto. "Rock Opera" will be screening at the NXNE music festival's inaugural Film Fest "Sight and Sound." The film will be screening at 3PM on Saturday, June 9th in Toronto, Canada. Hopefully, both Bob (director) and Jerry (lead actor "Toe") will have enough $ to make the trip. Check out http://NXNE.com

And Bob tells me the next "DVD from those bastards over at Lap Dance & CrapTV will contain the 'Rock Opera' trailer along with tons of other miscellaneous whatnot." Look for it at Best Buy and Tower Records. Check out the CrapTV web site for more info: http://craptv.com

Meanwhile, Bob has a ton of new projects underway. First there's the new Nashville Pussy music video for "High as Hell." Bob says, "It's damn near done and (we) should get some airplay in Europe and Canada (it's a bit racy for the states, but who knows). Keep your eyes peeled." I'm hoping we can show it on Lube TV. The vid was directed by Bob and edited by Leah Bowers.

Bob's short, "HillBilly Doomsday" is in the can!! Bob describes HBDD as, "the true tale of two hillbilly brothers that murder their survivalist cousin when they mistakenly assume that December 31, 1999 is the apocalypse." The film stars Jerry Don Clark (Toe from Rock Opera), Michael Dalmon (of "Sweet Thing" fame) and Mark Hanks. Art Direction by Tony Linder (also from Rock Opera). This is the film where Jerry chipped his tooth on a 40 while shooting. Sounds like a hoot.

Finally, Bob has "Wrecked," a short film that will be a part of the feature "Six in Austin." This compilation film will also feature shorts from the Zellner brothers (Plastic Utopia, Frontier), Kat Candler (Cicadas), the Phillips bros. (Some Place New), Gonzo Gonzales (from the Austin Cinemaker Co-op), and Geoff Marslett (Monkey vs. Robot). I'm dying to hear more about this one!

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL 2001 SCREENPLAY COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES

Don't miss the final deadline for the 8th annual Austin Heart of Film Screenplay Competition, and over $15,000 in cash and prizes! Postmarked deadline is May 15. Entry fee: $40.

The June/July 2000 MovieMaker magazine ranks the Heart of Film Screenplay Competition among the top contests for prestige and industry recognition.

The Competition has established itself as a forerunner in connecting undiscovered, talented writers with the industry. Past success stories include Goodbye Lover, Excess Baggage, the independent film Natural Selection, and Disney's Miracle in Lane Two. Every year, invaluable connections are made through the Competition.

Production company judges from the past years include Columbia, Gramercy Films, Universal, Carsey-Werner, Kopelson Entertainment, HBO New York, October Films and Artisan Entertainment, to name a few. The Competition can be the first step in a successful career, and with a little luck, maybe your screenplay will fall into the right producer's hands.

"I spoke to the assistant on the phone at the Farrelly Brothers' production company... I was not going to be allowed even a name to send a query letter to. Then I mentioned I was a finalist at this year's Austin Film Festival. [He] put me right through to his boss..." -- John Acquitane

PRIZES (1 winner per category): Adult/Family Category: $5000 cash, reimbursement of roundtrip airfare (up to $500); hotel compensation while at the Film Festival (up to $500); the AFF Bronze Typewriter award.

Comedy Category : $5000 cash, reimbursement of roundtrip airfare (up to $500); hotel compensation while at the Film Festival (up to $500); the AFF Bronze Typewriter award.

All finalists receive a complimentary Producer's Pass (value: $695) to the Film Festival and Heart of Film Screenwriter's Conference.

All semifinalists may purchase a Producer's Pass for $100. (value: $695)

The winners will also have their screenplays read in Los Angeles at a staged reading with professional actors.

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL 2001 NARRATIVE FILM COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Austin Film Festival is now accepting entries in its narrative film competition. Categories: Feature, Short, Student Short. Early deadline: July 15. Final deadline: August 15.

The 2000 Festival hosted premieres of such critically acclaimed and award-winning films as Julian Schnabel's Before Night Falls, Stephen Daldry's Billy Elliot, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Robert Altman's Dr. T & The Women, Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire, Tamara Davis' Skipped Parts, David Mamet's State and Main, Bahman Ghobadi's A Time For Drunken Horses, Raymond de Felitta's Two Family House, Tonie Marshall's Venus Beauty Institute, and James Gray's The Yards.

At the Festival, you will meet distributors and producers' reps in the casual, friendly atmosphere that the Festival provides. Additionally, Austin film audiences are some of the most savvy and supportive found anywhere. In the last four years, all of the Festival's Feature Film Audience Award winners have received distribution as a result of their Festival screenings.

Past attendees include Robert Altman, Wes Anderson, James L. Brooks, Sandra Bullock, David Chase, Joel & Ethan Coen, Wes Craven, Russell Crowe, Guillermo del Toro, Buck Henry, Tobe Hooper, Dennis Hopper, Mike Judge, John Landis, Lyle Lovett, Paul Mazursky, Matthew McConaughey, Chris McQuarrie, Alexander Payne, Frank Pierson, Polly Platt, Robert Rodriguez, Gary Ross, Eric Roth, David O. Russell, Paul Schrader, Bryan Singer, Whit Stillman, Oliver Stone, Ted Tally, Jim Taylor, Robert Towne, Robert Townsend, Andrew Kevin Walker, Fred Williamson, Owen Wilson, and Steven Zaillian.

Past Film Judges include 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Debra Hill Productions, FilmThreat, HBO, ICM, IFilm, MTV Films, New Market, Sony Pictures Classics, The Sundance Channel, Tri-Mark Pictures, and William Morris.

Winners receive: a cash prize of $1,000 (Feature Category) or $500 (Short and Student Short Categories); reimbursement (up to $500) of one round-trip airfare to Austin to attend the 2001 AFF; hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500); a special Winners Night Screening at the Festival; the AFF Bronze Typewriter Award; and a special Los Angeles screening of their film for industry professionals. Short films screened in competition at the Austin Film Festival are eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award.

I'm pleased to say that our first collaborative effort with the "Bike-In" theater project was a huge success. Well over 50 people filled the side lot of Waterloo Cycles, this past Friday for the hour screening of Cinemaker films, followed by live music.

One of the highlights of the screening was the fact that the films showed to an audience that was largly new to Cinemaker. It's exiting to see Cinemaker films reach broader audiences by collaborating with other grass roots organizations.

And now, for the next "Bike-In" Theater screening in May, CINEMAKER NEEDS YOUR CREATIVE HELP. We're looking for films (preferably under 5 minutes and with a conservative number of splices) for an hour screening program. If you wish to screen an old masterpeice or your newest baby, please drop you Super 8 film and soundtrack through the mail slot outside the Cinemaker office.

The screening is currently scheduled for the third Friday in May. Check your e-mail for details pertaining to the specific time and location as the date approaches.

The Austin Film Society announces the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund 2001, an annual grant awarded to emerging film and video artists in the state of Texas. Since 1996, the Fund has granted $230,000 to 92 filmmakers whose work demonstrates promise, skill, and creativity. These funds have helped individual artists to complete innovative independent projects as varied as the state of Texas.

In September, the Fund will award $50,000 in grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to regionally-produced projects, selected by a national panel of film professionals. Application forms are available by request from:

Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund 1901 East 51st Street Austin, TX 78723 512/322-0145 email: tfpf@austinfilm.org

Applications will be available starting on May 1, and the postmark deadline is July 2, 2001.

During the months of April and May, an informational workshop on how to apply for the Fund will make a statewide tour. Check local listings for dates and times, or contact the Film Society for more information.

Information about the Fund is also available at our website: http://www.austinfilm.org.

Funds are raised each year through film benefit premieres such as Miss Congeniality and Spy Kids, and from a combination of corporate and private donations. TFPF2001 sponsors include Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, the William Morris Agency, Robert Walker, Janis & Joe Pinnelli, Austin Ventures, Joe & Sandra Aragona, Jamie & Jane Frazier, Ross & Laurie Garber, and Jeff & Bonita Garvey.

Information on upcoming events of OffCenter:OnScreen can always be found at http://www.rudemechs.com.

When: Monday, May 14 at 8 pm and 9:30 pm

What: Line Describing a Cone, (1973) by Anthony McCall Film as performance, complete with smoke, mirrors, and audience participation. "... the image is three dimensional, contained in the light-beam from the projector itself. A point of light from the black film, when viewed from beside the projector beam, is seen as a line, in space, running outwards from the projector lens. During thirty minutes the point on the film surface extends to become the circumference of a circle, so that the line from the projector consequently describes the surface of a cone--a time sculpture using 'solid' light."

Tickets: for all shows $5 general admission, $2.50 Cinemaker Coop Members tickets available at the door only

Where: The Off Center 2211-A Hidalgo St. (From IH-35, take 7th Street heading east through three lights. After the third light (Chicon), take a right on Robert T. Martinez at the Popeye's Chicken, and then an immediate left on Hidalgo. There's plenty of free parking)

On view at Women & Their Work, 1710 Lavaca St. May 17 ­ June 23, 2001 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 19th from 6-8 p.m. with an informal gallery talk by the artist at 6:30 p.m.

Serena Lin Bush has created pause a mixed media video installation on view at Women & Their Work through June 23rd . Bush, a Houston video artist, states "my work is all about the in-between places. I am trying to locate a universal experience. The events I depict are common enough but are monumental choices; monumental, but not recognized as such because they are so mundane. The quick flash of fear is one experience that we all share. I am trying to isolate that kind of moment and widen the experience by slowing it down."

A pause is a suspension of time, a lingering spurred by hesitation or uncertainty. Like a set of parentheses, it interjects a space in the midst of an experience already in progress, making way for a necessary breath, a brief aside, or a momentary drift. The elastic space a pause inhabits shapes itself around the activity that happens there. Serena Bush¹s video installations meld the physical and virtual worlds. For her, the camera is a conduit for the reinterpretation of real-time images. Viewers enter into her mises-en-scène literally rather than figuratively: She has created four works for the installation titled pause : lingering doubt, underpinnings, queque and tangent.

"pause" is concerned with the interplay between shaped space and feeling. Each work magnifies the emotional architecture of these pauses, investigating the layered spaces in which we experience them: temporally, with multiple senses; physically, within our bodies; and externally, in the world.

Serena Lin Bush has a M.F.A. in Imaging and Digital Arts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD. and B.F.A. in Painting from Washington University, School of Fine Arts, St Louis, MO. She also studied printmaking at the Printmaking Studio Program at Santa Reparata Graphic Arts Center, Florence, Italy. Bush has had solo exhibitions at Diverse Works Art Space, and Winter Street Art Center in Houston, TX. She has exhibited in numerous invitational and group exhibitions and video screenings in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and Texas. In 1998 and 1997, Bush received Honorable Mention in the ROSEBUD Awards, Washington, D.C. and an Individual Artist Award, New Genre, Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore, MD.

Women & Their Work is a statewide non-profit art organization that presents visual art, theater, film, dance, music, and educational workshops and programming.

The Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) will be holding its 14th edition August 24 through September 6. Join the celebration by submitting your queer film and be part of the largest & oldest gay & lesbian film festival in the Southwest. Submission deadline is June 29, 2001

Download an entry form or submit your film electronically from our website at www.agliff.org

The Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival 1216 East 51st Street Austin, Texas 78723 (512) 302-9889 fax (512) 302-9889 website: www.agliff.org e-mail: film@agliff.org

WHO: Austin Cinemaker Co-op

WHAT: Call for entries, "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS" Super 8 Film-Festival

DEADLINE: May 18th at 6:30 pm at the Cinemaker Co-op

WHERE: 1705 Guadalupe St Suite 201

MORE INFO: (512) 236-8877 or Cinemkr@texas.net

AUSTIN CINEMAKER COOP PRESENTS A CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR ITS NEXT FESTIVAL "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS"

A strange and ineffable world awaits us all just beyond our everyday reality. The Austin Cinemaker Co-op announces its next seasonal Super 8 festival "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS". Open to the Austin public and cinemakers everywhere, "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS" challenges filmmakers to take up their cameras and enter into a fantastical other-world. This is a 4X4, Super 8 festival, so only a maximum of 4 splices allowed, and a maximum running time of 4 minutes! First time filmmakers are encouraged and welcome!

Entry forms are available at the Cinemaker office at 1705 Guadalupe, Suite 201 and at video stores around town. Or give us a call! Deadline is May 16th at 6:30 pm at the Cinemaker office. Entries will be screened in a cinematastic-filmbash on June 3rd and 4th.

Most needed film equipment is available for rental from the Cinemaker Co-op. Stop by our office during equipment rental hours, email cinemkr@texas.net, or call us at 236-8877 for more information.

Since its inception in 1995, Cinematexas has provided a hospitable, diverse and ever-expanding space for landmark films in the American Southwest. It has offered to Austin's hybrid landscape of river valleys, desert and borderland an equally hybrid landscape of locomotive cinema. In today's era of image proliferation and festival commercialization, we position ourselves less as a festival than a place for contemplation and awe, a spontaneous congregation of visual cartographers, a mobile home for intimate nomads. Join us!

Finalists compete, regardless of format, genre and category, for the prestigious Gecko Awards. Up to $25,000 in cash, services and in-kind awards. Submissions open to films and videos under 60 minutes in length completed before January 1, 2000 (U.S.), or January 1, 1999 (all other countries).

LATE DEADLINE: MAY 22, 2001 ($35)

Downloadable entry form available at http://www.cinematexas.org/ Look for "Submissions" or contact us to receive a snail-mail entry form

cinematexas@cinematexas.org (512) 471-6497 tel (512) 471-4077 fax Department of Radio-TV-Film CMA 6.118 University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712 web: http://cinematexas.org

My name is Chris White and I'm one of the Coordinators of a very exciting, new program at aGLIFF, the Gay Youth Media (or GYM) Project. The GYM Project is a program for gay, lesbian, bisexual, questioning, and transgender youth that allows them to learn all aspects of video and film production while also exploring glbt culture, history, and current issues. The final project of the program is the production of a short documentary on a topic chosen and developed by the youth.

In the fall/winter of 2000, the first group of youth successfully completed the GYM Project. We are gearing up to start the next group in time to attend the 2001 Festival. In order to make this program a success, we need to ensure that we receive a decent pool of applicants from which to choose participants. The largest pool of youth with the easiest access is through the Austin Metro school districts which can be difficult to get into, as you know. We are calling upon you to help us find allies within the schools who will be able to put out information or identify students who may be interested in participating in the program. If you or anyone you know would be willing to help get information about this program into our schools and community, please email me at cswhite@mindspring.com or call me at 656-9566. It is only with your assistance that we can make this program a success. Thank you for your time and help.

What does this busy comic have to say about President Clinton last days in the White House? "I hear Bill and Hillary took everything that wasn't nailed down! I guess 8 years in the white house can feel like a hotel and a painting given as a gift can look like a towel?" and regards to Queer As Folk "I had no idea that the men in Pittsburgh were so hot!"

Most recently, Jason was cast in a guest shot on the ABC pilot Me & My Needs. Staring Nicole Sullivan (Mad TV) & Stephen Root (News Radio). Playing the role of the host of the local karaoke bar! In addition to recent episodes of Three Sisters, Providence, The Sausage Factory, The Huntress, Norm, and Will & Grace.

Jason's awaiting the release of two indie films Dawg starring Dennis Leary (Thomas Crown Affair), Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers) and Elaine Hendrix (The Parent Trap) playing the part of a high strung euro-trash photographer. And Ghost Of A Chance opposite Scott Bakula playing the role of an insecure actor. And if that's not enough, he just completed his first starring role in the self-produced feature 10 Attitudes. The film focuses on looking for love in the Millennium and was shot on digital video. Emmy winner Michael Gallant directs this improvisational film. Its costars his pals Alexandra Paul (Baywatch, Melrose Place), Judy Tenuta (HBO), David Faustino (Married With Children), Jim J. Bullock (Too Close For Comfort), Lydia Nicole (Stand and Deliver), Sheila Kay (Venus Attacks), Mitch Hara (Horrible Accident), Scott Kennedy & Sean Kanan (The Bold And The Beautiful). The film is set for the Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival this September.

If you or anyone you know is interested in screening at Flicker #3 (to take place Sunday, May 20th at 8:00pm at the Blue Theater), please let Flicker know soon.

The program is filling up quickly, so don't miss your chance for a coveted spot in Flicker #3!

Submission is FREE! There are only two requirements:

1) the piece originates entirely on film (or some alternative medium like pixelvision)

2) the piece is 15 minutes or under

Don\'t forget you also have until May 20th to submit a Flicker Film grant idea to win $100!

For more info, email flicker@flickeraustin.com or check out http://www.flickeraustin.com

Flicker is a bi-monthly film festival held in Austin, TX that features short films by area filmmakers and all other enthusiasts who dare submit via mail. Submissions to Flicker must originate on film (we accept Super 8, 16mm, and films transferred to VHS) and be under 15 minutes in length. There is no entry fee. www.flickeraustin.com

Send submissions to: Flicker 7907 Doncaster Drive Austin, TX 78745

Alchemy Works seeks submissions of feature-length screenplays by Texas screenwriters for its annual reading series, Movie Midwifing 2001: A Series of New Screenplay Readings & Short Films. Four winning screenplays will be cast with professional actors and performed for the public in Austin, Texas during September, 2001. Prior winners have also received copies of Movie Magic Screenwriter software from Screenplay.com. Entry Fee: $25. Short film submissions are also sought for the series. There is no entry fee for short films. Submissions accepted until May 15, 2001. For entry forms and submission guidelines, send a SASE to Alchemy Works, P.O. Box 3440, Austin, Texas 78764-3440 or go to www.moviemidwifing.com, or email info@moviemidwifing.com.

Ancestral Films proudly announces our Fourth Pan-Cultural Film Festival, January 31 - February 3, 2002. The Festival is organized in association with The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Children's Museum of Houston, Angelika Film Center, Southwest Alternate Media Project, and the Houston Film Commission. The community based film festival stands on the premise that film should be accessible to everyone and that cinema bridges social and cultural boundaries.

The theme of the 2002 Festival is Direct Cinema: Independent Voices and will focus on the work of American independent filmmakers. Special emphasis will be placed on highlighting artists from the Houston area and the State of Texas that have excelled in their professions. Some of them have found their own voices, and others have worked to inspire a whole new cinema consciousness. How do they find their voices? And how do they maintain the integrity of their art?

The Festival will also showcase the work of exciting independent directors from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to share with Houston audiences their passion for their art as well as the social and political climates in which they work. There is increasingly a diverse, fragmented and decentralized pocket of creativity, which reflects "independent voices," breaking boundaries. To appreciate this trend of global cinema, the Houston Pan-Cultural Film Festival presents an excellent opportunity to opening the doors to new aesthetics, new ideas and new voices.

Our popular screenwriting competition, "Set In Texas," focuses on the culture of the people of Texas. Scripts are welcome in all genres and will be judged on artistic merit and extent to which the scripts tell genuine Texas stories. Award categories have been increased from one to THREE: Grand Prize $1,000 cash; 2nd Place receives a digital video camcorder; and 3rd Place receives a scriptwriting software. Our entry fee, $30 is one the smallest because we believe in making it affordable for everyone. ENTRY FORMS will be mailed out in June. Updates and complete rules and regulations can be accessed online our web site www.AncestralFilms.org.

Seminars and workshops will be offered on digital filmmaking (the hottest topic in the industry), script development, grant seeking/fundraising and how to jump-start your career. These workshops and panel discussions are added incentives for festival attendees, aspiring filmmakers and students.

Work is also in progress in cooperation with The Children's Museum of Houston in developing a children's film program and an animation workshop (DIVERSITY ANIJAM) for youth and teenagers between 10 to 17 years old. This workshop exposes our young people to media arts as well as encourages them to appreciate other cultures.

Ancestral Films was founded in 1991 as a non-profit 501 (c)(3) arts organization. Our mission is to stimulate cultural interaction and diversity through the motion picture medium. Become a part of Houston's vibrant artistic and cultural community. There's something in it for everyone. Meet fascinating people from around the world. Your contributions provide critical funding to support our mission of promoting social awareness and diversity through the arts. If you would like to make a contribution or volunteer, call the Festival Office at 713/527-9548. All proceeds go toward the production and exhibition of the Festival. Thank you for your support. Together, we can build a stronger, unified community.

For more information, contact: miranda@ancestralfilms.org

The aGLIFF Garage Sale will take place on Saturday, June 16th, 8am - 5pm, at 600 River St. (behind the MACC). Please contact Bobette Mathis at bmathis@mail.utexas.edu to arrange donation pick-ups.

We very much appreciate all your donations for the sale and throughout the year, for it's because of your support that we're able to keep bringing you films that are important to our community and the film community at large.

Agliff is also looking for a WEB PROGRAMMER. Experienced web application developers wanted to assist with the creation of the aGLIFF Extranet. Knowledge of scripting languages such as PERL,ASP,PHP or C+ helpful as well as experience extracting data from an SQL database using any of these scripting languages. We are very excited about the automation process occurring this year, but need your help to make our goals prior to the Festival in August. At least 10 hours a week is needed for the next 3 months. We need at least 4 more volunteers to ensure we make our goals. If you are interested, please contact Deb Shelby at deb@iensemble.com Check out his website for photos at www.jasonstuart.com or his new column on www.gaywired.com, click to pop and go to Jason Stuart Says.

Austin Film and Entertainment News : The latest info on Screenings in the Austin area, Austin films, actors,and directors, as well as info about Austin's numerous Film Festivals.

Other Indie Film News! : The latest info on Hollywood films, actors, directors, and studios as well as info about Film Festivals and on-line screenings!

Things to do this Week - Check the calendar!

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