News

In today’s film news roundup, Dermot Mulroney will play a meth head, production wraps on the transgender drama “Relish,” and Tom Everett Scott’s “Danger One” gets a release.

Castings

Dermot Mulroney and Melora Walters have joined the music-inspired independent feature “Hard Luck Love Song” opposite Sophia Bush and Michael Dorman, Variety has learned exclusively.

Commercial director Justin Corsbie will helm from a script he wrote with Nicholl semifinalist Craig Ugoretz, based on the Todd Snider song “Just Like Old Times.” Allison Smith, Douglas Matejka, and Corsbie are producing; executive producers are Peter Scalettar and Christian Monti.

“Hard Luck Love Song” follows Dorman’s down-on-his-luck troubadour, who finds himself at an existential crossroads as his bad decisions catch up with him. His world spins into further upheaval after a chance encounter with an old flame, played by Bush.

Mulroney’s character is a sketchy meth head with a dangerous side.

In celebration of Slacker's 20th anniversary, local filmmakers are re-creating scenes from the Richard Linklater movie for Slacker 2011, a fundraising project benefitting the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund (Tfpf). As we await the August 31 premiere, we're chatting with some of the filmmakers participating in one or more of the short films that will comprise the project -- check out our interviews so far.

Today's interview is with Allison Turrell of Stuck On On. Stuck On On is an Austin company that specializes in post-production/finishing work for films, such as color correction, music composition, voiceovers, sound design, and digital mixing. Stuck On On worked with Austin Film Society and Alamo Drafthouse to help make a finished feature out of the Slacker 2011 segments from individual filmmakers. They've also worked on local movies such as Winnebago Man, Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission, blacktino and Dmt: The Spirit Molecule.

Slackerwood: What got...

Director: Mitch Schultz N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (Dmt) is an endogenous psychoactive compound which exists in humans, as well as numerous species of animals and plants. The natural function of Dmt, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic drug of the tryptamine family, in the human body remains unknown. Dmt (considered a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act of the United States) can produce intense visuals, euphoria and hallucinations but the human body metabolizes Dmt too rapidly for oral administration to be effective, unless of course it is combined with a Maoi. (The traditional South American ayahuasca is a tea mixture containing Dmt with a Maoi -- most commonly comprised of the leaves of Psychotria viridis [the source of Dmt] and the vine Banisteriopsis caapi [the source of Maoi]. How the natives managed to find this combination without the benefits of modern chemistry is a complete mystery.) If smoked or injected Dmt can produce powerful hallucinations and entheogenic activity but only...

One of the best things about attending film festivals is that while seeing a lot of interesting films, you also learn a lot of interesting things. For example, thanks to the intriguing documentary The Spirit Molecule, I now know that dimethyltryptamine is one hell of a great drug.

Better known as Dmt, dimethyltryptamine is the subject of Austin filmmaker Mitch Schultz's über-trippy examination of a drug found in nearly every living organism and considered the world's most powerful psychedelic. Combining stunningly psychedelic animation with thoughtful interviews, The Spirit Molecule is a paean to psychedelic drug use that also asks a lot of questions about the nature of human consciousness.

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After an abbreviated day yesterday, I decided to brave the Hair of the Dog Brunch, which I've never gone to before. Held at Ranch 616 on Nueces, it was simple Texas style fare, but ohhh, soo delicious. I think I found a new brunch spot. I could get addicted to their chorizo scrambled eggs and the shredded beef. Damn, that was good. And the crowds seemed happy, too, not just because staffers and volunteers were handing out Topo Chico mineral water to those waiting in line, but because as people finished eating, the musical chairs seemed to be a blessing, as people got to meet new people.

The Texas Film Commission folks were there, and I chatted with a couple of their staffers for a while, and who joined us, but Alfred Cervantes of the Houston Film commission, and then Andrew Lee and De Ward of The Spirit Molecule. In our conversation,...

Always one of the most enjoyable events of the year, the 17th Austin Film Festival is gearing up to kick-off next month.

The annual event takes place from October 21-28 in Austin, Texas with movies such as Natalie Portman's "Black Swan" on the docket.

With other films set to screen including "Meek's Cutoff," "127 Hours," and "Fair Game," the full lineup is as follows:

Marquee Screenings

"127 Hours" – Danny Boyle (Writer/Director), Simon Beaufoy (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Black Swan" – Darren Aronofsky (Director), Andres Heinz (Writer), John McLaughlin (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Peep World" – Barry W. Blaustein (Director), Peter Himmelstein (Writer) – (U.S. Premiere)

"Bloodworth" – Shane Dax Taylor (Director), W. Earl Brown (Writer) – (World Premiere)

"Blue Valentine" – Derek Cianfrance (Writer/Director), Joey Curtis (Writer), Camille DeLavigne (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Exporting Raymond" – Phil Rosenthal (Director) – (World Premiere)

"Fair Game" – Doug Liman (Director), Jez & John-Henry Butterworth (Writers) – (Regional Premiere)

"High School" – John Stalberg (Writer/Director...

The Austin Film Festival has unveiled the program for its 17th edition, which runs October 21-28.

"Black Swan," "127 Hours," "Peep World," "Meek's Cutoff," "Conviction," "Brother's Justice," "Fair Game," and many more, including 23 U.S. and world premieres and a handful of locally-made projects, will screen at the fest. The opening, centerpiece and closing night films have not yet been announced.

Festival line-up is below:

Marquee Screenings

"127 Hours" – Danny Boyle (Writer/Director), Simon Beaufoy (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Black Swan" – Darren Aronofsky (Director), Andres Heinz (Writer), John McLaughlin (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Peep World" – Barry W. Blaustein (Director), Peter Himmelstein (Writer) – (U.S. Premiere)

"Bloodworth" – Shane Dax Taylor (Director), W. Earl Brown (Writer) – (World Premiere)

"Blue Valentine" – Derek Cianfrance (Writer/Director), Joey Curtis (Writer), Camille DeLavigne (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Exporting Raymond" – Phil Rosenthal (Director) – (World Premiere)

"Fair Game" – Doug Liman (Director), Jez & John-Henry Butterworth (Writers) – (Regional Premiere)

"High School" – John Stalberg (Writer/Director...