Local movie to break the record for the longest wedding train.  Carl David Blake Productions will attempt to break the Guinness Book of World’s Records on Saturday, December 19, 2009, while filming the movie Differences Between Men and Women. The previous record, which is still pending, was a 2,162 m-long (7,083 ft) wedding dress train for Lin Rong's gown, given to her by her husband-to-be Zhao Peng on Friday, August 7, 2009. “They say everything is bigger in Texas, and we’re just reiterating that sentiment,” said Carl David Blake, the movie’s writer, producer, and director. “It will be an amazing feat and should bring more publicity to Austin as a professional film community.” The record will be broken at Tim Wooten’s home at 409 Wilson Ranch Road, Round Mountain, TX 78663. The clothing designer is Watters & Watters in Dallas. They have generously donated the wedding gown and well over 7,500 feet of wedding dress train.
“With all of the problems and challenges we’re facing today, people need to laugh more than any time I can remember,” Blake continued. “And the Differences Between Men and Women, which has to be a comedy with that title, is a hilarious story.”
The record attempt is part of a dream sequence in the movie and will take place 30 miles outside of Austin, Texas. The train will be assembled the day before the shoot (Dec. 18), and the media are invited to watch.
For more information, contact: Carl David Blake, at (512) 608-5295 or
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Another local filmmaker makes the cut 
The stoner film. We have all seen our share of the halfwit stoners who find themselves in the most precarious and highly unlikely predicaments. They typically involve some bad guys, the authorities, hookers, pimps, drug dealers and straight men. We grew up on Cheech and Chong and their instant classics. Just 3 words, "Dave's not here" springs to mind one of the funniest scenes of the genre. Although the legalization battle has simmered for over 50 years, the kindest of herbs seems to have taken its seat closer to political center stage than ever before. At this year's Austin Film Festival, you will see another take on the topic. An actual character study of a stoner instead of the ridiculous portrayal of stereotypical stoner lifestyle. Yet another home grown Austin film, Stoner will make its worldwide premiere at 3 PM on Saturday October 24th at The Independent and again on Tuesday the 27th at the Alamo Draft House Lake Creek at 7 PM. So how exactly does a movie called "Stoner" approach character development instead of simply portraying a bunch of "characters". Compared to genre favorites like Half Baked, Friday and How High, Michael Greene, the film's writer and director offers this. Our movie starts a lot smaller than those. It's a character study of a stoner, Michael, who lacks self-confidence and has dreams to be something but can't turn his thoughts into action. As the movie progresses, it turns into a kind of "stoner movie," but the bedrock of the movie is personal and small. You don't have to be a stoner to get it. |
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It's Hockey Night in Texas...y'all  The ice rink, it’s a massive block of ice kept at a chilly 16 degrees, 45 degrees around head level and not much warmer for the die hard fans who come and watch the game of hockey. This is not something that most Texans or anyone raised below the Mason Dixon line can claim any sort of connection with. But for the country’s northern and midwestern states and pretty much all of Canada, that just isn’t the case. There, hockey is as much of a sporting staple as soccer or football is here in the south. My own childhood memories of my dad having to get up at the ass crack of dawn to drive me to my 6 AM hockey practice before school still resonates. Playing the game was like a drug and I needed that weekly fix. When I transplanted to Austin from the northeast over 10 years ago, it seemed as though my involvement with my beloved game was over. The best news of all is that I was completely wrong. Check out the new film, Hockey Night in Texas at the upcoming Austin Film Festival and you will see why.
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 To celebrate 'Arrested Development' creator Mitch Hurwitz's upcoming Outstanding Television Writer award at the Austin Film Festival, along with the new and exciting news that his short-lived cult hit has finally been given the green light to get made into a movie (Hurwitz is currently working on a screenplay with co-executive producer James Vallely), austin.com and local banana stand Banarchy are giving away a $20 gift certificate for their frozen treats. Email
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with "Arrested Development" in the subject line with the answer to this trivia question: How much money was hidden in the banana stand that got burned down?
To see Hurwitz and other great film and television celebrities, get your film badge or pass at austinfilmfestival.com. And be sure to check out Banarchy before it hunkers down for the winter (the last day to get those frozen treats is October 30). You can find them at 1210 Barton Springs Rd. |
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Film Funding: A Primer
There’s no way around it, if you want to make a film, you’re gonna need cash. Usually, lots of it. How much? Well, it all depends upon your aspirations. Here in Austin, you’ll see hundreds of filmmakers running around with a handheld camera and a bunch of their buddies who are more than happy to donate their time in exchange for being part of the next big breakout movie. Low budget sweethearts like Napoleon Dynamite, Blair Witch Project or Juno give hope to producers of friends and family financed projects that they too can imprint their indelible mark in the filmmaking history books. The art of making movies is founded on this kind of passion, come hell or high credit card bills. |
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Getting your mug on the big screen, the little screen, and everything in between.  Local filmmakers and actors on set
You've probably heard that Governor Perry signed into law a much more competitive film incentive carrot for production companies to shoot here in our backyard. What that means is that as soon as the bill gets some funding, more productions of movies, TV series, commercials, and even webisodes could very well be bound for the area. We're going to help you get on that gravy train, including how to get your actor reel ready for prime time.
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SXSW Film, Music and Interactive is in need of experienced volunteers for its production and post-production teams this March 12th-21st. The HD production teams will be documenting the festival's panels, keynotes, red carpet premieres and music showcases. Volunteers in the program will be compensated with a Platinum SXSW Badge.