The Stand Up Desk
March 20, 2024
Meet the Writer of Our Jesse Plemons Story
Sean O’Neal explores the Texas roots of an actor increasingly in demand in Hollywood.
Movies
Latest
1-50 of 80 Articles
Film & TV
February 14, 2024
‘Reality Bites’ Is Thirty Years Old. Is It Dated, or More Relevant Than Ever?
The concept of “selling out” at the heart of the film feels like an artifact from another time. But it may be that we’ve just stopped talking about it.
Sports
December 27, 2023
Watch the Von Erich Family’s Most Texas Wrestling Matches
‘The Iron Claw’ portrays the tragic side of the Dallas wrestling dynasty. Watching the Von Erichs’ matches reminds us of their days of glory.
Film & TV
October 27, 2023
The Horror Sequel That Made All of Texas Out to Be Insane
Tobe Hooper’s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ satirizes yuppie greed by painting the entire state with a broad and bloody brush.
Film & TV
August 8, 2023
The Best Little Film Town in Texas
Texas quadrupled its annual film incentives. Hollywood’s favorite Texas small town, Smithville, shows the opportunities—and hazards—ahead.
Film & TV
April 11, 2023
How ‘Hud’ Began Texas’s Love Affair With the Bastard
Paul Newman plays a brutish, morally repugnant monster in the classic anti-western. So why do Texans admire him anyway?
Film & TV
March 15, 2023
Eva Longoria Is a Flamin’ Hot Movie Director
The Corpus Christi native’s directorial debut is a self-assured, joyful ode to inclusivity and snack foods.
Film & TV
March 3, 2023
Jonathan Majors Has Arrived
With two blockbusters hitting theaters in the span of a few weeks, the newly minted A-lister is doing Cedar Hill proud.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
What Does It Mean to Be a “Texas Actor”?
Jonathan Majors and Tommy Lee Jones don’t just have their home state in common.
Film & TV
November 24, 2022
‘Devotion’ Makes a Case for Dozens More Movies Costarring Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors
There’s potential for the two to be an iconic duo, a new generation’s Robert Redford and Paul Newman.
Film & TV
October 28, 2022
How Gen Z Women Found Their Joker in ‘Pearl’
The titular character of director Ti West’s latest horror movie, ‘Pearl,’ is a young Texan who’s had it with the people and society that keep her repressed.
Film & TV
October 18, 2022
The ‘Creed III’ Trailer Sent a Chill Down Our Texan Spines
The ninth installment in the Rocky franchise puts honorary Texan Michael B. Jordan and official Texan Jonathan Majors in the ring, and we are here for it.
Film & TV
September 7, 2022
How David Gordon Green Became Hollywood’s Horror Necromancer
He’s made critics gush with his art-house dramas and howl with his stoner comedies. But for the director of ‘Halloween Ends,’ it’s all about experimentation.
Film & TV
August 17, 2022
Laura Wilson Photographed Her Sons Like Hollywood Never Could
Her 1996 photo essay captured the joy and vitality of Andrew, Luke, and Owen Wilson's charmed youth in Dallas.
Film & TV
June 1, 2022
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Is the Supersonic Schmaltz the Movies Need Right Now
Tom Cruise returns, with Austin’s Glen Powell in tow, for a crowd-pleasing sequel that just may pull embattled theaters out of the danger zone.
Film & TV
April 25, 2022
The World if Tommy Lee Jones, Instead of the Rock, Starred in ‘Fast Five’
Vin Diesel, in a long, feelings-heavy Instagram post, revealed how close the venerable Texas star came to playing Lucas Hobbs.
Film & TV
January 27, 2022
The Funniest Scene in ‘Licorice Pizza’ Almost Didn’t Happen
Harriet Sansom Harris, who plays an unhinged talent agent, had to be convinced to emerge from her pandemic quarantine in the woods.
Books
November 19, 2021
How the Alamo Drafthouse Turned Trash Cinema into a Cultural Institution
A new book tells the sweeping tale of the Alamo’s Weird Wednesday series, the American Genre Film Archive, and Austin’s custodians of cult.
Film & TV
October 28, 2021
‘Student Bodies’ Remains Texas’s Strangest Contribution to Horror Movie History
The 1981 slasher spoof prominently features Houston and a future Texas politician, but that’s not all that’s notable about it.
Music
September 16, 2021
‘The Nowhere Inn’ Delves Into St. Vincent but Leaves Plenty of Vacancies
Dallas’s mercurial pop phenom writes and stars in this loosely autobiographical satire that raises questions it doesn’t deign to answer.
Film & TV
June 9, 2021
Jeff Nichols Is the Perfect Director for the Next ‘A Quiet Place’
The Texas filmmaker has built his career on escalating tension and dread.
Film & TV
October 9, 2019
Shea Serrano Talks Selena, The Rock, and the Movies That Opened Up His World
The best-selling Texan author takes on the silver screen in his latest book.
Film & TV
September 26, 2019
All of the Movies With Texas Ties to Watch This Fall
Do you love Woody Harrelson? You’re in luck.
Film & TV
April 24, 2019
The Ethan Hawkaissance Continues in ‘Stockholm’
The Texas native delivers another attention-worthy performance.
The National Podcast of Texas
February 18, 2019
Steve Treviño: “Our Culture Isn’t a Punchline”
On the latest National Podcast of Texas, the South Texas-raised stand-up comic talks about Mexican-American representation in Hollywood, the border situation, and writing jokes for Clint Eastwood.
Film & TV
September 19, 2017
The Future of The Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest
Alamo Drafthouse CEO and Fantastic Fest founder Tim League is in the news after re-hiring a staffer accused of sexual assault—and his festival may suffer for it.
Film & TV
September 19, 2017
‘A Ghost Story’ Director David Lowery On Making Movies In Irving, Working With Casey Affleck, And Why He Always Loved Sheet Ghosts
The Dallas filmmaker went big time with last year’s 'Pete’s Dragon' remake, so he followed it up with one of the quietest—and most moving—films of the year.
Film & TV
July 24, 2017
The Trailer For ‘Ready Player One’ Is Finally Here
Steven Spielberg’s return to action blockbuster turf, based on the beloved smash novel by Austin’s Ernest Cline, starring 20-year-old Texas native Tye Sheridan in his biggest role to date, gave the world its first look at San Diego Comic Con.
Film & TV
May 17, 2017
The Texas Man Who Sued a Woman For Texting During a First Date Explains his Lawsuit
Austin’s Brandon Vezmar has found himself an overnight celebrity after a lawsuit he filed because ”men are being exploited by people like the defendant.”
Film & TV
April 25, 2017
What The Film Incentives Program Means to The Texas Film Industry
The Rooster Teeth CEO Matt Hullum takes a quick break from directing ’Lazer Team 2’ to talk about the future of the film incentives program.
Film & TV
March 11, 2017
Terrence Malick’s “Song to Song” Offers a Glossy Take on the Austin Music Industry
'Song to Song' doesn't accurately reflect the realities of the music industry, perhaps intentionally so.
Music
January 3, 2017
Terrence Malick’s Austin Music Movie Is Finally Actually Happening
The reclusive Texas filmmaker’s long-simmering saga of love and betrayal in the Austin music world premieres on March 17.
Film & TV
October 17, 2016
Jeff Nichols’s ‘Loving’ Is a Subtle Retelling of Relevant Recent History
The Texas filmmaker levels up on his fifth feature, ‘Loving,’ which tells the story of an interracial couple trying to get married in the fifties.
Film & TV
May 16, 2016
Watch The Trailer For ‘Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,’ Starring Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, and Kristen Stewart
The scathing cultural satire comes to the big screen under the direction of two-time Academy Award winner Ang Lee.
Film & TV
March 16, 2016
SXSW Film: First Half Recap
As we enter the second half of SXSW Film, a look at the highlights of the first part of the film conference.
Film & TV
March 10, 2016
SXSW 2016: Film Events Worth Knowing About
Your guide to the Texas-based directors and plots appearing at this year's SXSW Film conference.
Film & TV
January 12, 2016
Matthew McConaughey Re-Fights The Civil War In The First Trailer For ‘Free State of Jones’
The McConaissance continues with Oscar-baiting Civil War drama, 'The Free State of Jones.'
The Daily Post
November 6, 2015
The Lance Armstrong Biopic ‘The Program’ Brings The Austin Film Festival To A Close
It takes a lot to make us feel bad for Lance Armstrong, but this movie did it.
Film & TV
August 28, 2015
Our Alamo Drafthouse #DontTalk Bracket Begins Monday
The iconic Texas movie theater chain's "Don't Talk" PSAs get broken down and ranked—by you.
Film & TV
August 19, 2015
Five Questions With The Director Of Austin’s Public Access Television Documentary
The indie filmmaker is days away from the end of his Kickstarter campaign to tell the story of one of the nation's most vibrant public access television scenes. Here's what he's learned.
Film & TV
August 3, 2015
‘Friday Night Lights’ Is Revived In New Alamo Drafthouse PSA
Kyle Chandler dons his blue polo and delivers an inspirational locker room speech — but this time it’s to remind you how to behave in a movie theater.
Border & Immigration
March 13, 2015
Former Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, Sundance and SXSW Film Festival Star
An interview with Bill and Turner Ross, whose Sundance award-winning documentary about border life, Western, screens at SXSW Film.
The Daily Post
March 11, 2015
The Alamo Drafthouse Will Allow Select Teenagers to Attend Without a Parent, Starting This Year
The Texas-based movie theater chain has been famous for its strict policies regarding texting, talking, and arriving late to screenings. But it’s not treating those as teenager-specific problems anymore.
Film & TV
February 19, 2015
Could “Boyhood” Get Shut Out at the Oscars?
Richard Linklater’s masterpiece went from being the overwhelming favorite for the Best Picture and Best Director awards at Sunday’s Academy Awards to being an underdog. How does that happen?
The Daily Post
January 20, 2015
‘American Sniper’ Is Blowing Away Box Office Records
Clint Eastwood’s Chris Kyle biopic took in an astonishing $89.5 million in its wide release this weekend.
Film & TV
January 12, 2015
Texas Films Did Very Well at the Golden Globes Last Night
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel took home both of the “best picture” awards—and Linklater also took home his first major directing award.
The Daily Post
December 22, 2014
The Ups and Downs of American Sniper
Clint Eastwood’s film based on Chris Kyle’s life is a half-masterpiece, a definitive cinematic statement on the Iraq War that nonetheless fails to say some very necessary things.
Film & TV
December 18, 2014
The Alamo Drafthouse Is Showing ‘Team America: World Police’ in Place of Canceled Screenings of Sony’s ‘The Interview’
After Sony pulled the North Korea farce The Interview in the face of threats, one Texas theater is showing a different North Korea farce in its place.
Film & TV
December 16, 2014
Watch The Trailer For Texas Filmmaking Giant Terrence Malick’s New ‘Knight Of Cups’
Texas’ weirdest superstar director has an appropriately weird trailer for his latest film.
Film & TV
December 12, 2014
Watch A 10-Minute Documentary About the Making of Richard Linklater’s ‘Boyhood’
Boyhood is less than a year old, and it’s already one of the great Texas movies. Take a look at how the uniquely made top dog for this year’s award season came to be in this featurette.