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
November 19, 2021
Mckenna Grace Is the Only Thing Alive About the New ‘Ghostbusters’
The rising Grapevine star brings fresh spirit to a movie that’s fatally preoccupied with reviving the dead.
Film & TV
November 16, 2021
The Legendary Flop of ‘The Legend of the Lone Ranger’
How an Amarillo oilman stole the mask right off the Lone Ranger’s face, and made one of film’s most infamous failures in the process.
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.
Film & TV
October 21, 2021
‘The French Dispatch’ Is Wes Anderson at His Most Self-indulgent
The Houston filmmaker’s latest is a valentine to defiantly idiosyncratic storytellers like Wes Anderson.
Film & TV
October 15, 2021
‘Halloween Kills’ Time and Patience
The sequel to David Gordon Green’s franchise reboot is all filler, same old killer.
Film & TV
October 12, 2021
‘Hard Luck Love Song’ Is A Tune You’ve Heard Before, But It Hits All the Right Notes
Austin-raised writer-director Justin Corsbie’s debut about a down-on-his-luck troubadour feels as warmly familiar as the Americana songs that inspired it.
Film & TV
October 7, 2021
Apple’s ‘Foundation’ Is Dull, but Lee Pace Is Our Intergalactic Emperor Daddy
The Houston-raised actor shines as a pompous space tyrant in the otherwise dreary Isaac Asimov adaptation.
Film & TV
September 28, 2021
NBC’s ‘La Brea’ Is Silly, but It Gives Natalie Zea an Overdue Spotlight
The Monahans-bred actor elevates this loopy, Lost-like sci-fi drama about a mom fighting her way out of a mysterious primeval world.
Film & TV
September 24, 2021
Dale Brisby’s Netflix Show Teaches Viewers How to Be Cowboys for the Instagram Age
The rancher and self-proclaimed rodeo legend has an ego the size of Texas, and he uses it for the good of the “cowboy cause.”
Music
September 21, 2021
Hayden Pedigo Moves On With ‘Letting Go,’ But His Heart Is Still in Amarillo
The multifaceted musician, former city-council candidate, and documentary star returns with an album of pristine guitar and gentle self-reflection.
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
September 14, 2021
‘Necessary Roughness’ Made Texas Football Into a Joke. But It Also Moved the Chains.
Kick off the football season with this underappreciated, Denton-filmed comedy, which captured some truths about Texas football that later, more-serious movies would expand on.
Music
September 9, 2021
A Vain Attempt to Justify Selena Gomez’s $30 Ice Cream Sundae
Does simply putting the Grand Prairie star’s name on some ice cream inherently raise its value? An investigation.
Music
September 3, 2021
When Texas Punk Band Butthole Surfers Finally Scored a Hit, Their Fans Never Forgave Them
Twenty-five years ago, fans accused the band of selling out. The group’s reply still stands: “Yeah, but who cares?”
Film & TV
September 1, 2021
Was ‘Star Trek’ Creator Gene Roddenberry Really a Texan?
Roddenberry may have eschewed identifying with the state, but the stories he told carry a Texan DNA.
Film & TV
September 1, 2021
Your Comprehensive Fall 2021 Texas Film Guide
Cowboys, ghostbusters, and aliens, oh my! The autumn months are abloom with Texas actors, filmmakers, and locales on the big (and small) screen.
Film & TV
August 21, 2021
Dennis Quaid Is the True King of the Sports Movie
Forget Kevin Costner. The Houston native best captures the complex glory of American sports.
Texas History
August 6, 2021
On MTV’s Fortieth Anniversary, Don’t Forget to Thank Michael Nesmith
The Texas native helped make the music video into an art form, and was instrumental in creating the network that defined a generation.
Film & TV
August 5, 2021
‘Playing God’ Captures a Houston Rarely Seen on Screen
The debut feature from Scott Brignac, starring Alan Tudyk and Michael McKean, argues for Houston's place among film’s default “big cities."
Film & TV
August 3, 2021
David Gordon Green Is Rebooting ‘The Exorcist.’ But Has He Really Lost His Soul to Hollywood?
The Richardson-raised filmmaker has traded arthouse dramas for horror remakes, but that’s always been part of the plan.
Film & TV
July 29, 2021
Austin’s Lukas Haas Brings Menace to the Otherwise-Dismal ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’
Megan Fox and Bruce Willis star in the thriller, which is very loosely based on an infamous Texas serial killer.
Music
July 22, 2021
On the ‘Geto Boys Reloaded’ Podcast, It’s the Message, Not the Music
Pioneering Houston rappers Willie D and Scarface reunite for a show that’s all about their community, not about them.
Film & TV
July 20, 2021
Thirty Years After ‘Slacker,’ the Film Is an Austin Time Capsule—And a Hopeful Tribute to Its Spirit
Richard Linklater’s film belongs in the canon of great Texas cinema.
Film & TV
July 14, 2021
Everything We Know So Far About Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’
At Cannes, the Houston native’s latest inspired a nine-minute standing ovation and equally fawning reviews.
Film & TV
July 3, 2021
‘The Harder They Fall’ Is About to Bring New Excitement to the Old-school Western
Starring North Texas's Jonathan Majors and featuring folk hero Bass Reeves, the film promises to let Black cowboys have fun for once.
Music
June 30, 2021
Skid Row Front Man Johnny Solinger Was Rock and Roll Personified
The Dallas singer never quite became a huge star in his own right, but that didn't seem to bother him.
Film & TV
June 28, 2021
Is the World Finally Ready to See Selena Gomez as an Actor?
As the Grand Prairie native readies Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ her acting career seems primed for rebirth.
Film & TV
June 24, 2021
The Year Woody Harrelson Finally Became a Movie Star
Early in his career, Woody Harrelson couldn’t shake his reputation as the country rube from ‘Cheers.’ Here’s how that changed, starting 25 years ago.
Film & TV
June 22, 2021
Hollywood Honors Texas’s Biggest Movie Star: The Chevy Suburban
The SUV will get a star in Arlington commemorating its thousands of movie and TV appearances.
Film & TV
June 16, 2021
Unsung Music Legend Tom Wilson Is Finally Getting His Own Movie
The Waco-born producer, instrumental to the careers of Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, and Frank Zappa, is the subject of an upcoming biopic.
Film & TV
June 14, 2021
Donny Cates’s ‘God Country’ Movie Will Bring Superheroes to Texas
The Austin-based artist is adapting his West Texas–set tale for the screen.
Film & TV
June 10, 2021
Jensen Ackles Is Finally Realizing His Superhero Dreams as Soldier Boy
The Richardson-bred actor and former ‘Supernatural’ star has two major roles this year, after a lifetime of near-misses.
Film & TV
June 7, 2021
Everything We Know About Robert Rodriguez’s Austin Film With Ben Affleck
Prepare for paparazzi photos of Ben wistfully vaping near Lady Bird Lake.
Film & TV
June 3, 2021
All Hail Jesse Plemons, King of the Soft-Boy Sociopaths
The actor from Mart, Texas, is becoming a full-fledged leading man in Hollywood.
Film & TV
May 29, 2021
Since U Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson Has Taken Over Daytime TV
The Burleson native will inherit Ellen DeGeneres’s time slot, and the future of daytime talk.
Film & TV
May 26, 2021
Port Neches’s Andrew Dismukes Had a Great First Year on ‘SNL’
The hero of every small-town Texan class clown has blazed a new path to 30 Rockefeller.
Film & TV
May 18, 2021
Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Movie May Be Based on a Frito-Lie
Plano probably had more to do with the invention of the snack than Richard Montañez's inspirational tale did.
Music
May 7, 2021
50 Cent Is Texas’s Newest Celebrity Transplant
Plus, Megan Thee Stallion talks to pets, Shea Serrano turns his childhood into a sitcom, and Eva Longoria brings Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to the big screen.
Film & TV
April 30, 2021
Is Randy Quaid Serious About Running for California Governor? His Tweet Sounds Like It.
Plus: Texas transplants Elon Musk and Joe Rogan attract yet more controversy, Ted Cruz gets into it with ‘The Daily Show,’ and Selena Gomez explores her dark side.
Film & TV
April 23, 2021
Gabriel Luna and Pedro Pascal Will Star in HBO’s ‘The Last of Us,’ Bringing Texan Authenticity to the Apocalypse
Plus: Matthew McConaughey leads Greg Abbott in the polls, Hilary Duff will lead a ‘How I Met Your Mother’ spinoff, and Post Malone makes music history.
Film & TV
April 16, 2021
Can Selena Gomez and Matthew McConaughey Persuade Texans to Get Vaccinated?
Plus: Demi Lovato has an unusually good week, Spoon and ‘Shameless’ come full circle, and viewers demand the FCC do something about Megan Thee Stallion.
Film & TV
April 2, 2021
Can Woody Harrelson Bring Good Vibes to Nazi Germany?
Plus: Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion headline Bonnaroo, the Austin Film Festival puts the pandemic behind it, and Jason Statham shoots Post Malone in the head.
Film & TV
March 26, 2021
‘King of the Hill’ May Get a Dang Ol’ Revival
Plus: Matthew McConaughey and friends raise millions for storm relief, Lizzo’s TV show launches a model search, and Jamie Foxx rings in as Mike Tyson.
Film & TV
March 16, 2021
Hayden Pedigo Ran for Amarillo City Council as a Joke. A New Film Captures Why He Was Worth Taking Seriously.
The then-24-year-old musician’s campaign started as satire and grew into a rare opportunity to change the conversation around local politics.
Film & TV
March 12, 2021
No, Really, Matthew McConaughey Might Run for Governor
Plus: Megan Thee Stallion spices up the Grammys, Selena Gomez considers giving up music, and Post Malone gets in on the NFT craze.
Music
March 5, 2021
St. Vincent Is Back With a Bowie-Inspired Banger
Plus: Emmanuel Acho will lead an uncomfortable conversation on ‘The Bachelor,’ Megan Thee Stallion takes over Peloton, and Post Malone sings Hootie to some Pokémon.
Music
February 26, 2021
Matthew McConaughey and Beyoncé Did More for Texas Than Ted Cruz
Plus: Taylor Kitsch gets back in the TV game, Travis Scott manages to get people excited about magazines, and Megan Thee Stallion does her best ‘Mean Girls.’
Film & TV
February 12, 2021
Oliver Stone’s New JFK Movie Already Faces Concerns Over Fact-checking
Plus, Pedro Pascal and Renée Zellweger land plum TV roles, Sandra Bullock pairs up with Brad Pitt, and GameStop movies continue to be a bullish investment.
Film & TV
February 5, 2021
GameStop Is About to Be Grapevine’s Movie Star
Plus: the Golden Globes show Texas some love, ‘Walker’ is a runaway hit, and another DJ Screw movie is on the decks.