Austin, TX
Elijah Wood, Michelle Rodriguez, and more celebrate Texas Film Awards
With South by Southwest (SXSW) in full swing, Austinites are keeping an eye out for celebrity sightings around the city. Last week’s Texas Film Awards offered an opportunity to see several celebs gathered in one place. Honoring legends of the Texas film industry, the annual fundraising event inducted new members into the Texas Film Hall of Fame, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Austin Film Society (AFS), the milestone year for the Texas Film Hall of Fame welcomed new members Michelle Rodriguez, Tim and Karrie League, and Noah Hawley. Before the event, CultureMap caught up with AFS founder and film director Richard Linklater about the anniversary.
Richard LinklaterPhoto by David Brendan Hall
“It’s very cool,” he said, “Forty years is wild. You can’t help but reflect back to year one. We grew with Austin: as Austin has grown, so have we.”
Sharing the impact of AFS grants on stage during the event, Linklater elaborated further on this symbiotic growth.
“The rising tide of Austin lifted our boat, and we grew when we needed to [without] losing our fundamental film freakiness,” Linklater said. “Forty years in, I know two things to be true: community is everything. Watching movies together connects us and builds that community. And, the love and appreciation of cinema knows no bounds: if you nurture it, it feeds you back ten fold.”Linklater is on a recent awards streak, having been honored with a Texas Medal of Arts Award in late February.
Presenting to Killeen-born and San Antonio-raised Michelle Rodriguez, director Robert Rodriguez spoke about the actress’s “unshakeable swagger” and how he wrote the character of Luz with her in mind after seeing Girl Fight.
Robert Rodriguez and Michelle RodriguezPhoto by Lauren Slusher
He also introduced a surprise guest to the event, Vin Diesel, who co-starred with Rodriguez in the Fast and Furious franchise. Sauntering onto the stage in a black cowboy hat, Diesel shared that he recently discovered his Texan roots and that their Texan identity was one of many things that bind him to Rodriguez as his ride-or-die.
Vin DieselDavid Brendan Hall
Actor and one-time Austinite Elijah Wood presented the award to Tim and Karrie League, founders of the Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest.
Elijah Wood, Tim and Karrie LeaguePhoto by Lauren Slusher
Wood praised the Leagues for their impact not just on the Austin film industry but the wider film community by redefining what a theater could be, “a place that embraces both first-run studio films, independent and international gems, and the most obscure oddities dug from the archives; a place where you can pair dinner with a movie; where themed screenings create memories beyond the film itself.”
On the red carpet before the event, Wood told CultureMap what he most misses about Austin:
“I don’t live here anymore, but it still feels like home,” he shared. “I miss the food, tons of restaurants I love like Emmer & Rye, Loro, pizza from Via 313, Olamaie, Clark’s, Fresa’s.”
For the final award of the night, Atlanta actress Zazie Beetz and Fargo actor David Rysdahl presented the award to writer and producer Noah Hawley, who is currently working on Fargo and Alien: Earth.
David Rysdahl, Noah Hawley, and Zazie BeetzPhoto by Lauren Slusher
AUSTIN (KXAN) — With the summer solstice in the rearview mirror, we are now losing about 20 – 30 seconds of daylight every day in Central Texas, adding up to around 20 – 30 minutes of daylight loss at the end of the month.
Sunrise in Central Texas on Monday [July 6] was at 6:35 a.m. and sunset is at 8:36 p.m. On July 31st, sunrise will be at 6:49 a.m. and sunset will be at 8:31 p.m.
We’ll continue to slowly lose daylight through the summer months, but accelerates in meteorological fall before the winter solstice on December 21st. So the gradual decline in daylight daily won’t do much to combat the extreme heat in the coming weeks.
At the end of August [31st], sunrise in Central Texas will be at 7:06 a.m. and sunset will be at 8:17 p.m. Cooler days are ahead, but not for a while.
Austin, TX — Dinosaur lovers of all ages can travel back millions of years during Dinosaur Day at the Texas Science & Natural History Museum on Saturday, July 11.
The family-friendly event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and features a full day of hands-on activities, opportunities to meet paleontologists and plenty of prehistoric discoveries.
One of the day’s biggest attractions gives visitors the chance to **bring their own fossils** for in-person identification by a paleontologist. Fossil identification sessions will be available from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Guests can also:
Meet paleontologists who study dinosaurs
Participate in family-friendly educational and art activities
Complete a dinosaur-themed scavenger hunt
Attend a special story time for younger visitors
Pick up a free dinosaur poster while supplies last
Explore “Epic Encounters,” the museum’s newly reimagined paleontology gallery
Visit the hands-on Discovery Center
See a 33-foot cast replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton along with a variety of fossil specimens
Save 20% on select dinosaur-themed merchandise in the Museum Store
All Dinosaur Day activities are included with regular museum admission.
The Texas Science & Natural History Museum, located on the University of Texas campus, tells the story of Texas’ natural history—from the formation of the planet and the age of dinosaurs to the state’s modern-day ecosystems.
For more information and ticket details, visit the museum’s event page: https://sciencemuseum.utexas.edu/
Double homicide investigation in NW Austin
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a double homicide in the parking lot at Bare Cabaret. Deputies responded to the scene on Reservoir Court, where two people were found dead. The investigation is ongoing.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas – A fight in a crowded parking lot outside a Travis County gentlemen’s club early Sunday escalated into a shooting that left a man and a woman dead, authorities said.
Double homicide
What we know:
Deputies responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired just before 4 a.m. in the 9700 block of Reservoir Court, the site of the Bare Cabaret, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
An estimated 400 people were inside the establishment and packed into the parking lot when the gunfire erupted, creating a chaotic scene for arriving emergency personnel.
A man in his 20s died at the scene, officials said. A female victim, believed to be in her late teens or early 20s, was taken to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries. The identities of the victims have not been released.
It took deputies and detectives several hours to secure and clear the area as investigators interviewed every person present to determine their involvement before allowing them to leave.
Detectives are reviewing video surveillance footage and speaking with witnesses and family members to piece together what triggered the altercation. No arrests have been announced, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
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