Austin Film Society snaps up 'Slackerwood'

This is a fascinating development. I'm a fan of Jette Kernion's blog Slackerwood. Here's the scoop in a press release from the Austin Film Society (which was founder fittingly by Slacker director Richard Linklater):

The Austin Film Society is excited to announce that it will become the publisher of Slackerwood, Critic's Pick for "Best Austin Movie Blog" in The Austin Chronicle's 2011 Best of Austin. Supplanting AFS's longtime journal, Persistence of Vision, Slackerwood will continue to cover the Texas movie scene with Founder and Editor-In-Chief Jette Kernion remaining at the helm.

"Jette has built a great resource for our regional film community, we all read Slackerwood every day," said AFS Executive Director Rebecca Campbell. "This partnership will allow us to promote our community in new, dynamic ways." AFS Director of Marketing Agnes Varnum will serve as Managing Editor and the publication will host an editorial committee comprised of local filmmakers, journalists, and AFS Board Members. In addition, AFS staff and interns will contribute to the website.

"Over the last 5 years, Slackerwood has grown from a personal blog to a dedicated group of volunteer contributors," said Kernion. "Being published by AFS will mean a home for Slackerwood long into the future and exciting new ways for us to reach out into the community we serve."

Slackerwood and AFS will host a party on February 1, 2012 at 6 PM at Red's Porch (3508 S. Lamar Blvd.) to celebrate the transition. All media are invited to attend. Snacks and beer provided by Red's Porch and NXNW.

Slackerwood began 5 years ago as the personal movie blog of Jette Kernion, focusing specifically on the Austin film scene. Today, Slackerwood has an 10-person staff of writers devoted to reporting and reviewing all aspects of the Austin film scene. Slackerwood provides coverage of all the local film festivals, promotes upcoming special screenings and reviews movies made in Austin or by Austin filmmakers, and strives to share the latest news about films in production in Austin and Central Texas. The name "Slackerwood" was chosen to emphasize the independent DIY spirit of Austin and local filmmakers' tendencies to follow their own path.

'Mandy Lane' may finally get release?

Yes, I loved All the Boys Love Mandy Lane when it screened at the South By Southwest Film Festival in 2007. Shot is Bastrop, it seemed to me an update on Heathers mixed with the sort of horror film that has come back in vogue in the last decade or so. And star Amber Heard, an Austin native, shines in the film, which was inexplicably shelved by the Weinsteins.

But the film got a secret screening at Comic-Con recently and there are hints it may finally get a release in the U.S. (It's already out on DVD overseas). Thanks for the tip from Slackerwood.com

Mandy Lane director Jonathan Levine (The Wackness) told me in 2007 that he looked for inspiration from two very Texas efforts, the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and NBC's series Friday Night Lights, as well as John Hughes' teen films from the 1980s.

"We thought it was interesting to take that [teen film] model and graft a horror film onto it," Levine said.