The Texas Film Awards were created by Evan Smith and Louis Black in 2001 to create a Texas Film Hall of Fame.
Now in its 19th year, the Texas Film Awards bring together legends of the cinema and television and induct industry icons into the Texas Film Hall of Fame.
Honorees this night included Writer/Director John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”), Brooklyn Decker (“Grace & Frankie” TV show), David Herman (“Office Space”), Gary Cole (“Office Space,” “Veep,” “The Good Wife”), Mike Judge (“Office Space”) and a host of presenters, including Marc Maron (television’s “Glow”), renowned actress Kathy Bates (“Misery,” “American Horror Story”) and June Diane Raphael (“Grace & Frankie”).
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Writer/Director Richard Linklater (“Boyhood,” “Dazed & Confused”) and founder of the Austin Film Society. (Photo by Connie Wilson).
The Austin Film Society itself was founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater. The Austin Film Society’s mission is to empower our community to make, watch and love creative media. AFS curates and screens hundreds of repertory, international, and art house films, annually at the AFS Cinema. It also delivers financial support to Texas filmmakers through AFS Grants.
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(L to R) David Herman (Michael Bolton in “Office Space”), Gary Cole, Mike Judge and Richard Linklater. (Photo by Connie Wilson).
AFS operates the Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, and Austin Public, a space for the city’s diverse media types to train and collaborate. Through the award-winning after-school classes, intern training and the Ed Lowry Student Film program, AFS encourages media literacy and provides a place for youth of all backgrounds to learn the craft of filmmaking and to gain access to tools for media production.
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June Diane Raphael (“Grace & Frankie”). [Photo by Connie Wilson].
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Actress Brooklyn Decker, Texas Film Awards Honoree. (Photo by Connie Wilson).
To learn more about the AFS Cinema or about the Austin Film Society’s mission, visit www.austinfilm.org.
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(L to R) Honoree Brooklyn Decker with presenter June Diane Raphael, (both of “Grace & Frankie”) at the Texas Film Awards. (Photo by Connie Wilson).
The AFS Cinema is north of Austin on I35. It is not easy to find. I know, because I left to find it at 3:30 and I was still looking for it at 5:30 p.m. In fact, my GPS kept saying, “ARRIVED!” There was nothing that looked like a theater or a auditorium space visible when this occurred.
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Academy Award Winner Kathy Bates (“Misery,” “American Horror Story”). (Photo by Connie Wilson).
Funny true story: when I finally turned into what I had decided MUST be where the theater was and still couldn’t find it, I rolled down my window to ask an elderly man who was standing in front of a building that said something about Medical Health. He tottered over to my car with his cane, as I had rolled the window down to ask what I thought was a local resident, “Where is the AFS Theater?” The stranger opened the back door of my Prius and got in. He thought I was an Uber driver! He apologized profusely when I told him I was NOT an Uber drive and said, “I’m new at this.”
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AFS (Austin Film Society) banquet hall set for the Texas Film Awards on Thursday, March 7, 2019. (Photo by Connie Wilson).
Inside—although I was 15 minutes late for check-in—nothing much was going on. I glanced into the banquet room where waiters were putting the finishing touches on the tables.
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Marc Maron (“Glow). [Photo by Connie Wilson].
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Jackson Rathbone (Jasper in “Twilight”). [Photo by Connie Wilson].
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(L to R) David Herman (Michael Bolton from “Office Space”) and Gary Cole at the Texas Film Awards on March 7, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Connie Wilson).
Tomorrow, SXSW officially kicks off, with Jordan Peele’s “Us” the opening film. My SXSW GO app didn’t work correctly, so I didn’t get an Express Pass. Without it, getting in will be a major accomplishment. On the other hand, I’ve been given Red Carpet status for Matthew McConaughy’s new film “Beach Bum” with Isla Fisher on Saturday, March 9th, and I’ll be reporting on any and all films I make it to in the next week or so both here and on WeeklyWilson.com and on QuadCities.com. Stay tuned! (And wish me luck!)
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