Whether you love Robert Altman or hate him, you can’t argue that he makes films like nobody else. It’s what made him a Hollywood institution and one of the most respected directors in the business. So when he calls you up and asks if you will send him some of your short stories, and then asks you to come write movies for him, you don’t say no. Because who would? That’s what happened to Anne Rapp, a native Texan and local script supervisor-turned-screenwriter; their first collaboration became Cookie’s Fortune, playing this weekend at The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek. And that’s not all—you’ll get a chance to hear that story and much more from writer herself as the Austin Film Festival presents “Conversations in Film: Anne Rapp and Cookie’s Fortune.” For those up-and-coming filmmakers and screenwriters here in Austin (we know you’re out there, and there are a LOT of you), this is the kind of information you won’t want to miss out on....

Today sucks. Our house is quickly being annexed by Waller Creek, all of the tickets are sold out to the last night at the Alamo and our ‘Stros can’t buy a win. We could use a stiff drink* and a good laugh. Lucky for us, and you, the Onion AV Club and Rio Rita have prescribed a sweet salve to cure our burning wounds as they present Robert Altman’s satirical snarkfest OC & Stiggs. O.C.......

Unless you have been under a very large boulder, you are well aware that the Original Alamo Drafthouse is closing its Colorado Street doors this Wednesday night. Soon you will see people wandering the downtown streets, suffering from celluloid withdrawal and desperately looking for their next film reel hit. We know it’s hard, we’re suffering too, but the Paramount Theatre knows what you want and they’ve got what you need, as they continue their 32nd......

On Sunday, Austin Film Festival presents a free script reading of a comedy written by Anne Rapp, an Austinite, sometime Michener Center instructor, and Robert Altman collaborator whose previous credits include Cookie's Fortune and Dr. T and the Women. Her new project's called Double Wide, and a bunch of funny people, including Johnny Hardwick (King of the Hill), Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (Fletch and Fast Food Nation), and Matt Bearden (a Funniest Person in Austin winner),......

We were tickled to read about the premiere of Robert Altman's latest, Prairie Home Companion, at Salon.com. The film premiered at SXSW, of course--Friday night, in fact. Salon's Andrew O'Hehir was on hand remarking on the heat and tank tops. Here's a snippet: From the stage of the Paramount, a gingerbread-laden movie palace (originally built in 1915 and remodeled in the '30s) that has been lovingly preserved, festival director Matt Dentler told us that......

Remember us telling you about the funny and entertaining documentary The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat and Beers that played at the Alamo last month, right? Come on kids, Think! That film was brought to you by the good people over at Bside Entertainment, a recent edition to Austin's independent film community that is looking to stay on the cutting edge of the way independent cinema is released, distributed and marketed. Well, apparently there is enough......

The complete list of films for the 13th Annual SXSW Film Fest has been released. As we told youd in January, the Fest will kick off with the world premiere of Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion." Paul Weitz's "American Dreamz" will close the fest. And in between there will be 115 feautres, including 50 world premieres, and of course a bevy of wonderful shorts. The list of shorts will be released February 13th.......

Film and public radio fans rejoice; legendary Director Robert Altman (M*A*S*H, Nashville, Short Cuts) will open the SXSW Film Festival this March with the North American premiere of his new film “A Prairie Home Companion,” the feature-length adaptation of the wildly popular public radio presentation from original American voice Garrison Keillor. The premiere is a boon for the fest, which has establishied itself as one of the country’s premiere film festivals. The film, penned......