I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m a fan of the Alamo Drafthouse.
I’ve been a fan since I first set foot inside the original Colorado Street location in Austin, TX, back in 1998, and that love has continued unabated since then. Even as the company has changed dramatically and the locations shifted, then started adding new locations, I’ve been a fan. What makes the Alamo Drafthouse special is more than just their programming or their menu or their attitude towards people who disrupt the movies. It has always been a collective of people and energy, and now that they’re also involved in distribution and production, that means something different than it did originally.
When I was last in Austin for SXSW, I spent an afternoon outside the Alamo Slaughter Lane location, one of the newest in Austin, and I spoke with Tim League, Evan Husney, and James Shapiro about the past, the present, and the future of the brand, and what it means to run a curated home video and theatrical distribution company. It’s a pretty loose and relaxed conversation, and one I’m pleased to finally let you listen to.
It’s a busy moment for the company. “Graceland” is out right now on VOD, and they just released Quentin Dupieux’s “Wrong.” Kim Ki Duk’s “Pieta” is up next, followed by the documentary double-header of “A Band Called Death” and “The Act Of Killing,” which was on my list of the ten best films of last year. It’s an eclectic, exciting line-up, and the diversity just underlines why people should be paying attention to them.
This is the first podcast in a while, and Scott and I warmed up with a bunch of short segments recorded over the course of yesterday afternoon. You’ll hear that the podcast just starts this week. I was busy working, Scott’s time was short, and it’s a perfect example of just how hard it is for us to end up in the same place at the same time right now. I thought I could record a segment while I was typing, but my computer had other plans, as you’ll hear.
Even so, there’s always at least one moment when Scott reduces me to helpless laughter, and that happened again this time. We managed to squeeze in one movie game, a round of “Remake This!”, and there’s even a special guest appearance by Film Nerd 2.0, who snuck in to check out the new “Man Of Steel” trailer. I think their reactions during the trailer and at the end of it are pretty grand.
Check it out embedded below, where you can also download it, and you can of course also find us on iTunes. If you enjoy what you hear, please leave us a review over there, as it helps us bring new listeners into the mix.