Arid Zone
Memo to Oliver "Whackhead" Stone: We don't have Southern accents here in Arizona. [10]
James DiGiovanna

Movie Guru
Coury Turczyn breaks it off with The Matchmaker. [13]
Coury Turczyn

Man Against Nature
Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin on the maping trip from hell: Big thrills, big drama and big bears, oh my! [14]
Mary Dickson

Climb Every Mountain
Is Brad Pit snowbound or Oscar-bound? [15]
Devin D. O'Leary

Heat Stroke
Oliver Stone's U-Turn will leave you dizzy. [11]
Susan Ellis and Hadley Hury

Lhasa calling
Seven Years in Tibet is that occasional Pitt movie in which he must act using resources other than his hair, as it's cut short for most of the film. [18]
Gary Susman

Heiress apparent
Agnieszka Holland's Washington Square is a pedestrian maul. [19]
Peter Keough

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Austin Chronicle

• Seven Years In Tibet
• Bandwagon
• For Ever Mozart
• Gang Related
• Guantanamera
• The Haunted World Of Edward D. Wood, Jr.
• Intimate Relations
• Most Wanted
• Rocketman

Boston Phoenix

• Gang Related
• Going All the Way

Nashville Scene

• U-Turn
• Kiss The Girls
• The Matchmaker

Tucson Weekly

• The Edge
• The Game
• Kiss The Girls
• L.A. Confidential
• The Matchmaker
• Mrs. Brown
• Peacemaker
• Shall We Dance
• A Thousand Acres
• Wishmaster

Curious about a particular director's work? Not sure what to rent at the video store? Enjoy reading several contrasting opinions of the same film? This is the place for you. Hundreds of reviews lie at your fingertips, sortable by genre, date or director.

Talk Back
If you're one of the few who didn't think Volcano blew, The Lost World bit, or The Fifth Element was one element too many, here's the forum to defend your opinion--crazy though it may be.

Now What?
What's the matter, couldn't find a review of that blockbuster film you're excited about? We certaintly don't want to leave you disappointed -- why not try some of these larger-than-life movie links? [29]

'd always wanted to be a screenwriter. After spending countless hours as a Film Bum, watching lousy movie after lousy movie, I finally decided, "Hey, I could write something better than this." Then I tried it. I sat down in front of a word processor and tried to pound out a good movie. The result? Stultifying, paralyzing writer's block. Oh sure, I wrote, but the movie didn't take shape on the screen the same way it had in my head. And in trying to adjust it to make the translation, I lost sight of what had attracted me to the cause in the first place.

The reason there are so many bad screenplays in Hollywood is because writing a good screenplay takes real commitment, endurance and inspiration. You've got to have a lot more to go on than "Hey, I could write something better than this." And you've got to be prepared to sit, imagine, and pound out words for days on end, all the while maintaining a firm grasp on your original vision -- and a willingness to adapt when the vision turns out to be less worthy than you thought it was.

Of course, anybody at the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and Festival could have told you that. The week-long festival, which drew both professional and aspiring screenwriters from all over the country, was the ideal place for writers to recharge their creative batteries and gain some much-needed perspective. Featuring symposiums held by Oliver Stone, Dennis Hopper, and the scribes behind such movies as Silence of the Lambs and Courage Under Fire, the festival held plenty of interest for film buffs and would-be auteurs alike.

On that note, I'd better go work on my screenplay some more.

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The Pen-Ultimate Fest
Wrapping up the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference & Festival. [2]
Russell Smith

Sidebar: Festival Reviews
Sidebar: Festival Reviews. [5]

A Regular Joe
An interview with underground filmmaker Joe Christ. [7]
Marc Savlov

Sidebar: Festival Happenings
Sidebar: Festival Happenings. [6]

Fest guide
Critical guide to the 1997 Chicago International Film Festival. [4]
Ray Pride

Alive and kicking
The 33rd Chicago International Film Festival starts Oct. 9. For previews and interviews with the makers of five must-see films at this year's festival, read on. [3]
Ray Pride

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Catch Him If You Can
Howie Mandel's no longer a stand-up guy. [9]
Mary Helen Randall

Media Mix
Jimmy Smit's butt, and other realities. [25]

River Run
George Eliot's mighty current of a novel needs a wider course in which to run than TV can provide. [22]
Jeffrey Gantz

Videodrome
Porky's and Gamera 2 get the fast forward. [24]
Scott Phillips

Bite This
Sci-Fi Channel presents an entire month of bloodsuckers. [26]
Devin D. O'Leary

Videos a Go-Go
Every week, we take apart a movie genre for your enhanced rent 'n' view pleasure. [23]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

Media Clips
KXAN is too busy promoting ER to report the news; Michael Moore gets Austin to laugh; Jim Hightower gets Austin to smile. [8]
Lee Nichols

TV Eye
Suddenly, VH1 is hip and MTV is looking tired. [28]
Margaret Moser

Reel World
Albuquerque film news. [27]
Devin D. O'Leary

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