Filmmaker Richard Linklater's feature films have often debuted in prestigious film festivals and venues, from Sundance to Cannes, but he's trying something different with his first documentary feature. After a splashy premiere in Austin last week, Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach will be released ... not in theaters, but on a cable sports channel. You can watch the film on ESPN2 or ESPN2 HD at 10:00 pm EST on Sunday, June 15.

Inning by Inning is a profile of Augie Garrido, considered one of the "winningest" coaches in NCAA baseball. The film focuses on the 69-year-old coach's most recent seasons with the Texas Longhorns team. Linklater and his crew were given access to the team from 2005-2006, and it's fascinating to see personal, almost intimate moments when Garrido talks to the college players one-on-one, or as a team. Linklater had originally set out to make a documentary about the Longhorns' back-to-back winning seasons (2004-2005), but said (in a Q&A after the film's press screening) that he became interested in Garrido's coaching techniques and shifted the film's focus accordingly. Interviews with former Texas and Cal State-Fullerton players coached by Garrido, and other sports figures like Darrell Royal and Roger Clemens (Kevin Costner appears briefly too), round out the documentary.

Have you been wondering what happened to Adam Rifkin's caveman comedy Homo Erectus? I've been curious about the fate of the film since it was shot here in Austin back in 2005. Rifkin not only wrote and directed Homo Erectus, but also stars as a "philosophical caveman" yearning for a better life. Other well-known actors appearing in the credits include David Carradine and Talia Shire. (Oh, yeah, and Ron Jeremy.) The film premiered at Slamdance in early 2007, then vanished until last June, when National Lampoon picked up the distribution rights. Now, according to Austin Movie Blog (part of the Austin American-Statesman site), National Lampoon has finally decided to let the rest of us see this movie.

National Lampoon's Homo Erectus, as it seems to now be called, will be released in U.S. theaters in stages starting next month, with a DVD release slated for September. The long wait is definitely ominous ... and the comedies National Lampoon releases these days are generally not known for their subtle innuendos and rapier wit. I can't find a review for this movie online, so if any of you caught the film at Slamdance or elsewhere, what did you think?

I live in Austin, so I get to stay here for the entire South by Southwest festival ... and beyond. So I get to see the transition during the festival where the Interactive and Film conferences end (although movies continue to screen through Saturday), and the Music portion engulfs downtown entirely. Every year I still get a jolt of surprise when I see the changes downtown for the Music festival. This year, I was completely surprised. During the film festival, you get used to seeing the insides of theaters and the convention center a lot, but Music spills out into the streets, all through downtown Austin.

I drove downtown yesterday to catch Woodpecker at Alamo Ritz. (And I got in, yay! The movie sold out all three of its screenings.) The parking garage where I'd paid a high but reasonable fee of $7 to park my car earlier in the week was now charging $15. Don't we have price-gouging laws in this town? Sheesh. Fortunately, it was late enough in the day for me to find a metered spot on the street and pay a much more acceptable rate of $1.50. (We keep lots of quarters around the house to use for parking meters during SXSW.) It was pointed out to me later that the Convention Center garage always charges $7 throughout the fest, which is handy advice for us locals.

Do you need a good laugh today? I saw Taxi to the Dark Side on Friday night and when we came home, I was in desperate need of comedy. I found respite in the short films that are entered in the Kindly Rewind contest, another scheme from those crazy folks at Alamo Drafthouse. Nearly 150 shorts are entered in the competition, most of them running 5-6 minutes long, all of them "swedes" of movies as popularized in the trailer for Be Kind Rewind. You can watch all of them online and if you sign up, you can vote for your favorites this week. The shorts are also all playing at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar this week if you live in Austin.

The sweded shorts include five different versions of Top Gun; six takes on Jurassic Park; four of The Karate Kid; two Back to the Futures (Marty wears a real life vest in one), one Back to the Future 2, and one Back to the Future trilogy; and one Be Kind Rewind -- the filmmakers must have been crushed when Michel Gondry did his own swede of the trailer. (But theirs contains a fabulous swede of The Big Lebowski.) Other choices for entries included a fully animated version of Bambi, Koyaaanisqatsi, An Inconvenient Truth (so funny we are developing household catch-phrases from it), Beastmaster with a seven-year-old in the title role, Run Lola Run with very dubious German, and March of the Penguins set in downtown Austin. I especially like the films where people are as low-tech as possible: humming or singing the movie's theme music, using pets as characters, and employing cut-out figures or plastic dinosaurs. (At the end of The Sound of Music, the characters walk up the street to a hand-drawn sign that says "Switzerland.")

A couple of weeks ago, SXSW released info on a handful of films that would be screening at the film festival this March, including the opening-night film, 21. Today, the Austin-based festival let a few more titles slip, including one well-known comedy: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. That might not sound like your typical festival fare, but it'll provide a nice balance with documentaries and low-budget indie dramas.

Although the full SXSW lineup won't be released until Feb. 5, the fest also released details on five other movies that will be screened: Battle in Seattle, a feature about the 1999 WTO demonstrations in Seattle that is actor Stuart Townsend's directorial debut; Mister Lonely, Harmony Korine's movie about a Michael Jackson look-alike meeting a Marilyn Monroe look-alike; The Promotion, a comedy about rival supermarket managers that stars John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott; Crawford, a documentary about how the Texas town has been affected by George W. Bush's home there; and a live-action/animation feature called The Toe Tactic.

Finally, more speakers were announced for a series of "Conversations" panels (the kind where it's generally one famous person and a moderator): Helen Hunt, Michael Eisner, and Harlan Ellison. No word yet on whether any of the Harold and Kumar filmmakers or crew will be at SXSW this March, although writer-directors Hayden Schlossberg and Jon Hurwitz were at Austin Film Festival last fall to talk about their experiences writing both films.

It's heartening to see a good indie film find distribution after you'd almost lost hope of seeing it again, or being able to urge your friends to watch it. I caught Dear Pillow during a limited run at Alamo Drafthouse in 2004, as part of a series showcasing SXSW films that hadn't yet found theatrical distribution. I was pleasantly surprised by the Austin-shot film and although I thought its sexual content might make it a tough sell, wished it would eventually find a wider audience. Three years later, Dear Pillow has finally appeared on DVD, and I am able to recommend it to anyone who doesn't object to watching a frank film about sex.

Dear Pillow isn't a porno, and in fact we witness very little sex or nudity in the film. Characters talk about sex, read and write and watch porn, and obviously are desirous of having sex with the people around them. (They masturbate, but we don't see this directly.) This isn't a dry, talky movie, however -- it can get downright disturbing at times.

The SXSW Film Festival and Conference may not be taking place again until next March, but we're already hearing from the fest organizers about who will be there. I mean, I'll be there, but that's not news. Moby will be there? That's news. The musician will be participating in a film conference session called, unsurprisingly, "A Conversation with Moby," in which he'll talk about his movie-related work. He composed the score for the long-awaited Southland Tales, and his music has appeared on the soundtracks of a variety of films, from all three Bourne films to The Salton Sea (a film I especially like) to The Devil Wears Prada. Moby also has started a project to offer some of his music without licensing costs to indie filmmakers, so you can see he'll have plenty to discuss at SXSW.

If you're not into movie soundtracks, you might be interested in the other SXSW speaker who will be at the conference in 2008: documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson, who will be discussing the historical aspects of his films. Some of his best-known films include A Place of Our Own, about a resort for African-Americans at Martha's Vineyard, which played at Sundance in 2004, and most recently Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple, which has been nominated for an Emmy this year after being broadcast as part of The American Experience series on PBS. A previous doc of Nelson's that aired on The American Experience, The Murder of Emmett Till, won an Emmy in 2004. No word yet on whether any of Nelson's films will screen at the festival, but I would be surprised if we didn't see one or two. SXSW will take place March 8-15, 2008, in Austin, Texas.

Welcome to The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar. Each week, we'll give you a round-up of what's going on in indie film (and sometimes just cool film news and screenings) in cities near you. If you know of cool stuff happening that's related to film -- a local fest, a series of classic restored films, lectures, workshops, open calls for casting of an indie film -- send your tips to me at kim(at)cinematical(dot)com and we'll add them to the calendar.

Here are this week's happenings in film from New York to LA and points in between ...

New York City: This weekend brings New Yorks the Independent Features Film Festival at Tribeca Cinemas. The fest, whose 21 selections were chosen by viewers who watched the films over the internet, runs July 27-29, starting with tonight's red carpet premiere of audience pick alleyball.

At Film Forum, you can still check out Live-In Maid (showing through July 31). Starting today, there's also a fest going on at Film Forum: the NYC Noir Fest, a spectacular five week, 46-film exploration of the dark side. You can check out the full schedule right here -- I have to note that it includes one of my fave bad movies ever, Cat People, which I used to revel in watching every time it showed on the late-night movies on the local UHF channel when I was a kid (UHF? Yeah, that was pre-cable, thanks for noticing and making me feel old). You can also catch films like Midnight Cowboy, Taxi Driver, Panic in Needle Park, Rope, and Rear Window, if Cat People isn't your thing. As a part of the fest, Film Forum also has a series called "The Silent City: New York in the Movies, 1898-1928."

As if a fest full of noir wasn't enough to make your cinepheliac heart go all a-flutter, Film Forum also has screenings of the very excellent No End in Sight this weekend, with director Charles Ferguson on hand for Q&As following the 8PM screenings. I saw No End in Sight at Sundance, and attended a pretty impressive panel discussion of the film as well. The film rocks -- don't miss it. You can get more insight into the film as well with James Rocchi's interview with Ferguson, which we just posted today.

Over at the Walter Reade Theater, we have yet another film fest: Scanners: The New York Video Festival. You can see the full fest program right here.

Los Angeles: If you didn't make the trip down south to San Diego to hang out with all things geekerific at Comic-Con, never fear, there are plenty of things to do in that other southern Cal city. As usual, American Cinematheque's got you indie film fans covered. Mods and Rockers is still going on there, and on Sunday you can get all classic with a screening of For Whom the Bell Tolls. Coming up August 2 (and running through August 27), it's the Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Fest, just in time to get you past those post-Comic Con blues.


Seattle: Seattleites can get their film fest jones satisfied at NW Film Forum: starting this weekend, NWFF brings you "From the Tsars to the Stars: A Journey Through Russian Fantastik Cinema." Tonight through August 2, you can catch a screening of fest fave The Trials of Darryl Hunt, which won best doc at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival.

The Seattle International Film Festival may be long over, but the SIFF group is still bringing Seattleites great films all summer long with their SIFF Cinema Summer Series. Through August 2, they're showing Apachatpong Weerasethakul's Syndromes and a Century, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Daratt, Bahman Ghobadi's Half Moon, and Tsai Ming-Liang's I Don't Want to Sleep Alone.

Also this weekend in Seattle: On July 28, The Film School brings Oscar-nommed director Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) into town to sneak-preview his latest doc, Taxi to the Dark Side, which played at the Tribeca Film Festival. Taxi is about torture practices used by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, told through the story of an innocent taxi driver who was tortured and killed in 2002. Gibney's a sharp guy and a solid filmmaker -- that one's a must-see for you Seattle film buffs. Tix available at Warren Etheredge's website, The Warren Report.

Toronto: Heading north of the border, Toronto film fans can head over to Yonge-Dundas Square on Tuesday, July 31 to catch Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

Austin: This weekend at The Alamo Drafthouse at Lake Creek brings you a screening for the kids (or those of us who haven't quite grown up yet, Dark Crystal. Coming up August 3 and 4 -- midnight screenings of Jackie Chan's Drunken Master! At the South Lamar location, bring the kids to free screenings through August at Kids Summer Movie Camp. Films will include Nanny McPhee, Holes, and one of my own faves, Howl's Moving Castle. Plus: The Village location has Rocky Horror Saturday night at 11:55 PM, so break out your corsets and fishnet stockings!

Dallas: Coming up in Dallas, the Dallas Video Fest runs July 31- August 5. The fest is surprisingly affordable -- all-day passes range from $10 weeknights to $25 weekends. Check out the full schedule and start making your plans now.

Oklahoma City: This weekend at the Oklahoma CIty Museum of Art: Ten Canoes and Susan Hayward in Tulsa (one screening only on Sunday). Upcoming in August: Summercamp!, Bound for Glory, La Vie en Rose, and The Outsiders. And mark your calendars NOW for Sarah Polley's remarkable Away From Her, screening starting August 16.

Want your city covered? Send your film news and links to me at kim(at)cinematical(dot)com ...

I was going to help Tim League and his Austin Fantastic Fest crew pick a few movies for this year's event, but unfortunately I had to head back to the east coast for the summer. But it sure doesn't look like the FF programming crew is having ANY trouble without me! (A crew that includes Twitch's Todd Brown, SXSW's ever-classy Matt Dentler, the Alamo's mad genius Kier-la Janisse, and AICN's recently-wed (congrats) Harry the K, just so you know who's pickin' the flicks.) Anyway, released just today is a brand-new batch of genre titles that can soon be enjoyed at the third annual Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. I may be a little biased (since Austin and everyone in it rocks the proverbial house) but I'm getting pretty darn excited for FF this year. (Plus I've had a rotten summer, and the only thing that can make me feel better is a full week of horror movies!)

In addition to the already-released list of titles, the FF posse just unleashed another batch of gore-soaked goodies. Nope, it wasn't enough to book movies like End of the Line, Flight of the Living Dead, The Last Winter and Spiral (all of which I've seen and awarded S. Nerd Weinberg stamp of approval) and get Uwe Boll himself to introduce Postal ... nope, these guys had more blood to spill. (Clarification: Fantastic Fest does a lot more than just horror; it's just that I always choose to focus my eyeballs there first.) Anyway, their new batch includes titles like Joe Lynch's Wrong Turn 2 (I've seen an excerpt and boy is it splattery!), Winona Ryder in Daniel Waters' Sex and Death 101, and the very amusing Sundance mockumentary Finishing the Game.

For everything you need to know about Fantastic Fest (which runs September 20 - 27 at the awesome Alamo South Lamar), feel free to pick through the official site. It's there you can check out plot synopses, find a few reviews, scope some trailers and make up a handy little schedule of what you'd like to see ... even if you can't attend. But fear not: Cinematical will have a small team of lunatics there to keep you up to speed. Can't wait! (And they still have some titles to announce yet! I'm promised some big news, too!) For the "old" news, check out Jette's May 17 report right here.

National Lampoon is fast becoming a more aggressive brand for theatrical releases. Erik reported in April that the company had bought distribution rights to the "jam band" film Electric Apricot. National Lampoon is also producing its own movies in-house, starting with Bag Boy and recently signing Savage Steve Holland to direct Ratko: The Dictator's Son. Now the company that launched its film reputation with Animal House has signed a distribution deal for Homo Erectus, a comedy starring, written and directed by Adam Rifkin. The film will be retitled National Lampoon's Homo Erectus, which is standard for all the company-branded movies. (In fact, all the films in this paragraph should be prefaced with "National Lampoon's" but that would double the size of the text.)

Homo Erectus is about a "philosophical caveman" (Rifkin, I assume) who tries to impress his girlfriend by inventing useful things like spoons and pants. The film, which premiered at Slamdance earlier this year, also stars David Carradine, Talia Shire and Gary Busey. It was shot in Austin in 2006, and locals who caught a glimpse of the prehistoric sets and costumes during location shooting have wondered when they'd get a chance to see the completed movie. Speculation about distribution arose again last week after learning that Rifkin's latest film, Look, won the Grand Jury Prize at the CineVegas festival. Austinites and everyone else will get to see National Lampoon's Homo Erectus in theaters this September, and National Lampoon also acquired the home-video rights. You can view a trailer for the film online.