time-warp fudging
Hardcore Austin film buffs already know that the Alamo Drafthouse’s current downtown location is closing over the summer, and the operation will move to the two-screen Ritz theater, right in the heart of the Sixth-Street booze district. My friend Afsheen, who’s both a fellow doctoral student in Radio-TV-Film and an Alamo projectionist, is documenting the move on the Alamo’s blog. Since Afsheen was less than enthusiastic about the move at first, I think he’ll bring an interesting perspective to an important event for Austin’s film community.
For my out-of-town reader, I’ll explain that the Alamo Downtown is a sort of repertory theater that specializes in screening cult films and putting on events like sing-alongs with films like The Muppet Movie and The Sound of Music. Not only does the theater serve beer and upscale pizza, but waitrons serve you at your seat. While the downtown theater doesn’t compare favorably to today’s stadium-style screens, it has a funky charm that will be lost when the doors close. I’m going to stop before I descend into Austinite nostalgic cheese.
