The Austin Film Festival holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first festival that I covered for FSR. It’s always been an innovative festival that I’ve dug because of its focus on screenwriting and the craft of storytelling. I also plan on covering the hell out of it once it rolls around this year in late October.
And now there may be one more reason to be excited.
Apparently this year’s Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award is going to none other than the narrator from “Arrested Development,” Ron Howard. No touching!
All kidding aside, the guy has spent the last few years trying to erase the good will he earned with Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and about a dozen other films with Dan Brown adaptations. However, the man’s legacy cannot be denied. He’s certainly one of the best storytellers in the business and unafraid to experiment and step outside genre lines. I’m sure anyone would be hard-pressed to think of another working director who has had such critical acclaim while being able to create dramas, character studies, action movies, fantasy epics, comedies and summer blockbusters. Or a working director who’s worked with Tom Hanks as much.
You’ve come a long way, Opie. It’ll be fun to celebrate that fact.
The Austin Film Festival runs from October 22–25 this year, and you can check out more information about it over at their official website.
What do you think?
