About

Photo credit: Annie Ray

About Me: Tim League graduated from Rice University in 1992 with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Art/Art History. After a two-year stint at Shell Oil in Bakersfield, California, Tim turned his back on the engineering profession and opened up his first movie theater. An unmitigated financial disaster, the Tejon theater closed in 1995, and he and his wife Karrie loaded a truck with 200 seats, a projector, screen and speakers and headed to Austin to Start the Alamo Drafthouse, where he remains as CEO today. League also co-founded Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the United States and has recently started a Drafthouse branded distribution label which released the critically acclaimed Jihadi-comedy FOUR LIONS in 2010. When asked about his early qualifications for opening a movie theater in the first place, "none, other than really liking movies, which I guess is the most important part."

Programming Genius: Difficult to say. Robosaurus in the parking lot of South Lamar, Camp Hack n' Slash, our horror summer camp, the Zaireeka screening with quadrophonic video and audio, the mandatory smoking show of BREATHLESS, the very first DELIVERANCE screening (also first Rolling Roadshow). These days, the event I anticipate the most is Fantastic Fest.

Favorite Movies:

Old Guard Faves: THE GENERAL, CITY LIGHTS, ON THE WATERFRONT, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, THE GODFATHER PART 2, TOUCH OF EVIL

New Faves: ADAM’S APPLES, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, EX-DRUMMER, BLACK SWAN, THE HOST, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, PAN’S LABYRINTH

Exploitation Films: ANGUISH, ABAR 1ST BLACK SUPERMAN, TOYS ARE NOT FOR CHILDREN, PENITENTIARY, VICE SQUAD

Favorite Beer: Just like movies, I can't really pick just one. Indulgent one-off: Sam Adam's Utopias, Favorite local 512 Barrel-aged Pecan Porter, Old reliables: Anchor Christmas, Arrogant Bastard. Favorite Breweries: Dogfish Head and Brewdog.

Badass Character: Can't just do one. In no particular order (and all dudes, sorry): Bama (Dean Martin) in SOME CAME RUNNING. Not sure if he was acting at all, but I sure wanted to hang out and play cards with him. Freebie in FREEBIE AND THE BEAN - I like James Caan in just about everything, but he's a particularly demented and charming badass in this one. Tiger (Rock Hudson) in PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW. He's got his sociopathic personality quirks, but he's a real smoothie with the ladies and kept a cool head under pressure. Snakey (Les Tremayne) in SNAKES. Nobody fucks with his Wednesday.

Line to Live By: "A repo man spends his life getting into tense situations." - Bud (Harry Dean Stanton). Even though I sometimes don't handle tension well, I can't deny that I like tense situations.

 

Photo credit: Annie Ray

About Me: Henri Mazza graduated with a degree in film production from UT in 2000, then used that higher education diploma to become a waiter at the Clay Pit Indian restaurant before moving on to being a food runner at the Alamo in 2001. While he was a waiter at the original Alamo location he started producing some poorly edited trailers for midnight programming and passing them onto Tim. After realizing how fun it was to see his own work up on the big screen at the Alamo, he created Open Screen Night so that other film hobbyists in that pre-YouTube world would have an opportunity to share their work with strangers. Developing that show led to more promotions, programming and producing of original content, and over the years he's created everything from theatrical reality dating shows to the incredibly popular Quote-Along screenings of repertory favorites.

 

Programming Genius: The single greatest programming event we've ever done is always the one we're putting together next. We learn from each event we put together, and we constantly try to top ourselves. Eventually that will surely lead to my tragic death, but it'll probably be an awesome way to go out, so I'm cool with it.

Favorite Movie: THE JERK, BAD BOYS 2, INVISIBLE CHILD

Favorite Beers: Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary Reserve. That shit was awesome.

Badass Character: The Dread Pirate Roberts (but not necessarily Westley)

Line to Live By: "Station!" (BILL & TED’S BOGUS JOURNEY)

 

Photo credit: Annie Ray

About Me: Chef John Bullington, once well known for his world fusion cuisine at the helm of Mars Restaurant, has spent the last seven years boldly altering the American foodscape with the marriage of film and food for the Alamo Drafthouse. The result has been a string of over 80 successful feast menus melding the food on film with the food on the plate. John’s menus have been inspired by the cuisine of the films' locations such as a six course Russian menu inspired by DR. ZHIVAGO and six courses of Bedouin delights for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. The menus are also derived from the food included in the film, which is the basis for his nine course menu inspired by THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy presented during the course of viewing all three films in one sitting.

 

I attended the Texas Culinary Academy graduating in 1994. I have worked in restaurants for 23 years. My main hobby is gardening, creating a beautiful space to relax in yet still enjoy its bounty in my kitchen. In 2004, the opportunity came to open the Alamo Drafthouse at South Lamar and really explore the possibilities of cinema and food. I truly love what I do and would have it no other way. I consider this job one of the most unique chef's jobs in the world.

Programming Genius: THE LORD OF THE RINGS nine course trilogy feast.

Favorite Movies: ISHTAR, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, AMADEUS, ESTOMAGO, BIG NIGHT, THE APARTMENT, FOOD, INC.

Favorite Beer: Right now it's anything Dogfishhead

Badass Character: Jack Burton, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA

 

Photo credit: Annie Ray

About Me: Lars Nilsen is more excited, obsessive and knowledgeable about underappreciated movies than any other Nordic man. He's a programmer for Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest, including Weird Wednesday, the world's single greatest weekly 35mm exploitation film series. He has so many movie reference books that the shelves bend like upside-down wooden rainbows. He collects out-of-print VHS tapes and music by non-caucasians. He almost beat up a guy for locking a dog in a hot car with the windows up. Don't do that.

 

Programming Genius: I'd be disingenuous if I didn't say Weird Wednesday, presenting 35mm prints of exploitation classics in all their faded, scratchy glory, every Wednesday at midnight.

Favorite Movies: Off the top of my head: TOUCH OF EVIL, THE NUDE VAMPIRE, THE LONG GOODBYE, TWENTIETH CENTURY, SWITCHBLADE SISTERS, POSSESSION, FORT APACHE, VELVET HUSTLER, DETOUR, VENUS IN FURS, CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT, BURN!, PAYDAY, CHARLEY VARRICK, NINOTCHKA, THE STUNT MAN, BRANDED TO KILL, CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, many, many, many more.

Favorite Beer: Real Ale Coffee Porter

Badass Character: Warren Oates as Bennie in BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA

Line to Live By: "I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them long winter evenings." - Philip Marlowe in THE BIG SLEEP

 

Photo credit: Annie Ray

About Me: Zack Carlson is a programmer for the Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest. He also programs Terror Tuesdays, a weekly series of cult horror films from the 70s and 80s with glorious 35mm prints. He wrote a book called DESTROY ALL MOVIES!!! THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO PUNKS ON FILM. It features reviews of every film that punks appear in, even when they just walk by in the background chewing on a rat. He doesn't eat vegetables. He's never had a beer or a cup of coffee in his life and it's too late to start now so don't worry about it.

 

Programming Genius: 3-way tie: Weird Al introducing his masterpiece UHF for 2400 screaming fans, GOOD BURGER with all-you-can-eat Good Burgers, and the TROLL II Nilbog Invasion, where we took over a small Utah town and made it agonizingly ridiculous for three full days.

Favorite Movie: Penelope Spheeris' 1984 punk masterpiece SUBURBIA, not to be confused with the '90s one starring Parker Posey. Eeyikes.

Favorite Beer: Root. But not Barq's...that shit is nasty.

Favorite Character: Animalistic new wave maniac King Vidiot from '80s arcade comedy JOYSTICKS. The human embodiment of No Rules.

Line to Live By: "Life is Hell. There is only one God, and that's Man." - Timothy Carey from THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER