Interview:
Laird Jimenez,
programmer,
Weird Wednesday
Weird Wednesday has been an Alamo Drafthouse tradition since 2001, when founder Tim League returned to Austin from Missouri with a truckload of 35mm film prints and a burning desire to show them to the Alamo faithful. League initially programmed and hosted the program devoted to exploitation cinema before quickly turning responsibilities over to Lars Nilsen. Over the course of 12 years Nilsen has shown films that have ranged from acclaimed cult classics to obscure oddities. Earlier this year, Nilsen left his position of an Alamo Drafthouse senior programmer to become a film programmer with the Austin Film Society, but he continued to preside over Weird Wednesday. Until now. Nilsen announced a few weeks he would relinquish his Weird Wednesday responsibilities. He will screen his personal favorite Snakes for his last Weird Wednesday at 10 p.m. Jan. 8 at the Alamo Ritz. Nilsen’s successor is Alamo Drafthouse video editor Laird Jimenez, who has attended most Weird Wednesday screening since moving to Austin in 2012. Nilsen joins Jimenez during this interview.
Aired: Dec. 19, 2013 Web site: https://drafthouse.com/series/weird_wednesday/austin |
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