Supermarket chain H-E-B dabbles in film with new documentaries on conservation

Bats, and Ocelots, and Bears...oh my

ourtexasourfuture.com

In the hopes of raising awareness for conservation, San Antonio-based supermarket chain H-E-B has released a new series of short documentaries covering Texas wildlife and state parks.

Called Our Texas, Our Future, it's a five-part series that explores areas in Texas: from the Gulf coast of Houston to the deserts of West Texas, spotlighting animals, marine life, and the state's public parks system.

The series was created in partnership with Fin & Fur Films, and is narrated by Austin-based singer Shane Smith. His band, Shane Smith and the Saints, also created original music for the series.

"H-E-B has a deep commitment to support all Texans, and that includes helping to protect, conserve, and beautify our great state for people to enjoy now and for generations to come," said Leslie Sweet, H-E-B's Managing Director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs in a release. "We’re excited to support these passionate filmmakers and their mission to tell important stories that we hope will inspire people to celebrate and protect the diverse habitats, unique wildlife, and beautiful landscapes across Texas."

Each film can be watched on the Our Texas, Our Future website, and the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Highlands will host a free screening on August 28.

A Century Celebration: Texas State Parks
Director: Ben Masters; Runtime: 9 minutes
This film celebrates the 100th anniversary of Texas State Parks through a retelling of how the public park system came to be. 1.5 million acres of public land stretches from the West Texas mountains to Piney Woods in East Texas, where about 10 million visitors trek Texas state parks every year. Watch the trailer for A Century Celebration: Texas State Parkshere.

Batsies
Director: Elizabeth Unger; Runtime: 15 minutes
San Antonio locals know all too well the history of Bracken Cave, which is home to the world's largest bat colony, comprising more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats. A group of Texas State University wildlife biologiststake viewers on a trip to unearth little-known facts about one of Texas' most precious creatures. Batsies details the group's fight to protect the state's bat population and explains why the mammals are so crucial to Texas' ecosystem and agriculture. Watch the trailerhere.

Redfish Revival
Director: Shannon Vandivier; Runtime: 16 minutes
Redfish Revival is a deep dive into the history of Texas' redfish population, and how a group of Houston fishermen saved them from overfishing in the 1970s. The group's dedication to conservation helped bring about important legislation protecting against overfishing in the 1980s, and even led to redfish being deemed the official saltwater fish of Texas. Watch the trailer here.

Second Chance
Director: Austin Alvarado; Runtime: 22 minutes
Second Chance showcases the ongoing recovery of Texas' black bear population, which has slowly been on the rise over the last 30 years. Researchers from the Borderlands Research Institute in Alpine journey to understand how the bears are surviving in the West Texas desserts in the wake of Texas' human population expansion. Watch the trailer for Second Chance here.

Ranching with Ocelots
Director: Shannon Vandivier; Runtime: 12 minutes
Ocelots are the most endangered cat in the nation, with less than 120 in the wild today. Ranching with Ocelots investigates the relationship between the animals and two traditional Texas vaqueros – Timoteo and Miguel Rodriguez, who also appear in the film Easteños – who seek to protect them. Their ranch is home to the largest documented ocelot population in North America. Watch the trailer here.

Photo by Matthew LeJune on Unsplash

New documentary explores emerging Texas mega-metro that could rival Dallas-Fort Worth

BIGGER IN TEXAS

It's no secret that Austin and San Antonio are becoming some of the biggest cities in Texas, and that together, they just might rival the likes of Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston one day. A new documentary called San Antonio-Austin: The Emerging Mega-Metro takes a deep dive into the booming 80-mile region between the Central Texas cities.

Produced by KLRN, San Antonio's local PBS station, the program centers on the region's growth and the challenges that arise with such rapid expansion, such as water scarcity, environmental impacts, and increasingly common transportation and traffic woes.

They're issues that Dallas-Fort Worth residents know well, as the Metroplex's population continues to explode at a staggering rate.

"We know the area between San Antonio and Austin is growing at a tremendously rapid pace, but what is really happening is the development of a mega-metro that will be one of the biggest economic powerhouses in the world," says Shari St. Clair, the documentary's executive producer, in a release.

“We delve into the questions that need to be asked right now — how do we retain quality of life as we grow? How do we build a sustainable workforce?" St. Clair continues. "And, can San Antonio and Austin truly join forces and work together to make the most of this incredible opportunity?"

The hour-long documentary is hosted by former San Antonio mayor Henry Cisneros, who also authored The Texas Triangle: An Emerging Power in the Global Economy. The special highlights several prominent Central Texas leaders, including interviews with Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenburg, U.S. Congressman Greg Casar, and more.

As Texas is also a state of committed sports fans, the idea of a mega-metro between Austin and San Antonio is additionally explored through a sports lens. The documentary interviewed legends like Nolan Ryan, Sean Elliot, and Spurs Chairman Peter J. Holt.

San Antonio-Austin: The Emerging Mega-Metro can be watched online at klrn.org.

Johnny-Manziel.com

New Netflix documentary tackles rise and fall of Texas A&M football idol Johnny Manziel

Sports on film

A decade after “Johnny Football” frenzy swept into Aggieland, through Texas, and across the nation, a Netflix documentary sheds new light on the troubles that led to Johnny Manziel’s rapid rise and precipitous fall from grace, on and off the field. Untold: Johnny Footballwas released August 8 and within 24 hours, trended as Netflix’s No. 1 movie in the United States.

Manziel, born in Tyler and raised in Kerrville, shot to superstardom in 2012 as the scrappy Texas A&M quarterback who played what seemed like sandlot football in ultra-regimented, Division 1 college football.

A highlight reel favorite, Manziel generally skipped the traditional drop back, read, and fling the ball QB approach. Instead, he had a penchant for holding onto the ball, evading tacklers, and dramatically scurrying down the field and into the endzone to beat nationally ranked powerhouse teams.

He also had a penchant for partying. Big time.

Despite early headlines for extra-curricular antics that might have been a neon-flashing warning sign of things to come, Manziel went on to become the first redshirt freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, college football's most prestigious award for players, in 2012.

That, according to the documentary, is when "Johnny Football's" demise began in earnest.

While Texas A&M made hundreds of millions off Manziel mania, the player himself earned nothing, per NCAA rules (which have since changed). In Untold, Manziel says he still has a “deep hatred against the NCAA."

A secret scheme to profit from autograph sessions led to a lavish lifestyle that eventually raised eyebrows and got him suspended for half a game in 2013. But hero-worship went to his head that year, and by the time he left A&M and entered the NFL Draft in 2014, he was a mess.

Being a mess didn't stop the fascination with Manziel by certain pro teams, including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. (Although not covered in the documentary, sportswriters say the elder Jones was intrigued by Texas' "Johnny Football" playing for America's Team. Jones' son, Stephen, wasn't as impressed, and the two bickered to the point that legend has it Stephen snatched a draft card bearing Manziel's name from his father's hand - Stephen swears it never happened.)

Manziel was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, and the two years he spent with them are a well-documented series of professional, personal, and legal screw-ups. (YouTube viewers can watch his often brutal "career lowlights.") Manziel admits on the show he was doing everything he could to get out of the NFL; he admits he didn't even watch game tape, a weekly must for any NFL quarterback.

His efforts paid off: the Browns released him in 2016.

But, the biggest revelation in Untold is about what happened next (spoiler alert): a bipolar-disorder diagnosis, severed ties with his family, a $5 million “bender,” and a suicide attempt.

The hour-long documentary is not a redemption story; in fact, the story is not yet finished. Manziel returned home to live with his family in Texas, and announced recently he’s opening a nightclub and bar in College Station. (Whoop?)

The show (directed by Ryan Duffy and part of Netflix’ Untold docuseries) lets Manziel tell his own tales, and at times he comes across as a kinda likable schmuck all these years later. “I was a frat boy and my frat was the football team,” he says at the end.

It also lets his enablers blather on about the gross behavior they encouraged — a friend who ran Manziel's autograph-profiting “business;” coaches who looked the other way when he won games hung over; an agent who dreamed up vile ways to spin his misdeeds; and even (or especially) his parents, who got so caught up in their son — the idol — that they once faked a hospital stay to delay a make-or-break NFL Draft drug test in 2014.

Not interviewed: Reps from the Cleveland Browns, his alleged victims of domestic violence, or anyone in his orbit with a moral compass.

Untold is sympathetic but stops short of making Manziel a victim.

Now, all told, die-hard fans still love him. The documentary opens in a surprising setting, in fact - Manziel’s induction into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2022. After his speech, he’s shaking hands and thanking supporters.

"I loved you when you were here, through all the shenanigans, I still loved you," says one man. "Thank you very much," Manziel says and pats him on the shoulder.

Cut to next scene: Manziel is lighting up and partying with friends beside a pool.

"There is who you are as a football player, and then there is who you are as a human being," he says in a voiceover, "and the two, for me, were just really, really different."

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Untold: Johnny Football is now streaming on Netflix.

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'Yellowstone' stars to greet fans at Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

Yellowstone news

Yellowstone fans, get your comfy shoes ready - there'll be a long line for this one. Cole Hauser a.k.a. "Rip Wheeler" on Yellowstone, and Taylor Sheridan, the show's co-creator, executive producer, and director of the series, will meet fans and sign autographs at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

The event will take place from 4:30-6:30 pm only on Friday, February 3. Location is the 6666 Ranch booth near the south end of Aisle 700 in the Amon G. Carter, Jr. Exhibits Hall.

According to a February 2 announcement from FWSSR, "fans will have the opportunity to snag an autograph as well as purchase some distinctive Yellowstone and 6666 Ranch merchandise while also enjoying all the features the Stock Show offers."

The event is free to attend (with paid Stock Show admission) and open to the public.

It's the second year in a row for Hauser to appear at FWSSR; in 2022, he and fellow cast mates drew huge crowds.

Sheridan, a Paschal High School graduate, is no stranger to Fort Worth; he lives in a ranch near Weatherford and filmed 1883, the prequel to Yellowstone, in and around Fort Worth. Currently, another spinoff, 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, is filming in North Texas.

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is winding up its 2023 run on Saturday, February 4.

These are the 12 must-see shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for December

Theater Critic Picks

It's here: holiday show time. Many of them opened at the end of November, so we're including them here for your planning ease.

Whether you're looking for something family-friendly, a play the in-laws will love, or a performance that has nothing to do with the holidays at all, read on.

In order of start date, here are 12 local shows to watch this month:

Jada Bells - A Holiday Extravaganza
Uptown Players, through December 10
Dallas drag performer Jada Pinkett Fox, aka Lee Walter, will show off her charisma, stage presence, and voice as she brings her unique blend of glamour, humor, and talent to the stage. Jada will be joined by musical guests, each bringing their own flair and style. The holiday-themed extravaganza, written and directed by BJ Cleveland, features classic holiday favorites and contemporary hits.

Black Nativity
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, through December 17
For 19 years, Bishop Arts Theatre Center's annual holiday production of Black Nativity, inspired by Langston Hughes's iconic 1960 Broadway show, is back with a mesmerizing display of hand-clapping, toe-tapping, and finger-snapping theatrical wonderment like never before.

Poor Clare
Stage West, through December 17
Meet Clare: a stylish teen living in medieval Italy, trying out the newest hairstyles, and keeping up with the latest fashions and juicy town gossip. But everything changes when she meets a man named Francis who has started ranting in the streets. Her mother, sister, and maids don’t understand it, but this man’s ideas are, like, totally starting to make sense – and now she can’t unsee the world he has shown her.

Scrooge in Rouge
Theatre Three, through December 17
After a widespread case of food poisoning wipes out the majority of The Royal Music Hall Twenty-Member Variety Players, three surviving members of the company soldier on through a performance of A Christmas Carol that abounds in bad puns, naughty double-entendres, and witty songs.

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Dallas Children's Theater, through December 23
Rediscover the true reason for the season while sharing laughs with the Peanuts Gang along the way. Accompanied by a live combo, Charles Schulz’s classic special will make audiences nostalgic for days gone by.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical
Casa Mañana, through December 23
Based on the best-selling book and play by Barbara Robinson, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical is the story of the Herdmans, who are the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, they steal, they bully other kids, and they smoke smelly cigars. There used to be only one place where you’d never see them: church.

A Gospel Black Nativity
Jubilee Theatre, through December 24
Black Nativity is an adaptation of the Nativity story by Langston Hughes, performed by an entirely Black cast. Hughes was the author of the book, with the lyrics and music being derived from traditional Christmas carols, sung in gospel style, with a few songs created specifically for the show.

A Christmas Carol
Dallas Theater Center, through December 30
Three spirits have come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, and to take him on a fantastic journey through Christmases past, present, and future. Brimming with joyful songs, magical spirits, and holiday cheer, this holiday classic embodies a story of joy, redemption, and the spirit of Christmas.

Safe at Home
Kitchen Dog Theater, December 7-10
An engaging and provocative site-specific work designed to be performed inside a baseball stadium, the second-ever professional production of Safe at Home examines the complex intersection between baseball, politics, and the American Dream. Lead by tour guides, pods of audience members travel throughout the stadium to nine different spaces, ranging from a luxury suite to the men’s room to the dugout, as the patrons — not the cast — move from scene to scene.

Deathtrap
Theatre Three, December 7-31
Without a success to his credit for some years, Sidney Bruhl receives a new potential hit script called Deathtrap that was written by his student. Sidney plots with his reluctant wife Myra about how best to plagiarize the play and the evening takes a hilarious and dangerous turn.

The Cher Show
Broadway at the Center, December 14-16
Superstars come and go but Cher is forever. The Cher Show is the Tony Award-winning musical of her story, and it’s packed with so much Cher that it takes three women to play her: the kid starting out, the glam pop star, and the icon.

Les Miserables
Broadway Dallas, December 20-31
Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, the production tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption — a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. The epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history.

Director Todd Haynes tackles inappropriate relationships in May December

Movie Review

Director Todd Haynes has pushed buttons throughout his career, starting with his acclaimed short film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, which used Barbie dolls to illustrate the late singer’s anorexia battle. He’s at it again with his latest, May December, which tackles the idea of highly inappropriate relationships through a lens that itself has the potential to be upsetting.

Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), an acclaimed actress, has traveled to Savannah, Georgia to shadow Gracie (Julianne Moore) in preparation for a movie in which Elizabeth will play Gracie. That movie tackles the beginnings of Gracie’s relationship with Joe (Charles Melton), when he was a 13-year-old seventh grader and she was a 36-year-old pet shop worker. The shocking tryst resulted in much controversy, a child, and a jail stint for Gracie, but the couple professed their love for each other through it all.

Twenty years later, they’re still together, having added two more kids to their family, children who happen to be the same age as Gracie’s grandkids from her previous relationship. Elizabeth wants to experience it all, bouncing from person to person to try to understand exactly who Gracie is and was. Striving for authenticity in her performance, however, soon takes her down a Method acting rabbit hole.

Directed by Haynes from a script by Samy Burch, and loosely based on the story of teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau, the film treats Gracie and Joe’s relationship in a relatively straightforward manner. It details a benign life in which they have the love of their kids and some neighbors, even if they occasionally get a box full of poop on their doorstep.

It’s the arrival of Elizabeth that sends things spiraling, as her various conversations trigger responses from both Gracie and Joe that they seem not to expect. Haynes alternates between being serious and being campy, with not enough of each for either for them to seem to be the goal. The score gives off a less-than-serious vibe, and an early scene in which a mundane thing is treated as if it were happening in a soap opera points in the campy direction, but those type of moments are few and far between.

In casting Portman as the obsessive actor, Haynes may have been trying to offer up echoes of her Oscar-winning role in Black Swan. It’s no small irony that the person who comes off as the most craven in such a sordid story is the actor who everybody wants to be around, not the woman who became a pariah because she is a sex offender. In that and other ways, Haynes upends expectations, keeping the film interesting even through its slower moments.

Portman and Moore are ideal for their respective roles, Portman because she has a knack for portraying confidence and guile, and Moore due to her ability to manipulate at will. Melton, best known for playing Reggie on Riverdale, pales in comparison due to his less showy role, but he complements the story well. Special notice goes to Elizabeth Yu as Gracie and Joe’s daughter Mary, who shines in her limited scenes.

The story of May December contains elements that will creep certain viewers out, whether it’s the subject matter itself or the performances of the two great lead actors. Haynes has a way of getting under the skin with his storytelling, and this film is yet another great example.

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May December will debut on Netflix on December 1.

Photo by François Duhamel / Courtesy of Netflix

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in May December.

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