Austin Film Society to Honor Filmmaker John Lee Hancock and 20th Anniversary of​ Office Space at 2019 Texas Film Awards

Austin, TX – (February 1, 2019) The Austin Film Society (AFS) announced two honorees for the Texas Film Hall of Fame: filmmaker John Lee Hancock (The Highwaymen, The Blind Side, The Rookie) and Office Space, in honor of its 20th year anniversary. John Lee Hancock and Office Space writer/director Mike Judge will attend to accept their awards at the 2019 Texas Film Awards on Thursday, March 7, 2019. The annual event will take place at the AFS Cinema, with a red carpet followed by an intimate reception, dinner, and awards ceremony in AFS Cinema’s Event Hall.

WHO:  Austin Film Society

WHAT: Austin Film Society to Honor Filmmaker John Lee Hancock and Office Space at 2019 Texas Film Awards

WHEN: March 7, 2019

WHERE:  AFS Cinema | 6406 N Interstate 35 Suite 3100, Austin, TX 78752

WEB:  austinfilm.org

MEDIA CONTACTS:  

Stephanie Davidson | stephanie@frankpublicity.com

PUBLIC CONTACT & TICKET SALES:

tfa@austinfilm.org | 512-322-0145

Texas born and raised filmmaker John Lee Hancock is best known for writing and directing The Blind Side, which was nominated in 2010 for Best Picture at the Oscars and garnered an Academy Award for Sandra Bullock’s performance. He also directed The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, and Brian Cox; The Founder, starring Michael Keaton; and Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson. Hancock’s latest film, The Highwaymen, stars Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, and Kathy Bates and tells the untold true story of the legendary Texas Rangers who brought down Bonnie and Clyde. The film will premiere at SXSW and will launch globally on Netflix on March 29, 2019.  

The cult classic film Office Space will receive the 2019 Star of Texas Award of the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Office Space turned the Kafka-esque travesty of the modern office environment into comedy fodder and one of the most relatable workplace comedies of all time. Writer and director Mike Judge will join AFS to reminisce about the making of this Texas classic. Winner of a Primetime Emmy in 1999 for King of the Hill, Judge is also known for his film Idiocracy, the animated series Beavis and Butt-Head, and his current hit show, HBO’s Emmy-winning Silicon Valley.

AFS will host a 20th anniversary screening of Office Space with cast and crew on Wednesday, March 6 at the Paramount Theatre, prior to the induction ceremony on Thursday, March 7. AFS also recently announced they will honor actress and entrepreneur Brooklyn Decker with the Rising Star Award at the 2019 Texas Film Awards.

The Texas Film Awards raises funds for the Austin Film Society’s year-round artistic and educational programs. AFS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by filmmaker Richard Linklater with the mission to make Austin synonymous with great film.

Tickets for the Texas Film Awards on March 7, 2019 are currently available for purchase HERE. Tickets to the Office Space anniversary screening on March 6, 2019, will go on sale to the public on February 15.

Download headshots and event photos:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/29cy19zy24wcn1c/AABR-F9h0L6PY5QOywQCcq06a?dl=0

Tickets and tables available for purchase at https://www.austinfilm.org/texas-film-awards/overview/

About John Lee Hancock

Director, writer, and producer John Lee Hancock has established himself as a distinctive voice in filmmaking with his ability to tell extraordinary stories on screen.

Most recently, Hancock directed the highly anticipated The Highwaymen, starring Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner, a true story about the two legendary Texas Rangers tasked with catching infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. Hancock also directed The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, which tells the story of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc; and Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, about the relationship between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers, and Disney’s desire to adapt Travers’s Mary Poppins into a film.

Hancock also wrote and directed Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment’s celebrated feature The Blind Side. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and garnered Sandra Bullock the Best Actress statuette for her portrayal of Leanne Tuohy. The film, based on the 2006 book by Michael Lewis, told the life story of Baltimore Ravens left tackle, Michael Oher.

In 2002, Hancock helmed Disney’s The Rookie. The film told the true story of fellow Texan Jim Morris, who at age 35 made his Major League baseball debut as a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The critically-acclaimed film starred Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, and Brian Cox, and established Hancock as a director who knows how to translate a story from page to screen.

In 1991, Hancock made his film debut with Hard Time Romance, a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a rodeo, which he both wrote and directed. In 1993 he wrote the screenplay for A Perfect World, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood and Kevin Costner. Some years later, Clint Eastwood asked Hancock to adapt the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The film came out in 1997, was directed by Clint Eastwood, and starred Kevin Spacey and John Cusack.

Hancock’s other credits include: Snow White and the Huntsman, which he co-wrote with Evan Daugherty and Hossein Amini; The Alamo, which he directed and co-wrote with Les Bohem and Stephen Gaghan; and My Dog Skip for which he served as a producer.

Born and raised in Longview, Texas, John Lee was surrounded by sports growing up. His father played college football for Baylor and had a brief run with the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL. Brothers Joe and Kevin played college football (at Vanderbilt and Baylor, respectively), with Kevin playing professionally for the Indianapolis Colts. When it was time for John Lee to go to college, he focused on his studies entirely. He graduated from Baylor with an English degree, as well as a law degree from Baylor’s school of Law. Hancock practiced law for four years before he found himself drawn to the world of films.

About Office Space

Written and directed by Mike Judge (Beevis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, HBO’s Silicon Valley), Office Space was a groundbreaking satire of the modern office environment, and it became one of the biggest cult hits of the late 1990s. The film follows Peter (Ron Livingston) and his cubicle-dwelling friends Samir (Ajay Naidu) and the unfortunately named Michael Bolton (David Herman), software developers at a downsizing tech firm. The films iconic characters were built upon the archetypes of the modern office: a passive-aggressive and lazy boss, played by Gary Cole; Stephen Root as a disgruntled stapler-obsessed office outcast, and Jennifer Aniston as Joanna, the waitress at the nearby corporate chain restaurant. The film shot in and around Austin and used the city’s outskirts to depict “anywhere, USA,” with corporate office buildings, traffic jams, big box stores, and restaurants. While Office Space flew under the radar during its initial theatrical release, it gained popularity on television and home video, becoming a cult hit. Produced by Twentieth Century Fox, the film remains one of the studio’s highest selling home video offerings to this day.

About the Texas Film Awards

The Texas Film Hall of Fame—founded by Evan Smith and Louis Black in 2001—honors those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the Texas film and creative media industry. Now in its 19th year, the Texas Film Awards brings together legends of cinema and television and inducts industry icons into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Proceeds from the unforgettable evening benefit the artistic and educational programs of the Austin Film Society, a 501c3 nonprofit.

About Austin Film Society

Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, the Austin Film Society’s mission is to empower our community to make, watch, and love creative media. AFS curates and screens hundreds of repertory, international, and art house films annually at the AFS Cinema; delivers financial support to Texas filmmakers through the AFS Grant; operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, and Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse media makers to train and collaborate. Through its award-winning after school classes, intern training, and the Ed Lowry Student Film program, AFS encourages media and film literacy and provides a place for youth of all backgrounds to learn the craft of filmmaking and gain access to tools for media production. By hosting premieres, special events, local and international industry events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. To learn more about the AFS Cinema or about Austin Film Society’s mission visit: www.austinfilm.org and follow @AustinFilm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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