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    Another Austin roadtrip

    Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, the Dixie Chicks and more will perform at Austin'sFire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas

    Kevin Benz
    Sep 21, 2011 | 4:54 pm
    • Willie Nelson
    • Lyle Lovett
    • Concert organizers speaking at the press announcment - from left: Steve Shook,Austin Community Foundation; Michael Hall, organizer; Ray Benson, musician; JohnGraham, Frank Erwin Center; Eric Johnson, musician
      Photo by Kevin Benz
    • Ray Benson
      Photo by Kevin Benz

    If you missed Austin City Limits, there's another major concert coming up in the capital Oct. 17 — and for a good cause.

    You can call it a full blown mega-benefit concert, complete with high-dollar sponsorships, VIP tickets, a silent auction and an A-list gathering of superstar performers. The show, scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at the University of Texas Frank Erwin Center, is being called Fire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas.

    Headliners include:

    • Willie Nelson
    • Lyle Lovett
    • The Dixie Chicks
    • Asleep at the Wheel
    • Steve Miller, with Eric Johnson & Joe Satriani
    • Shawn Colvin & the Court Yard Hounds
    • The Texas Tornados

    There is also huge buzz that George Strait will be appearing, but no official confirmation so far. Organizers say they "can neither confirm nor deny George Strait as a performer in the wildfire relief concert." Take that for what it's worth; if he wasn't performing, wouldn't they just say "no"? Organizer Ray Benson, responding to the George Strait question, said "No one has turned us down because they don't want to do it." He made it clear that more artists are trying to fit the concert into their tour schedules.

    Count Willie Nelson among them. Willie is on tour now and is scheduled to perform in Akron, Ohio the next day. Enter philanthropist Mort Topfer. The Topfers offered to fly Willie into town and back again in order to be part of this event. Willie accepted and will perform with the Asleep at the Wheel band.

    Friday Night Lightsstar and recent Emmy Award-winner Kyle Chandler will share hosting duties with writer, documentary filmmaker (and Sopranos star) Turk Pipkin.

    The concert is being organized by a large group of Austin-based musical movers and shakers, including guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson, who was credited with the idea; Benson and Peter Schwarz and their company Bismeaux Records; Michael Hall; Turk Pipkin; C3 Presents; and Louis Messina and The Messina Group (TMG), which incidentally also has a relationship with George Strait.

    The Erwin Center is only charging their hard costs for the event, which organizers say will save tens of thousands of dollars. Funds will be gathered and distributed by the Austin Community Foundation.

    Organizers say many details are still being worked out with sponsors being brought on board, and some sponsorships may go as high as $100,000.

    It's clear this is a labor of love by the organizers. "I have friends who lost homes. They live humbly, they don't have a lot," said Johnson. "Whatever we are able to do will be a beautiful drop in the bucket."

    Tickets for the show go on sale Friday through Texas Box Office. Reserved seats will cost $25, $35 and $100, while VIP floor tickets will be $250. Tickets will also be offered free to victims of the fires.

    "One million dollars won't go very far," added Benson, "but with all the other community events, it will certainly help."

    Initial estimates show fire losses in Central Texas reaching $250 million.

    Tickets go on sale at noon Friday at all Texas Box Office locations including online, by phone, and at participating HEB locations. Normal ticket fees are being waived for this event.

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    Movie Review

    Houston native Wes Anderson shows off comedic side in The Phoenician Scheme

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 6, 2025 | 4:00 pm
    Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and Michael Cera in The Phoenician Scheme
    Photo courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features
    Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and Michael Cera in The Phoenician Scheme.

    If you were to do a poll of the best comedy filmmakers of the 21st century, writer/director Wes Anderson is not the obvious choice to come out on top, but there’s an argument to be made for him. His quirky style doesn’t yield the guffaws that more broad comedies do, but the absurd situations he creates in his films are often more consistently funny than anything else.

    Anderson’s inimitable approach is once again on full display in The Phoenician Scheme. At its center is Zsa-Zsa Gorda (Benicio Del Toro), a much-hated businessman who’s looking to complete a number of big projects in the fictional country of Phoenicia. As he seems to be the target of multiple assassination attempts, he appoints his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), as his heir to try to ensure his legacy.

    Both she and his new assistant, Bjorn (Michael Cera), accompany him around the country as he tries to enact a scheme to have others cover the bulk of the cost for the various projects. Those he attempts to convince include Phoenician Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed), brothers Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston), fellow businessman Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), ship captain Marty (Jeffrey Wright), his Cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), and Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch).

    Put in Andersonian terms, the film is a mix between the madcap antics from The Grand Budapest Hotel and the impenetrable storytelling of Asteroid City. If you were to try to understand every detail of what’s going on in the story of The Phoenician Scheme, it might take three or more viewings to do so. But the film is still highly entertaining because Anderson fills its frames with his typical visual delights, great wordplay, and his particular version of slapstick.

    Much of the comedy of the film derives from Anderson inserting moments that initially come as a surprise and then utilizing them as running jokes. The film features more blood than usual for the filmmaker, but each time a character gets wounded (or worse), it gets funnier. The assassination attempts get broader as the film goes along, and the matter-of-fact way in which they’re treated by Gorda and others is also hilarious.

    Of course, Anderson is the cinephile’s comedy director, so the film is also full of high-brow things like allusions to paintings, tributes to other filmmakers, and classical music. Each time Gorda has an attempt on his life, he briefly finds himself in a version of limbo, depicted in black-and-white by Anderson. The cast of characters Gorda finds there - including Bill Murray as God - could come straight out of a 1950s Ingmar Bergman movie.

    Del Toro has delivered some great performances over the years, but this one is near the top for him. This is his second Anderson film (following The French Dispatch) and he nails the deadpan method. Also great is Cera, who uses a ridiculous accent to make a big impression. Threapleton, the daughter of Kate Winslet, makes the most of her first big film role. The list of supporting actors is too deep to properly laud everyone, but they all fit in seamlessly.

    Opinions will differ, but for this critic’s money, Anderson is at his best when he fully leans into the comedy of his films. He does just that in The Phoenician Scheme, to the point that it doesn’t matter that the story is overly complex. The combination of his eye for visual detail, a witty script, and committed performances make it a success.

    ---

    The Phoenician Scheme is now playing in theaters.

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