and now it's time to say goodbye

Popular Austin-based film site 'Gordon and the Whale' to close

Saying Goodbye to popular film website Gordon and the Whale.
Site owner and editor in chief, Chase Whale.

Popular film site Gordon and the Whale announced it would be shutting its digital doors in August, today.

The news comes as a disappointment for film lovers who show the same amount of enthusiasm for both '80s horror flick Tenebrae and this month's Tinseltown-packagedHorrible Bosses. Since 2007, GATW has been gaining serious film industry credibility, sending the team to cover Sundance in 2010 and 2011 and Cannes in 2011.

The website, which garnered a hefty 250,000 unique hits a month, saw exceptional traction in a short amount of time, transforming the site from hobby to a legitimate business.

But as that serious business grew, additional money was needed to fund the site's adventures and, regrettably, it just never came through. Site owner and editor in chief, Chase Whale, tells CultureMap, "We all decided it was best for us to pursue other adventures in the film and writing world."

The GATW crew remains tight-knit, and you can expect to see them cross promoting their own projects. Look for senior editor James Wallace's new site, IHeartCinema.net and various "huge announcements" from managing editor Kate Erbland in the next few days. Whale himself will be added to Alamo Drafthouse's roster of talented creative directors.

"All of us love each other so very much and will be very supportive of everything we accomplish," Whale explains. "We're like 2011's The Goonies; we stick together, fight and cry together. We're family."

Why can't love just ever be enough?

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CultureMap asked Chase Whale to recommend some sites for filmophiles to visit in lieu of Gordon and the Whale. Here are his top recommendations:

For advance screenings in Austin, IHeartCinema.net. For movie reviews, news, and all around kick-ass movie content: FilmDrunk.com, FilmSchoolRejects, Movies.com, JoBlo.com, SlashFilm.com, TwitchFilm.com, BadassDisgest.com, BoxOfficeMagazine.com,TheFilmStage.com, HitFix.com, HorrorsNotDead.com, BrutalAsHell.com, IFC.com, HitList from MSN.com, EricDSnider.com (for all the hilarious movie snark you can handle), indieWIRE.com, ThePlaylist (a part of indieWIRE), and Thompson on Hollywood (a part of indieWIRE).

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Reexamining Don Draper

Jon Hamm, Henry Winkler, and more headed to Austin for TV festival

Getty Images

Jon Hamm is coming to Austin to talk about Don Draper.

From May 29 to June 1, 2025, the ATX TV Festival will take over downtown Austin, and this year Jon Hamm will be joining the festival for the first time.

Hamm will be here for an event called A Mad Men Retrospective, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show's finale. In this panel (the moderator of which is not yet announced), Hamm will reflect on his Emmy-winning performance as Mad Men's Don Draper, the uniqueness of the character in the TV canon, and the show's influence 10 years after it ended.

Jon Hamm may be best known as Draper, but he's also given celebrated performances in several movies and other shows like Fargo, Black Mirror, and — fun fact! — Gilmore Girls.

Celebrating TV is what the ATX TV Festival is all about. This annual summer event is put on by ATX TV and consists of screenings, Q&As, and panel conversations; plus all sorts of parties, live music, happy hours, and other events. It's known for reunions of classic series and cult hits, and according to the website, it's like "TV camp for grownups."

Jon Hamm isn't the only heavy-hitter in this year's lineup.

Programming also includes an acting class and Q&A with Henry Winkler himself, a live script reading of classic episodes from The Golden Girls and Designing Women (guest actors to be announced), a reunion of the creatives and cast of the HBO hit series The Leftovers, a live recording of the podcast Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast with Suits stars and co-hosts Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J. Adams, and much more.

Additionally, the festival's annual Pitch Competition is still accepting open pitch submissions through January 17. This gives creatives in Austin a chance to pitch their show idea in front of some of the industry's biggest showrunners and executives. Those in the top 10 will receive a year of support to make the next steps in their TV careers.

Festival badges and passes ($150-535) are on sale now.

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