Matthew McConaughey to Be Honored With His Own Drafthouse

Christopher Nolan got San Francisco. Blaxploitation legend Pam Grier got Littleton, Colorado. Parasite director Bong Joon Ho got South Lamar in Austin. Now Matthew McConaughey joins an elite group of film icons by having an Alamo Drafthouse named after him, this time in his adopted hometown of Austin.

The Oscar-winning actor will get his plaque at the Alamo Mueller, which will officially be renamed the Matthew McConaughey Cinema, on Aug. 10. The ceremony will also include a special preview screening of McConaughey’s upcoming feature, The Rivals of Amziah King with a Q&A including director Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night) and lead actress Angelina LookingGlass (Dark Winds). The night will continue with a musical performance featuring McConaughey himself and musicians including the Last Bison giving renditions of songs from the film.

McConaughey, who also stars in the upcoming Apple TV series Brothers, said that “more than just what’s on the screen, movies have always been about who you watch them with and the memories you take home. … Alamo Drafthouse has championed that kind of moviegoing from the very beginning, and to have a theatre dedicated in my name in the city that’s shaped so much of who I am means a great deal to me.”

Michael Kustermann, Chief Executive Officer of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, praised the star of Dallas Buyers Club and Dazed and Confused, adding that McConaughey’s work “has shaped the way that audiences connect with movies [and] his love for this city and for Texas has made him part of its creative fabric. Naming this cinema for Matthew is our way of honoring that connection. And hey, it’s just up the road from Darrell K Royal Stadium, so it’ll be an easy commute when he’s visiting the Longhorns.”

Joining the praise, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called McConaughey “an Austin icon. … He’s also a good guy doing great things for young people across this community and around the country. The renaming of the Alamo Drafthouse at Mueller is a wonderful way to celebrate his professional accomplishments and celebrate someone who genuinely loves this City. It’s alright, alright, alright!”

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