Alamo Drafthouse is renaming one of its Austin theaters in honor of Texas native Matthew McConaughey.
The movie chain announced that on Monday, Aug. 10, Alamo Drafthouse Muellerwill officially become the Matthew McConaughey Cinema, celebrating the actor, producer and longtime Austin icon.
In announcing the change, Alamo Drafthouse praised McConaughey as a “proud Texan” whose three-decade career has kept audiences “laughing, chest-thumping, crying, hook ’em horns-ing, and occasionally questioning the nature of existence and dimensional space-time.”
To celebrate the dedication, the theater will host an early screening of McConaughey’s critically acclaimed new crime thriller film, “The Rivals of Amziah King,” on Aug. 10. McConaughey will be there
to introduce the film.
“More than just what’s on the screen, movies have always been about who you watch them with and the memories you take home,” McConaughey said in a news release. “Alamo Drafthouse has championed that kind of moviegoing from the very beginning, and to have a theater dedicated in my name in the city that's shaped so much of who I am means a great deal to me.”
Alamo Drafthouse noted that McConaughey has remained closely connected to his Texas roots. He was born in Uvalde and later attended the University of Texas at Austin.
"From his breakout role in “Dazed and Confused” to the emotional sweep of “Interstellar,” his Oscar-winning performance in “Dallas Buyers Club” and the dark intensity of “True Detective,” McConaughey has built a decades-long career while maintaining strong ties to Texas," the movie chain wrote.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alamo Drafthouse is renaming Texas theater after Matthew McConaughey
