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Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Tim and Karrie League (2023) artwork

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Tim and Karrie League (2023)

How I Built This with Guy Raz

October 12, 2026

In the early 1990’s, Tim League spent $50,000 in savings to lease an abandoned movie theater on the wrong side of the tracks—a shaky experiment that eventually grew into a thriving national chain.

Speakers Guy Raz, Tim League, Karrie League

TopicsBusiness

Guy Raz (0:00)

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Hey everyone, it's Guy here. So this week, we're bringing you a very, very good and very funny episode from our archive. It's my conversation with Tim and Karrie League, who founded the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. And this episode is so full of amazing anecdotes about how Tim and Karrie opened this small movie theater in a parking garage in Austin, Texas, and turned it into a national chain. And just to put things in context, I spoke with them back in the spring of 2023, just as life was slowly getting back to normal after COVID. And I'll share some updates about Tim and Karrie at the end of the episode. But for now, enjoy the show.

Tim League (5:04)

I stayed late one night and I was really proud of myself because I sheet rocked the entire kitchen every last bit.

Guy Raz (5:09)

And you were like, awesome, I've done it.

Tim League (5:11)

Called in the inspection before 6 a.m. And it's funny because the inspector at the time, he's like, you know, Tim, I'm going to pass you for this, but I just want to show you something about sheet rock. See these little divots here? That's where you can put a little joint compound and you don't get these big bumps that are on all of your walls because you've installed all of these backwards. It's still sheet rock, it still works.

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