Hollywood might be more than 1,000 miles away, but did you know that Austin has its fair share of movie magic?
Between the abundance of talented production workers in Central Texas, the beautiful + diverse scenery, the free permitting, and other industry incentives offered by the government, ATX is a leading city for making movies outside LA.
Dozens of flicks have been filmed here in Texas’ Capital City –– here are 10 of our favorites:
🎬 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Starring Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger) | The original 1974 movie featured a cast mostly of students from UT Austin + was filmed in areas just outside ATX.
🎬 Boyhood (Starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette) | Filmed over 12 years across several Texas cities, much of the movie was filmed in Austin – including one notable scene at the Continental Club.
🎬 Dazed and Confused (Starring Jason London, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich) | Like Boyhood, this coming-of-age classic was directed by Texas native Richard Linklater + filmed all over the state. A few of the prominent ATX filming locations include Bedichek Middle School, Top Notch Hamburgers, and West Enfield Park.
🎬 Courage Under Fire (Starring Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan) | This 90s blockbuster was filmed across Texas, California, and Connecticut, including one scene on the Southwest Grounds of the Texas State Capitol.
🎬 True Grit (Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld) | This Coen Brothers classic was filmed around Texas + includes a quick shot of the Capitol Building standing in as a rail station.
🎬 Office Space (Starring Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman) | It makes sense that Office Space was filmed in Austin, because this city has all the flair. Here’s a rundown of several of the familiar locations featured in the movie.
🎬 Spy Kids (Starring Alexa PenaVega, Daryl Sabara, Antonio Banderas) | Spy Kids was almost exclusively filmed in Austin – aside from a quick shot of Chile + some scenes in San Antonio.
🎬 Miss Congeniality (Starring Sandra Bullock) | Aside from an opening scene in NYC, Miss Congeniality was largely filmed in Austin + San Antonio.
🎬 Transformers: Age of Extinction (Starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor) | The Transformers installment was filmed across several cities, including Chicago, Hong Kong, Detroit, and – you guessed it – Austin.
🎬 Temple Grandin (Starring Claire Danes) | Austin was chosen as the location to film Temple Grandin because the area’s varied landscape could represent both New England + rural Arizona.
To read more about other movies with ATX ties – and to learn about our local film industry – check out the Austin Film Commission.
