AUSTIN, TEXAS NAMED TO MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE’S 2021 BEST PLACES TO LIVE AND WORK AS A MOVIEMAKER

 

Austin, Texas – January 27, 2021 – The Austin Film Commission today announced it has been named one of MovieMaker’s Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2021, ranking 3rd out of 25 cities nationally and the top Texas city for moviemakers. 

Austin has made the top 10 every year for as long as MovieMaker has run the survey and moved up three spaces this year. MovieMaker determined the winners using multiple surveys, editorial research on state and city incentives, and a count on recently filmed productions. Austin’s diverse locations, the film culture, and the large number of amazing, locally based filmmakers also added to the ranking.

“It’s always an honor to be included on the MovieMaker’s Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker,” said Brian Gannon, Director of the Austin Film Commission. “This would not be possible without the talented crew base here in Austin as well as the cast, the great local vendors, production companies and facilities that make Austin such a special place for commercial, film, and television production. Thanks to the reputation cultivated by the hard-working talent here in Austin over the past 40 years, we’re in an advantageous position to attract more productions,” added Gannon.

“Although it was an especially tough year, local production crews were able to pivot and bring on-location production back following safety protocols. These productions brought spending to our local Austin businesses and created hundreds of jobs when they were needed most,” added Gannon.

Several brands including Ford, Chevy, Schwab, HEB, YETI, Dell and Indian Motorcycles shot commercials in Austin during 2020. And a few of the feature films made this past year include the indie feature “The Blazing World,” which debuts at the Sundance Film Festival, and the big adventure film “We Can Be Heroes” directed by Robert Rodriguez, which was the top family film on Netflix this holiday season with over 44 million viewers. Just prior to the pandemic, Richard Linklater wrapped “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Adventure.” Television shoots include the AMC television series “Fear the Walking Dead,” back for its fourth year of filming; and Austin is now home to a new series “Walker,” The CW’s re-boot of “Walker, Texas Ranger,” starring Austin’s own Jared Padalecki.

"This was obviously a very different year for our annual list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker — it’s a time of incredible upheaval, but also opportunity. Many in the film and TV industry are looking to change their way of life, and many cities and towns across the country are welcoming these storytellers with open arms,” said MovieMaker editor-in-chief Tim Molloy.

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The Austin Film Commission at Visit Austin, works to bring film, television and commercial production to the city, as well as advocating for and assisting with production filming in the city. Our goals are creating jobs for Austin professionals, increased spending at local businesses, and promotion of Austin domestically and internationally. For more details on Made in Austin, visit here.

MovieMaker is dedicated to the art and craft of making movies. The 2021 list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker appears in our Winter 2021 issue, available on newsstands on February 2. The full list is also available at Moviemaker.com.