Hollywood to houston

Houston in the spotlight with No. 1 film location in Texas

Universal Pictures: Celebrating 100 Years screening - Apollo 13

Can you guess what's the most-filmed location in Texas?

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What do the movies Apollo 13, Urban Cowboy, Terms of Endearment, Armageddon, Rushmore, and Robocop 2 have in common? They were all filmed mostly or partially right here in Houston.

According to GoCompare.com, Houston is the third-most-filmed city for movie and TV productions — 1,279, to be exact — in Texas. Similarly, Texas happens to be the third-most-filmed state — 8,164 in total — in the country. Houston also boasts the most-filmed location in the state: Johnson Space Center. It's been used for the aforementioned Apollo and Armageddon, as well as Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, and the Clint Eastwood movie Space Cowboys.

Statewide, the city that's been filmed the most is Austin, with 2,257 movie and TV productions. Those productions range from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original and the remake) to Miss Congeniality, to virtually anything local star filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Houston-born Richard Linklater have shot. Dallas is at second place with 1,537 — with such productions as Robocop, Boys Don't Cry, and, of course, the TV show Dallas doing film time there.

San Antonio is at fourth with 564 (remember in Pee Wee's Big Adventure when Pee Wee tried to look for his bike at The Alamo's non-existent basement?), and Fort Worth (where Walker, Texas Ranger shot) rounds out the top five with 331.

The site compiled the list from the "filming locations" section of the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Here is the list of most-filmed (movies and TV productions) cities in Texas:

1. Austin: 2,257 (Miss Congeniality, Boyhood, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, True Grit)

2. Dallas: 1,537 (Robocop, Boys Don't Cry, Any Given Sunday)

3. Houston: 1,279 (Apollo 13, Armageddon, Urban Cowboy)

4. San Antonio: 564 (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Miss Congeniality, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure)

5. Fort Worth: 331 (Logan's Run, Necessary Roughness, Walker, Texas Ranger)

6. Arlington: 179 (The Rookie, Prison Break, Entourage)

7. El Paso: 177 (The Counselor, The Day After Tomorrow, Man of Fire)

8: Denton: 137 (Necessary Roughness, Armageddon, Bonnie and Clyde)

9. Corpus Christi: 97 (Pearl Harbor, Selena, The Mentalist)

10: Plano: 85 (Dallas, Wishbone)

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Texas-based microbrewery theater chain claims Houston's shuttered Alamo Drafthouse

Courtesy of Flix Brewhouse

The menu includes burgers and other sandwiches.

The Houston area’s shuttered Alamo Drafthouse will soon reopen under new ownership. Flix Brewhouse has claimed all four Drafthouse locations that had been operated by Triple Tap ventures, including two theaters in El Paso and one in Lubbock.

Founded in Round Rock, TX in 2011, Flix Brewhouse touts itself as “the world’s only first-run cinema brewery.” The acquisition brings Flix to 15 locations nationwide, including theaters in San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Albuquerque. The Houston location is in Katy’s LaCenterra development (2707 Commercial Center Blvd.).

All four locations will reopen on February 23, in time for the release of Scream 7, with tickets going on sale February 13.

“This acquisition is a natural extension of who we are and what we believe in,” CEO Chance Robertson said in a statement. “Cinema success today means creating better experiences. We’re grateful to the entire Triple Tap team for their work in cultivating these moviegoing communities, and we’re honored to carry that legacy forward.”

Similar to an Alamo Drafthouse, Flix serves a wide range of classic American fare, all of which is scratch-made in the theater’s kitchen. They include breakfast tacos (available all day), burgers, salads, pizza, and entrees such as chicken tenders, fish and chips, and quesadillas. Naturally, theater goers have four popcorn choices: butter, bacon ranch, elote chili lime, and dill pickle.

They’re paired with beers brewed exclusively for Flix. Current styles include a Scottish ale, a raspberry wheat, a hazy IPA, and a Mexican-style lager. Last year, it won a Gold Medal at the Texas Craft Brewers Cup.

Each location screens first-run films as well as “Flix Picks” for classic movies and a FanFest screening that includes a custom menu and a souvenir glass. All theaters feature digital projection and sound, reclined seating and parabolic screens.

This YouTube commercial previews the experience.

“As the industry continues to evolve, Flix Brewhouse remains focused on thoughtful, strategic growth and delivering a distinctly different experience for moviegoers,” Robertson added. “The path forward in exhibition isn’t one size fits all. Innovation at Flix means staying true to what sets us apart: our craft and constant drive to raise the bar on quality, service, and community.”

Alamo Drafthouse opened its Katy location in 2018. It closed on Saturday, February 7.

Courtesy of Flix Brewhouse

The menu includes burgers and other sandwiches.

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