Revisit Some Favorite Flicks With These Movies Filmed In Austin

Austin, Texas, is known for its live music scene, abundance of green space, drool-worthy food trucks and expanding tech community, but it also has a rich history of locally made films. Thanks to its talented crew base and diverse locations, Texas’s state capital has been home to a mix of award-winning indies and large-budget studio productions. You don’t have to be a movie buff to find a scene you’ll recognize—each of these movies filmed in Austin feature memorable locations from this Lone Star State city.

Dazed and Confused

The film that introduced the world to Matthew McConaughey and his popular “alright, alright, alright” catchphrase, was shot in Austin in 1993. Director Richard Linklater’s classic coming-of-age film was shot in several locations that remain open to visitors, including Top Notch Hamburgers, the Toney Burger Center and West Enfield Park.

Office Space

Some of the most memorable settings in Office Space, the cult classic about three corporate workers who hate their cubicle jobs, were filmed in Austin. Metric Boulevard is home to Peter Gibbons’ apartment complex, and you can drive by the setting of the Initech corporate office building at 4120 Friedrich Lane, near Ben White Boulevard and I-35.

Boyhood

Linklater returned to Austin to film Boyhood, the Oscar-nominated coming-of-age film shot over the course of 12 years to capture the natural aging of the characters. One of the popular scenes was filmed at Dart Bowl at 5700 Grover Avenue, the bowling alley where Mason Sr. (played by Ethan Hawke) bonds with his children. Other film locations include the music venue Continental Club, 24-hour eatery Magnolia Cafe, and Cafe Josie on West Sixth, which you’ll also love for its farm-to-table American menu.

True Grit

This movie tells the story of a headstrong girl (Hailee Steinfeld) who seeks the aid of a fearless U.S. Marshal (Jeff Bridges) to track down her father’s killer. This 2010 Coen brothers’ western remake filmed a portion of the movie on Ninth Street to resemble an early 20th-century street in Memphis (goodbye, light pole; hello, horse buggies!). Look for the Austin Club at 110 E. Ninth St., which served as the backdrop’s centerpiece. Other scenes were shot in Granger, Texas, 50 miles northeast of Austin.

Idiocracy

Seaholm Power Plant was one of several Austin filming locations for Idiocracy.

As part of a top-secret military experiment, private Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) participates in a hibernation program, only to be forgotten. He wakes up 500 years in the future to discover he’s now the smartest person alive in dumbed-down society. Director Mike Judge's 2006 cautionary film of what happens when society regresses was filmed throughout Austin, including in a tattoo shop on E. Cesar Chavez, Seaholm Power Plant, and Travis County Expo Center.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

In What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, a young man (Johnny Depp) finds himself the sole caretaker for his mentally disabled brother (Leonardo DiCaprio) and their mother after his father passes away. He adapts, but then his life is turned upside down when a spunky new love interest (Juliette Lewis) enters the picture. Most of this critically acclaimed film was shot in the small town of Manor, about 15 miles east of Austin.

Miss Congeniality

Sandra Bullock stars as an FBI agent who goes undercover in a beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event. Visit two of the film’s locations while you’re in Austin: the Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas and the Driskill Grill on Brazos Street.

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