What Texas Cities Are Best For Aspiring Movie Makers?

Its easy to equate movie-making with Hollywood, CA, but that doesn't mean you can't be a major filmmaker in the Lone Star State.

We've all heard the cliche of the girl from a small mid-west town getting on a bus to Los Angeles to make it in the movies. But in 2019, we're seeing a lot of people getting on the bus OUT of LA to make it as a movie star. Director Joe Carnahan, 'The A-Team' and 'The Grey', recently said that the movie industry is effectively moving out of Los Angeles, and there's no telling which major U.S. (or even Canadian) city could end up being the new Tinsel Town.

The website MovieMaker.com compiled their list of the Top 20 major cities to live and work in for a filmmaker, using criteria such as:

The city’s film activity in 2018 (number of productions, economic activity generated, shoot durations)
Infrastructure (health of film commissions and non-profits, number of film schools and VFX houses)
Local luminaries
Population and geographical size
State and local incentive programs
Ease of movement and traffic

For 2018, Austin picked up the highest spot of any Texas city at 8th place. But overall, Texas was the most represented state on the list with four spots, beating out California with three. Austin has made a name for itself in film and television, hosting the annual SXSW Festival. Dallas came in at 17 on the list, being praised for having the variety of both Dallas and Fort Worth to chose from in terms of filming locations. Houston and San Antonio rounded out the list at 19th and 20th place, respectively.

The full list: