BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — Editor's note: The video posted above is a KVUE report from 2019.
Bastrop County has been declared a "Film Friendly Texas community" by the Texas Film Commission after completing a multi-step training and certification process, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday.
The county now joins 150 Film Friendly Texas communities that receive ongoing training and guidance from the Texas Film Commission on media industry standards, best practices and how to effectively accommodate on-location filming activity in their community.
Bastrop County has been a rising star in the film industry for decades now, with locations popping up in 1998's "Hope Floats," 2011's "Tree of Life" and 2011's "Bernie" – plus that "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" gas station.
“I congratulate Bastrop County on earning the Film Friendly Texas designation and joining its member cities of Smithville — the first Film Friendly Texas community ever certified — as well as Elgin and Bastrop,” said Gov. Abbott. “With our focus on unleashing the Lone Star State’s economic might, I am committed to working alongside all of our communities to ensure they have the knowledge and tools needed to succeed. Through the Film Friendly Texas training and certification process, communities large and small are readied to help match local businesses with production-related needs, creating jobs for Texas-based crew members and local residents, as well as spurring on-site spending at local small businesses. And as the Texas Film Commission celebrates 50 years of service, I am especially proud of all they have accomplished in helping Texas communities to market their unique local appeal and achieve economic recovery through media production."
In March 2019, the Bastrop County Commissioners Court was working with State legislators to try to be formally granted the title of "Film Friendly Capital of Texas." KVUE visited a studio that was then called New Republic Studios but is now Spiderwood Studios 969.
The commissioners were able to secure a title with a little different wording. Bastrop County was later officially dubbed the "Film Hospitality Capital of Texas" after HCR 131 was passed by the state legislature and signed by Abbott in May 2019.
“I am thrilled that Bastrop County has earned the Film Friendly Texas designation,” Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said Thursday. “With this designation comes good-paying jobs and the opportunity to celebrate what it means to be a Texan. I look forward to Bastrop and Central Texas continuing to expand its role as the epicenter for film and TV here in Texas. It’s about time Bastrop County got its close-up on the big screen!”
According to the governor, the Texas Film Commission – which for 50 years has helped to grow local jobs and economies by promoting the Lone Star State as the premier destination for film – has attracted $1.66 billion in local spending and created more than 157,000 production jobs across the Lone Star State since 2007.
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