Austin Film Tourism Guide

Visit Locations From Iconic "Made in Austin" Films & TV Shows

Hundreds of films and television series have been produced in Austin over the past 50 years (check out our filmography). Many of these iconic productions captured the cultural zeitgeist of the time, including the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Dazed and Confused, Office Space, Friday Night Lights and many more. Independent and Hollywood productions film in Austin, not only because of our stellar crews and friendly local lifestyle but also due to the diverse locations, all within a short distance. On screen, when Austin is not playing itself, the city has doubled as everything from New York City to Endora, Iowa. What was capture on film also represents Austin's history as the movies and TV shows captured the spirit and change in the city over the years.

Locations add character and aesthetic to a film or TV show, and these settings are what make so many iconic productions memorable. The best part? Many of these noteworthy locations are tangible places you can visit in real life. To help, we've put together the Austin Film Tourism Guide, featuring filming locations from your favorite movies and television series made in and around Austin. Plan your visit and experience the locations where your favorite scenes were filmed and look out for the "Proud Filming Location" window clings at our partner businesses!

Behind the Scenes with Troublemaker Studios Tours

Visionary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez helped put Austin on the map as a destination for film production. While a lot film and television series use practical locations, almost all Rodriguez's projects have utilized the stage space at his groundbreaking facility Troublemaker Studios to help create iconic, cinematic set pieces, including:

• Carmen and Juni's visit to the "Troublemaker Theme Park" in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams.
• The entire world of Frank Miller's Sin City, which was filmed on the green screen stage.
• In Planet Terror, the stage exterior was dressed as a military bunker, which was attacked by zombies.
• Most famously, the future metropolis Iron City in Alita: Battle Angel is a set contracted (and still standing) on the Troublemaker backlot.

Other Rodriguez classics like We Can Be Heroes, Shorts, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Spy Kids 3D, Sin City 2, Hypnotic and Machete series also filmed at Troublemaker Studios.

The facility has also hosted Richard Linklater while he filmed the live action portion of Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood and Markiplier, who filmed his hit film Iron Lung on those same stages. That's not all, the Jared Padalecki staring series Walker and Tom Segura's Bad Thoughts both utilized the Iron City set as a stand-in for scenes set in Mexico.

These days, Troublemaker Studios is also the ultimate film tourism attraction, with daily private tours that offer a unique behind-the-scenes experience for visitors and film fans alike to see the place where Robert Rodriguez creates his movie magic.