Sunset Boulevard: Is Austin Texas finally becoming a film capital?

Is Austin, TX the new Hollywood? Seems to be an old question by now as it's been milling around in everyone's minds for years...ever since now-famous Austin filmmakers like Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez broke out, everyone's been on the Austin train - or have they? I mean, there's the Austin film festival - but it doesn't really rival Sundance or Toronto, and there's Austin Studios, but it will never rival a Warner Bros. or a Universal. University of Texas Austin has a great film school, known especially for documentary, but it is not the powerhouse that University of Southern California or New York University are. But one new project might just bring the debate back to the main stage.

Villa Muse Studios are the first phase of a $1.5 billion dollar multi-use property development going up 15 minutes from Austin and if all goes as planned will be a competitive rival to studios in LA, Toronto and elsewhere. The $125 million first phase of the development is relatively simple - although grand. By the end of 2008, Villa Mesa Studios will occupy roughly 200 acres of property and boast 50,000 square feet of top-quality sound stages and recording studios, as well as an outdoor amphitheater which will seat 70,000 and which they hope to attract large acts and large crowds with.

This first phase is huge, but nothing relative to the next phase of development, which will be completed over the next 5-7 years and span at least 680 acres with an option to buy another 330 acres if needed. What founder and CEO Jay Aaron Podolnik (known for founding Texas' first 24-track soundstage and thereby practically fathering the famous Austin music scene) plans is, in no uncertain terms, a small city of synergistic media production and consumption. Shops and residential areas will serve as a living studio back lot - with residents signing on to have their homes featured in film productions when needed. Different neighborhoods will have different characters (to create a multitude of available sets) - from brownstones to bungalows. The development is estimated to bring in more than 8,500 new residents and create 8,000 new jobs.

Concerns over the project range from pure feasibility - will it be worth the huge pricetag? - to residential planning dilemmas. For instance, will residents be bothered by the noise coming from the amphitheater? Podolnik argues that the studio stages will adequately buffer the sound so that neighborhoods will be undisturbed. As I live practically across the street from Dodger Stadium in LA (and yes, there is a game on right now - go Dodgers?), I believe him. I am rarely bothered by the noise of the crowds. What I am bothered by, living so close to a huge stadium, is the traffic - and there doesn't seem to be any way to get around that. The other major concern when looking to find homebuyers and renters for the mini-city is whether people will be comfortable having film crews around all the time. In LA, we're used to it - but we sort of have to be as it's unavoidable. Will Texans be as la-di-da?

Overall, though, I think it's an interesting development...although it does seem like just condensing and re-building a little mini Los Angeles in the heart of Texas, which....well...doesn't seem like it would work. Don't get me wrong - I say that in a tone more of amusement than anything else. I love Austin. My father lives there, and trust me if there was a great job for me in the Austin Film Industry, I would move there in a second. But part of the reason I love it is that its not LA. It's more diverse - so checking myself into a film-exclusive community doesn't actually sound like my cup of tea. Although I'm supporting the project because it might just create that job I've been looking for in Austin -- I'll just live in Austin proper.

What are your thoughts on the development - good thing or bad thing?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Alex M., Movie Correspondent

Alex's column, Sunset Boulevard, published every Friday to Gather Essentials: Movies, is a weekly summary of the movie industry's biggest stories.

Alex is a film school grad working at a production company in Hollywood. She's been passionate about movies since she knew what they were and always has an opinion (for better or worse).

You can find all of Alex's Sunset Boulevard columns at gather.com/SunsetBoulevard

Keep up with Alex's other postings and Gather activity by joining her Gather network -- just click here and select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page

You’ll find Alex and other Movie Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other movie buffs at Movies.gather.com