Creative Houston

Our picks for the best films ever shot in Houston | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Link: Our picks for the best films ever shot in Houston | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle. by Bruce Westbrook

Top 10 Houston films of all time. Each was, at least in part, shot and set here:

Rushmore (1998)

Rising hometown writer-director Wes Anderson returned to his alma mater, St. John's School, to provide just the right personal touch to his quirky fable of a precocious high-schooler (Jason Schwartzman) staging bizarre plays and wooing a teacher (Olivia Williams) also pursued by a Houston businessman (Bill Murray). Shot entirely on location.

Terms of Endearment (1983)

This five-time Oscar winner, including best picture, should've made AFI's first Top 100 list. Shot and set largely in Houston, writer-director James Brooks' funny-sad adaptation of Larry McMurtry's novel is a stirring look at family bonds and late-life romance, led by Shirley MacLaine as a River Oaks matron and Jack Nicholson as the carousing retired astronaut next door. Both actors won Oscars, while Brooks won for his direction and screenplay.

Apollo 13 (1995)

Granted, director Ron Howard did minimal shoots here, including weightless work aboard a "Vomit Comet" out of Ellington Field. But a soundstage creation of Johnson Space Center's Mission Control gave the film its heart and soul, as Houston achieved one of its finest hours by rescuing three astronauts from a near-fatal explosion en route to the moon. Nominated for nine Oscars, it won two.

Local Hero (1983)

Writer-director Bill Forsyth gives a wistful, offbeat look at big oil's greed undercut by the charms of a Scottish village targeted for a refinery. Many scenes were shot at Chase Tower (then Texas Commerce Bank) as a stand-in for the energy giant led by Burt Lancaster. Al Gore said it's his favorite film.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

A bookend to Local Hero, this fascinating look at the Enron scandal shows the dark underside of Houston's entrepreneurial drive and can-do spirit. Provocative, entertaining and deeply disturbing, director Alex Gibney's film was Oscar-nominated as best documentary.

Friday Night Lights (2004)

The book-based movie that spawned the TV series took artistic license by shifting a pivotal high school football playoff game from Austin to the Astrodome. But that didn't deter its heartfelt, affecting look at the tolls taken by pressures to win at all costs. About one month of the shoot was in Houston, including scenes at a burger joint on Telephone Road.

Reality Bites (1994)

Though it faltered at the finish, Ben Stiller's first film as director was an edgy, lively valentine to 20-somethings looking for love and careers in the Bayou City. Stiller, Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder sparked a romantic triangle set to songs such as the Knack's My Sharona. Sticking to exteriors, Stiller shot here for 2 1/2 weeks, using downtown and the Montrose areas; L.A. then stood in. Written by former Houstonian Helen Childress.

Urban Cowboy (1980)

Speaking of looking for love — in all the wrong places — this ode to Houston's honky-tonk culture took John Travolta out of the sock hop and disco and made him a struttin' roughneck sweeping cowgirls off their feet at Gilley's nightclub. Native son Patrick Swayze taught Travolta two-step dance moves, and the country-music soundtrack sold millions. Not a revered film, but a hugely successful one.

Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)

Long before reality TV, Madonna turned her own life into a reality show, exposing the rigors and rewards of her Blond Ambition tour of North America, which launched in Houston. Largely set in hotels and dressing rooms, the film's exhausting scrutiny of a superstar's life behind the scenes includes footage of Madonna and her troupe at what was then Inn on the Park, and now the Omni hotel. There's also footage from onstage, but the real show is behind it.

Tarnation (2003)

The most homegrown Houston film of all, this searingly personal confessional on the troubled childhood of creator Jonathan Caouette proves you don't need an entourage or star trailers to paint a riveting, compelling portrait on screen. Sad, sobering and wildly innovative, the film has been acclaimed across the globe — and cost $218 to make.

Places Conjured Up out of Nothing

In Issue 69 of Cite (Winter 2006), Nonya Grenader has an wonderful article on the last page entitled "Night Lights."

She cites William Wenders for observing Houston's ability to conjure up magical new places out of nothingness and examines the success of the Aurora Picture Show and the Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade along Buffalo Bayou.

Texico

CCLP: Texico.

El Paso Region Creative Cities Leadership project is an initiative of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (MCAD) in partnership with the Department of Economic Development, local businesses, organizations and individuals. This initiative is a work in progress initiated by the lecture delivered in El Paso in December 2005 by the internationally renowned Professor of Economics Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class. Inspired by Florida's work, El Paso leadership is committed to furthering the future of El Paso by exploring his theories in El Paso Region and by creating a vision to: Empower members of the community to act as Creative Change Agents and enact positive initiatives to make El Paso even more open and receptive to the latent creativity of its population.

CCLP

We should find out how much this costs

Richard Florida Creative Group: Services.

Creative Communities Leadership Project (CCLP) is a ground-up, year-long community initiative designed for residents to build their own region's prosperity. It starts with 30 new leaders representing every part of the community. We provide them background, training, data and support. They analyze the information and take it to the community. At a local 4T's Seminar led by our team the 30 residents develop a regional vision and engage the community in projects to make it happen. The result is a stronger, more authentic economy, an enhanced quality of place and a broader group of engaged citizens. For more information please contact Rod at RodFrantz@CreativeClass.org or (202) 445-9922.

Houston Art Director Creates her Own Solution

Guadalupe Marmolejo, and art director with Lopez Negrete, had trouble finding good stock photography with Hispanic themes, so she started a new web-based stock photo company. The home-page slide show of images is nice, but try searching on "agave." What atmosphere.

Link: Pozo Digital - The Source for Authentic Hispanic Stock Images - Homepage.

We are The Source for Authentic Hispanic Stock Images. With an eye for cultural nuance and an award winning aesthetic vision, the growing Pozo Digital library is always the best choice when you’re looking for images that reflect this dynamic and vibrant community.