Austin: The Next Hollywood? (Manor: houses, theater, construction)

[TheHarvester]

Austin already has a booming film production scene. Many movies, TV shows and ads have been produced in and around the city, and now there will be a huge boost to the scene with a massive project that will begin construction this summer, which is to include the largest sound stage in North America.

Here's an excerpt from a press release:

Developers and state legislators announced a $1.5 billion mixed-use development including residential, retail and commercial spaces anchored by the $125-million, 200-acre Villa Muse Studios, developed for the film, television, advertising, music and videogame industries.

Plans for the complex were unveiled Monday as lawmakers attempt this legislative session to pass financial incentives to lure more movies to Texas. Lawmakers say the Villa Muse development will further Texas' movie production efforts.

Phase one, to be open by the end of 2008, will include soundstages, including the largest purpose-built soundstage in North America (50,000 square feet), a scoring stage, recording studios, and an outdoor amphitheater that seats 70,000.

Villa Muse executives estimate that the overall project will generate roughly 8,000 new jobs and attract 8,500 new residents.
[source: news8austin.com]

Manor itself is not an attractive place, but the hilly wooded rural areas just south of Manor are beautiful. This should prove to be a wonderful place to live within easy commute distance to downtown (less than 30 minutes at off-peak hours.) The Austin film industry already houses most of its facilities east of I-35, and this will further concentrate it in the area generally east by northeast of downtown. The U of Texas has also been beefing up its programs in media, and the Austin City Limits program is building a new and much larger venue downtown. All in all, the future looks bright for Austin to be an entertainment production center, even more than it is today.

[jread]

Austin has really taken off as far as film production. In fact, it was recently ranked as the top city for producing new movies: http://www.moviemaker.com/magazine/editorial.php?id=85

The most recent big movie we've had was Grindhouse, which is doing well at the box office.

[Othon]

There have been plans like this several times before.

[TheHarvester]

This is way beyond "plans." The funding and approval process are complete and ground-breaking is expected in a couple months. That's much more than mere "plans" like the ones that fell through.

Sandra Bullock almost built a sound stage here but I guess she became disenchanted with the city after going through that nightmarish hassle over the shoddy construction of her house on Lake Austin. This plan is huge and it's happening, just as the Mueller project is actually happening and includes a lot of film and music-related components.