On the 'Revolution' set in Bartlett

 My report for The Austin Chronicle on NBC's Texas-shot second season of Revolution:

Evan Cauduro, 11, heard about it from friends at school. Then his family was at a dinner party where a woman talked about the call for "weird people." At home, Evan rushed to the computer and began to sign himself up. His father Paul uploaded two photos – one of Evan in his baseball uniform and another from the boy's school science fair. Soon Evan was staying up all night in grungy clothes. He ran dangerously close to an oncoming horse. And you might just see him as a background extra on Sept. 25 when the NBC series Revolution debuts its second season, its first as a Central Texas-shot phenomenon.
 
The show is headquartered in Austin for a 22-episode sweep that will continue into May, says Gary Bond, head of the Austin Film Commission, but cameras have been popping up at Decker Lake and in Maxwell, downtown Taylor, Cedar Park, and elsewhere. The conventional wisdom is each episode results in $1 million in local spending. "That's the wonderful thing about television," Bond says. "It's the gift that keeps on giving. The potential for them to be here five years is there."

Read the rest in The Austin Chronicle here.


See photos from the Bartlett set here.

Remember the Alamo (is on fire)!

Yes, as I type this there are reports that the set of the movie The Alamo near Dripping Springs, Texas (on the outskirts of Austin) is engulfed by a major brush fire is super dry Central Texas. This report says six structures have burned to the ground. In my memory there aren't more than six. Frankly it's a surprise that the buildings still exist this many years since the 2003 shoot. There was talk at one point of making it a tourist attraction. I know the set has been used for television commercials since.

Here's my report from the set during filming.

Saying goodbye to 'Friday Night Lights'

The final episode of Friday Night Lights airs on NBC on July 15. I was in the neighborhood of the football stadium set today in Austin, Texas, and stopped to see what was left of it (filming ended long ago). You can see the full set of photos here.

Oh, and for old time's sake, here are some pieces I wrote from the set in season one and season two of the show.



The dividing line between the Dillon (blue) and East Dillon (red) football fieldhouses.

The front of the Panther Fieldhouse.