San Antonio woos Hollywood filmmakers
San Antonio has always been a fascination for Hollywood and many films have been made on the Riverwalk, including the 1995 Sandra Bullock smash hit, Miss Congeniality. Although the sequel was made somewhere else, and didn’t perform well at the box office, producers of the smash hit Miss Congeniality said Ms Bullock, 49, would never forget the city and described the experience as a “once in a lifetime” event.
Filmmaking in Los Angeles has all but dried up following the 1992 flop Pretty Woman, in which Richard Gere picks up hookers. Originally scheduled to begin production in San Antonio, Pretty Woman 2: Prettier Women, was instead made as a graphic novel. Producers all agree that Texas offers the perfect environment for shooting things, given its year-round excellent weather, attractive extras – and history, of which California’s glamor capital has none.
After Knightrider 2000 wrapped in 1982, it’s been hard not to see major productions being made in our beautiful city. With generous tax credits and free police protection from the homeless, the benefits are so obvious that the city has produced a guide called “How to Pay for a Permit to Film In San Antonio”, available for $25 from the Rio Del Rio office. Most recently, the infomercial for the two-in-one vegetable slicer and sandwich vac was filmed outside Hard Rock Cafe, where you can see famous people play music seven days a week on one of their many TV screens.
So watch out for filmcrews on the Riverwalk – you could inadventently be in the next blockbuster!
