There are two types of answers I'd like. First simply what's the best movie ever shot in Houston. And second, what film best portrays life in Houston. I've never been there so I'd like to get a feel of the city and what Houstonians are like. Thanks.
Sidekicks, lots of awesome shots all over Houston, really showcases the city <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cAn4xhHtN2U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Rushmore, filmed at St. Johns and Lamar High School <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-hQel3noQeI#t=0m30s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/khs56S_qcM8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> http://www.visithoustontexas.com/media/story_ideas/Hollywood_In_Houston
Hellfighters (1968) with John Wayne Brewster McCloud (1970) – first film to be filmed inside the Astrodome The Getaway (1972) – filmed in Huntsville, Texas The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973) – set and filmed in Houston Sugar Hill (1974 film) (1974)- set and filmed in Houston The Sugarland Express (1974) – filmed on location at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Inmate Division Jester III Unit in Sugar Land, Texas Rollerball (1975) – Set in Houston but filmed in Bavaria, Germany Logan's Run (1976) – filmed inside the Houston Hyatt Regency Futureworld (1976) – filmed at the Johnson Space Center facilities and Jones Hall Telefon (1977) – set in Houston but filmed on a Hollywood backlot, parts of Los Angeles and inside the Hyatt Regency located at 5 Embarcadero in San Francisco, California) The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) Murder At The World Series (1977) – made-for-TV film The Swarm (1978) FM (1978) – filmed at Greenway Plaza in Houston Urban Cowboy (1980) Texas (1980–1982) – Daytime soap opera, a spin-off of Another World Murder In Texas (1981) – made-for-TV film Student Bodies (1981) The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) – Character played by Dom DeLuise was based on KTRK-TV personality Marvin Zindler Terms of Endearment (1982) Local Hero (1983) Filmed in Houston and Scotland Uncommon Valor (1983) – Set in Houston, filmed in California Cutter to Houston (1984) Paris, Texas (1984) – shot in several cities around Texas including Houston The Trip to Bountiful (1984) – Set in Houston but filmed in Dallas, Texas Blood Simple (1984) Pray for Death (1985) - Set and filmed in Houston Forever Evil (1987) – filmed in Houston and Coldspring, Texas Houston Knights (1987–1988) My Best Friend Is a Vampire (1988) Twins (1988) – Sale of engine set in Houston A Tiger's Tale (1988) – Rose's house was in League City, Texas Cohen and Tate (1989) For All Mankind (1989) – documentary filmed partially in Houston Night Game (1989) – filmed in Galveston, Texas Blind Fury (1989) – filmed partially in Houston Vietnam, Texas (1990) Filmed and Set in Houston I Come in Peace (1990) RoboCop 2 (1990)- Filmed in Houston Akkare Akkare Akkare (1990) – Malayalam movie filmed in Houston Sidekicks (1992) City of Joy (1992) – first scene is set in Houston A Perfect World (1993) – Filmed in Huntsvile, Texas Jason's Lyric (1994) Reality Bites (1994) The Chase (1994) – Filmed in the Rice Village area and several highways around the Houston area; one scene also shot in Kemah City of Joy (1994) Set in Houston, never filmed there Jason's Lyric (1994) Thea (TV series) (1994) Apollo 13 (1995) Johnson Space Center The Evening Star (1996) - Sequel to Terms of Endearment (1982) Independence Day (1996) – Houston is destroyed by a nuclear missile Tin Cup (1996) – Final tournament shot in Kingwood, Texas SubUrbia (1996) – Filmed in Houston, Set in Austin, Texas The Evening Star (1996) Don't Look Back (1996) – filmed in Galveston, Texas Selena (1997) – Selena's final concert scene set in the Astrodome, but filmed in San Antonio, Texas Armageddon (1998 film) (1998) – filmed at the Johnson Space Center facilities Rushmore (1998) – written and directed by Houstonian Wes Anderson and filmed at his alma mater – St. John's School Dance With Me (1998) Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me (1998) – documentary filmed in Houston Fifth Ward (1998) – Filmed in and set in Houston's Fifth Ward Arlington Road (1999) 2000 WNBA Champions - Houston Comets (2000) Mercy (film) (2000) Space Cowboys (2000) Reba (2001-) – set in Houston but filmed in Los Angeles Texas Justice (2001-) – Filmed in Houston Pearl Harbor (2001) - San Jacinto Battlefield State Memorial Site Houston Medical (2002) Tarnation (2002)- contains old pictures from Houston The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron (2003) – Set in Houston, but filmed in Canada Towelhead (2007) – Set in Houston suburb, but filmed in Los Angeles Animal Cops: Houston (2003) Right on Track (2003) – Disney Channel Movie set in Houston, but filmed in Utah Where's the Party Yaar? (2003) Friday Night Lights (2004) (In the book and real life events, the final game of the Permian High School Team is played at The University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas not the Astrodome of Houston) Suburban Madness (2004) Details the Clara Harris story. 14 Hours (2005) – Made-for-TV film set in Houston, but filmed in Canada Volver (2006) – Houston is mentioned briefly several times by a woman with cancer as a place where "they cure everything there" Fast Food Nation (2006) – documentary filmed in several cities in the US, including Houston American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007) – documentary with scenes in Houston Frieda Gilroy (2008) Mao's Last Dancer (2009) - Drama about the life of ballet dancer Li Cunxin. Filmed in Houston at the China Garden Restaurant and JP Morgan Chase Tower downtown, Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park, and the Wortham Theater Center downtown. Mostly filmed in Australia and Najing Province, China. Tree of Life (2011) – shot in Houston and other cities in Texas starring Sean Penn and Brad Pitt Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) Boyhood (2013) – (upcoming) directed by Richard Linklater, filming began in 2001
Terms of Endearment. (Well, the part that was filmed here.) The Chase. (Dramatic pause....Bu WA HA HA HA HA!)
Good list RV6, two more additions: Leningrad Cowboys - around Houston and Galveston. Rush - Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh - East Texas, courtroom scenes filmed at the old City Hall. My best friend is a vampire was filmed at Milby High School. Go Buffs!!!
I haven't seen it, but I heard about this movie called Apollo 13. People quote it all the time, apparently there's some massive trouble in Houston, and it's got a star studded cast. It's probably worth checking out.
I'd go with Rushmore as my favorite, but you never felt it was in Houston. For that I'd go with Urban Cowboy, even though that was more Pasedena; close enough.
Yup, that was the only two I know. Some scenes shot in my high school. The gym scene in Sidekicks was shot at my school gym. In Rushmore, the scene in the public school was shot in my old English teacher's class and the students were his summer school students or something like that.
Houston photos http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=149066 http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=189267 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=836658 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1335463
The chase was shot like a min. from my house by a highway that was rarely used. My bus that would take me home would pass by and we would see fake palm trees by it. The crew was there for one or 2 weeks. Never saw it though. It was stright to vcr type of movie.
