Quick Snaps: Echoes of 'Grindhouse'
I've heard people argue that Grindhouse, which was shot in Austin, was so overhyped and underattended that it actually crippled the local film production industry in some way. I'm not sure I agree with that -- I think that better film incentives in other states was a much bigger factor. I admit I wish that Grindhouse had been made with a much lower budget, rather like the Masters of Horror series on Showtime, and then it might have built more of a cult following instead of ending up a box-office flop. But we'll never know.
I do know this: I use my SXSW Film 2007 canvas bag, the one with the Grindhouse picture splashed on it, as a grocery bag. And every time a cashier under 40 sees it, they grin at the bag or tell me how they loved Planet Terror, or they can't wait for Quentin Tarantino to make another film. (Then I cheer them up by telling them about Inglourious Basterds -- my inner film geek wants to see it, but my inner grammar geek HATES the title.) There are still a lot of fans of this movie, and filmmakers Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, here in town.
I found the above photo on Flickr -- Central Texas blogger/photographer Jim Howard took it while Death Proof was being shot near his house. I knew the film had been shot at Austin Chili Parlor, the Omelettry, and parts of Capitol of Texas Highway ... but I had no idea that the convenience store shown in the film was out in Cedar Park. Here's another of Howard's photos of the shoot.
The theatrical version of Grindhouse isn't on DVD -- you have to buy the two longer versions of the movies separately, and I'm not sure you get all the fake trailers with those. However, I noticed that the movie as a whole appears to be available on Netflix Watch Instantly. I'll have to check it out and let you know if it's the theatrical version.
In the meantime, if you want to see more Grindhouse cars and stars, we've got photos of the vehicles from Planet Terror, the Bone Shack sign, and the Austin red carpet premiere from 2007.
[Photo credit: "Movie Set 3" by Jim Howard. Used under Creative Commons license.]