Dozens of films and TV shows, from small indie passion projects to blockbusters with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars have been shot in and around Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto. These are just a few of the major and minor motion pictures and television shows that used Austin’s northern suburbs.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”
Year released: 1974
Location: Round Rock
Director: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger
Production notes: The original location of the film’s shoot was on Quick Hill Road just outside of Round Rock, south of where SH 45 N is today. The house used for the shoot has since been restored and moved to Kingsland.

“Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”
Year released: 1982
Location: Pflugerville
Director: Colin Higgins
Stars: Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds
Production notes: The main house in the movie, the Chicken Ranch, is a private residence in Pflugerville.

“Blood Simple”
Year released: 1984
Locations: Round Rock, Pflugerville
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand
Production notes: This is the first feature film from the Coen Brothers, who would return to Texas to shoot films, such as “No Country for Old Men” and “True Grit.”

“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”
Year released: 1993
Location: Pflugerville
Director: Lasse Hallström
Stars: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio

“The Big Green”
Year released: 1995
Location: Pflugerville
Director: Holly Goldberg Sloan
Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Jay O. Sanders

“The Newton Boys”
Year released: 1998
Location: Pflugerville
Director: Richard Linklater
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Matthew McConaughey

“Miss Congeniality”
Year released: 2000
Location: Round Rock
Director: Donald Petrie
Stars: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, William Shatner

“25th Hour”
Year released: 2002
Location: Hutto
Director: Spike Lee
Stars: Rosario Dawson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton

“The Rookie”
Year released: 2002
Location: Round Rock
Director: John Lee Hancock
Stars: Dennis Quaid
Production notes: The fictional Hurham Bulls home stadium was the recently completed Dell Diamond, home to the Round Rock Express.

“Secondhand Lions”
Year released: 2003
Location: Pflugerville
Director: Tim McCanlies
Stars: Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment
Production notes: The shoot used nearby Cele Store in Manor as the location of a fight scene between Duvall and some locals. Janice Fuchs, who has worked at the store for 38 years after her parents bought it, said her father, who owned the store at the time, was an extra. The movie used a nearby farmhouse as the exterior for the character’s main residence.

“Friday Night Lights”
Year released: 2006
Locations: Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto
Directors: Various
Stars: Connie Britton, Kyle Chandler, Taylor Kitsch
Production notes: The Pflugerville Panthers’ football field served as the backdrop for the fictional Dillon Panthers in the pilot. The location moved to Del Valle when the real Panthers needed the field for practice. The show also incorporated game footage from the local team into the show.

“Idiocracy”
Year released: 2006
Locations: Round Rock, Pflugerville
Director: Mike Judge
Stars: Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Terry Crews

“Friday the 13th”
Year released: 2009
Location: Round Rock
Director: Marcus Nispel
Stars: Danielle Panabaker, Jared Padalecki

“From Dusk Till Dawn,” Season 1
Year released: 2014
Location: Hutto
Directors: Various
Stars: D.J. Cotrona, Eiza González, Zane Holtz
Production notes: Hutto restaurant The Texan Café served as the backdrop of a scene.

“Transformers: Age of Extinction”
Year released: 2014
Location: Pflugerville
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Kelsey Grammer, Mark Wahlberg
Production notes: Local firefighters rushed to the filming location after a fire broke out in a home the crew was using to shoot a scene. The 100-year-old home was saved.