April 6, 2010 update-

For several years I have been tracking projects and opportunities for film talent and crew in Austin. Despite the current national recession, valuable Texas Film and Moving Images Incentives , talent, crews, and locations are drawing more and more significant television and film projects to the Lone Star State.

In Austin, Generation Y, the documentary-style story of a group in their twenties that flashed back to its high school days ten years earlier, shot for ABC during March.

Casting has been taking place in Austin for the Coen Brother's adaptation of the story on which the John Wayne movie True Grit was based.  This True Grit remake opens with a three-month Central Texas film shoot in March with a cast including Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.

Friday Night Lights is casting for its continued fourth television season in Austin.

Austin and Central Texas talent also work in Dallas, which is currently an attractive city for television series. the pilot for NBC's Chase, a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced crime drama has been shooting there. Fox's business series, Midland, has wrapped. The Deep End has shot six episodes recently in the Studios at Las Colinas. Code 58 is shooting all around North Texas.

Casting for many Austin and Dallas television projects are in progress on On Location Casting.  To register with them for extra work, go to www.onlocationcasting.net, fill out a Talent Application, and upload one or two photos. Include any special skills you may have. Include a telephone number.

You do not need to pay for this service. On Location Casting provides a reputable free casting service, as do Actor’s Access and Now Casting.

Once you have posted a talent application and profile on www.onlocationcasting.net, you can find regular updates and opportunities on On Location Casting's Facebookpage. You can even respond to casting calls on a daily basis on this page.

See Austin's Texas Film Commission's hotline for current film and television projects with jobs for talent and crew.

See Dr. Diane Howard's recent film reviews, recommendations and publications.