Hollywood? Nah. Fort Worth has its own star-studded film history

Hollywood? Nah. Fort Worth has its own star-studded film history

Published on September 29, 2025

Earlier this year, Hillwood launched a partnership with SGS Studios to bring big-time film and television production to AllianceTexas in Fort Worth. In collaboration with Paramount Television - the force behind pop culture hits like Yellowstone and Landman - SGS Studios launched a cutting-edge production campus totaling 450,000 square feet, purpose-built to support four concurrent large-scale productions.

This development will result in the largest studio facility in Texas.

While it's exciting, this venture is not Fort Worth's first foray into filmmaking. Movies filmed in or significantly featuring Fort Worth over the years include the sci-fi classic Logan's Run (1976), known for its iconic shot of the Fort Worth Water Gardens; the country music drama Pure Country (1992), which used Billy Bob's Texas as a key location; the sports film 12 Mighty Orphans (2021); and the drama Tough Enough (1983), which explored the city's amateur boxing scene.

Lights, camera, action!

The Fort Worth Film Commission provided some notable examples of projects where viewers can catch a glimpse of Fort Worth. Grab some popcorn and Milk Duds as we recall Fort Worth's film history:

Logan's Run (1976).The year is 2274 and humanity is confined to living in a domed utopia run by a computer. The only downside to this idyllic world is that humans are killed at age 30 to prevent overpopulation. Logan's Run was shot on location in Dallas and Fort Worth in 1975. The Water Gardens prominently appear when Logan and Jessica discover a way into the city through the pools of water, which create energy to power the utopia. To this day, fans still visit the Water Gardens to see where their favorite science fiction movie was filmed.

Tough Enough (1983). Art Young (rising star Dennis Quaid) is a struggling country-western singer from Fort Worth in this drama. Young enters a Tough Man amateur boxing contest (filmed at Cowtown Coliseum and the Stockyards) to try to earn a little money and is surprised when he wins. Now a contender to fight in the national finals, Young must choose between his dreams of singing or the money and notoriety he can earn from fighting.

Necessary Roughness (1991).This sports comedy about the fictional, ragtag Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos football team starred Scott Bakula, Robert Loggia, Sinbad, Jason Bateman and Kathy Ireland. The bar fight between the Armadillos and their rivals, the University of Texas Colts, was filmed in the Guitar Bar at Billy Bob's Texas.

Pure Country (1992).Despite flopping at the box office, this flick will forever be remembered as the acting debut of the King of Country Music, George Strait. He plays Wyatt "Dusty" Chandler, a star country music singer who becomes disillusioned by the over-the-top performances that he believes are overshadowing his music. One scene was filmed in the men's restroom at Billy Bob's, and the final rodeo scene was filmed at Cowtown Coliseum. Billy Bob's also hosted the wrap party for the cast and crew.

My All American (2015). Crews set up at TCU's Amon Carter Stadium to film My All American, a period biopic about University of Texas safety Freddie Joe Steinmark, a member of the Longhorns 1969 championship team. Steinmark's cancer diagnosis and death in 1971 at the age of 22 inspired President Richard Nixon to begin his War on Cancer. My All American stars Finn Witrock as Steinmark and Aaron Eckhart as Longhorns coach Darrell Royal.

Photo: On Walker, Texas Ranger production days, the White Elephant stood in for the make-believe CD's Bar & Grill in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Small-screen hits, too

Fort Worth has also hosted film and production crews for some noteworthy television programs.

Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001).Few kids growing up in the 1990s will forget the action-packed hour-long drama Walker, Texas Ranger, starring martial artist Chuck Norris. Norris and his partner, Trivette (Clarence Gilyard Jr.) fought crime side by side in cowboy boots as Texas Rangers for nine seasons on CBS. The Tarrant County Courthouse appeared as Rangers Headquarters while the White Elephant Saloon in the Stockyards became CD's Bar & Grill, where the Rangers relaxed with a cold beer after a long day of delivering roundhouse kicks to bad guys.

Prison Break (2005-2009).Fox's successful drama was a conspiracy-riddled thriller in which Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) willfully enters prison with an escape plan after his brother (Dominic Purcell) was framed for the murder of the vice president's brother. Audiences were captivated for four seasons as the brothers fought for survival and truth. The abandoned Swift and Armour meat packing plant was used in season 3 as the Penitenciaría Federal de Sona, a prison in Panama. Guard towers and a prison façade left over from the production still stand on private property.

See a list of more Fort Worth-filmed projects.

Photo at top: The Fort Worth Water Gardens provided an iconic setting in the sci-fi classic Logan's Run.

Photo: On Walker, Texas Ranger production days, the White Elephant stood in for the make-believe CD's Bar & Grill in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

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