Dripping Springs wedding venue offers safe set in the COVID-era

Hope Boatright Contributor

At the start of the global pandemic, all film and tv productions were halted, movie theaters shuttered, and film releases were postponed or pushed indefinitely. In any environment, filmmaking is an arduous process that requires many hands from actors to producers, sound crews, and directors. However, one film crew in Dripping Springs shot and released a major motion picture during the global pandemic.

The “Blazing World,” produced by Brinton Bryan under his Greenbelt Films company was released during the Sundance Film Festival recently and was one of the first films to be shot during the COVIDera. The film was shot in the thick of the pandemic in a summer camp/quarantine bubble at a private residence in Dripping Springs last summer.

The Alexander at Creek Road served as the basecamp for the fantasy-thriller flick, directed by and starring Texan Carlson Young. The Alexander at Creek Road allowed the cast and crew to form a tight quarantine bubble, all staying together and working together.

“During that uncertain COVID summer of 2020, most production was at a standstill, but this group of filmmakers was determined to make this movie in a safe, quarantined environment, while still following the strict requirements of the Screen Actors Guild. It was a "Win-Win" for both the production company and for our business as we were able to offer that here: wide open hill country spaces and private cottages for their cast and crew. We were also able to provide space and hookups for individual trailers, and our WindSong Barn became their production studio,” remarked Alexander at Creek Road owner, Michelle Alexander.

Production staff from The Blazing World discovered the Alexander at Creek Road through a list put together by the Texas Film Commission on which Destination Dripping Springs was listed as a contact. In normal, non-pandemic times, the wedding venues in Dripping Springs, designated as the Wedding Capital of Texas ®, would have been booked by nuptial ceremonies and unavailable for a large-scale filming production.

“When the producer called me, said Pam Owens, CEO of the Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau, and told me where they were filming on Creek Road and what his needs were for lodging the crew, I immediately thought of The Alexander on Creek Road. It all happened because the Visitors Bureau (Destination Dripping Springs) is on the Texas Film Commission list and then the Alexanders took it from there. They did a great job in facilitating the crew’s needs in a safe and comfortable manner.”

The film tells the story of Margaret, who is haunted by the memory of her sister's drowning death. On the brink of suicide as an adult, Margaret takes "an epic journey down the smokiest and scariest corridors of her imagination," according to the official description.

Dripping Springs was certified as a Film Friendly community in 2018, by the Governor’s Texas Film Commission. Property owners interested in listing their property on the Texas filming database can find out more information on the Film Friendly website, www.gov.texas.gov/film, or email [email protected].

The mission of the Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau is to promote tourism and serve as ambassadors to connect visitors-guests and the community.