Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids: Thirty Years of Filmmaking in Austin, Texas

by Alison Macor

Winner, Peter C. Rollins Book Award, Southwest Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, 2011 During the 1990s, Austin achieved "overnight" success and celebrity as a vital place for independent filmmaking. Directors Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez proved that locally made films with regional themes such as Slacker and El Mariachi could capture a national audience. Their success helped transform Austin's homegrown film community into a professional film industry staffed with talented, experienced filmmakers and equipped with state-of-the art-production facilities. Today, Austin struggles to balance the growth and expansion of its film community with an ongoing commitment to nurture the next generation of independent filmmakers. Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids chronicles the evolution of this struggle by re-creating Austin's colorful movie history. Based on revealing interviews with Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, Mike Judge, Quentin Tarantino, Matthew McConaughey, George Lucas, and more than one hundred other players in the local and national film industries, Alison Macor explores how Austin has become a proving ground for contemporary independent cinema. She begins in the early 1970s with Tobe Hooper's horror classic, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , and follows the development of the Austin film scene through 2001 with the production and release of Rodriguez's $100-million blockbuster, Spy Kids . Each chapter explores the behind-the-scenes story of a specific movie, such as Linklater's Dazed and Confused and Judge's Office Space , against the backdrop of Austin's ever-expanding film community.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

392 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2010

About the author

A former film critic, Alison Macor holds a PhD in film history and taught for more than 20 years at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University, Austin Community College and the Austin Museum of Art.

Reviews

[Laura Cottam Sajbel]

Confession: I know Alison, and I could hear her talking, passionately, as I read this book. For someone who loves film, this book is the dish behind how movies like Chainsaw Massacre, Slackers and Spy Kids got made. The author has sifted through mountains of correspondence and talked to everyone involved to put together the blow-by-blow behind who talked to who to get stuff done. It is clearly a labor of love, meticulously documented.

[Rob Saucedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Alison Macor’s CHAINSAWS, SLACKERS AND SPY KIDS - a breezy, insightful look at the evolution of Austin’s film production scene. It made me want to revisit a bunch of films, and maybe pick up a camera too while I was at it. I highly recommend this book.

[Zack]

This is a straight-up history of film-making, detailing the evolution of the scene as well as the productions of some of its most notable features. It's amazingly well sourced given the access the author had to many of the films' directors, crew members and casts, in addition to local movers and shakers, journalists and faraway studio execs, all backed up by a thorough synthesis of archival material. In that sense, it's fairly straightforward and does not delve into theory, analysis or interpretation; on the contrary, it is a loyal account of how these films came into being, as much a labor of love as the movies themselves. (In this, Macor is firmly on side of the filmmakers, and one theme emerges: studios and Hollywood producers just don't get it.) I did not read the entire thing, skipping around to the sections that interested me -- mainly recreating the production histories of The Whole Shootin' Match (Pennell), Slacker and Dazed and Confused (Linklater), El Mariachi (Rodriguez), and Office Space (Judge). There are about as many other films that are included, and Macor also tells the stories behind the Austin Film Society, SXSW, Texas Film Commission, and Texas Film Hall of Fame. The interviews and 'facts' in this history are exhaustive, but might strike many as tedious, which is why I only read certain chapters, and while I think it will be invaluable to researchers and students, it was too low on film criticism for my liking.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who has filmmaking aspirations and/or is an enthusiast of independent and mainstream movies, this book is a MUST READ.

Ms. Macor's historical exploration of the "Third Coast" is thorough, comprehensive and riveting. Detailing the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the successes and failures of the world's foremost capitol of "regional" filmmaking, Macor provides juicy tidbits as well as helpfully informative anecdotes. Her research and interviews are extensive. But the story of how Austin got to be known as the "Third Coast" is just plain fascinating storytelling.

In an age where any palooka can pick up a digital camera and become a YouTube star, CHAINSAWS, SLACKERS, AND SPY KIDS is inspirational, informative, and fun.

It's a great companion piece to DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES and EASY RIDERS AND RAGING BULLS.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Linklater compared the film business to a darker but equally well-established institution. ‘Being in film is like being in organized crime. Every now and again, you have to take a beating and keep your mouth shut. Then you get to do it again. You get to live.’” (p. 200).

This is a highly entertaining history of filmmaking in Texas, centered around the city of Austin. Alison Macor did extensive interviews with filmmakers and provides the reader with a wealth of “underdog” stories. I love seeing people achieving success in the film industry without needing to sell their souls to Los Angeles or New York City.

The Structure:

Chapter 1: A Living Nightmare — about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

Chapter 2: Eagle Pennell and the Rise of Regional Filmmaking: about the filmmaker Glenn “Eagle” Pennell, whose most famous movie is The Whole Shootin' Match (1978).

Chapter 3: Made in Austin is about the weekly newspaper The Austin Chronicle and the movie Red Headed Stranger [(1986)]

Chapter 4: Slacker: The Least Auteur Film Ever Made — about the film Slacker (1991).

Chapter 5: The Mariachi Kid: Robert Rodriguez and El Mariachi [(1992)]

Chapter 6: The Reluctant Quarterback: Richard Linklater and Dazed and Confused [(1993)]

Chapter 7: Winning the Battle, Losing the War — about Linklater’s fourth feature film The Newton Boys [(1998)]

Chapter 8: 8 The Company Man Tim McCanlies and Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 [(1998)]

Chapter 9: Office Space: The Making of a Cult Classic — about Mike Judge, specifically his cult classic debut live-action movie Office Space

Chapter 10: Rebel With or Without a Crew Robert Rodriguez and Spy Kids – about the continuation of Rodriguez’s career, specifically his Spy Kids franchise

Conclusion: Outside the System, Inside the System

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[Image: Book Cover]

Citation:
Macor, A. (2010). Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids: Thirty years of filmmaking in Austin, Texas (Kindle Edition). University of Texas Press. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AVMYL4

Title: Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids: Thirty Years of Filmmaking in Austin, Texas
Author(s): Alison Macor
Year: 2010
Genre: Nonfiction - Film History
Page count: 392 pages
Date(s) read: 12/25/25 - 1/1/26
Book 3 in 2026
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[Robert Houston Rodriguez]

Regional filmmaking is rad. I’m ready for the sequel.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Very informative.