• EspaƱol
  • Office of the Texas Governor
Texas Film Commission Logo
Texas Film Commission
Menu
Texas Film Commission
  • Home
  • Production
    • Production Overview
    • Location Services
    • Permits & Procedures
    • Regional Film Commissions
    • State Property Use
    • Agriculture, Climate & Geography
    • Safety On Set
    • Production FAQ
    • Digital Media Production in Texas
  • Workforce
    • Workforce Overview
    • Job Hotline
    • Getting Started as an Actor
    • Getting Started as a Production Assistant
    • Getting Started in Digital Media
    • Skills Development & Workforce Training
  • Programs
    • Programs Overview
    • Film Friendly Texas
    • Media Production Development Zone Program
    • Texas Moving Image Archive
    • Texas Film Trails
  • Incentives
    • Incentives Overview
    • Texas Production Incentive
    • Underutilized Areas Incentive & Map
    • Media Production Development Zone Program
    • Sales Tax Exemptions & Refunds
    • Economic Impact
    • Local Production Incentives
    • Forms & Guidelines
    • State Production Incentive FAQs
  • Directory
    • Directory Overview
    • TPD Crew
    • TPD Support Services
  • Film Trails
  • Resources
    • Resources Overview
    • Coronavirus Resources & Response
    • Events
    • News & Announcements
    • Festivals & Conferences
    • Organizations & Unions
    • University & College Programs
    • Small Business Owners in Texas
    • Submit Your Property as a Production Location
    • Your Music in Films
  • About
    • About Overview
    • 50th Anniversary
    • History
    • Employment
    • Student Internships
    • Texas Production Industries
    • Filmography & Gameography
    • Contact Us
  • Open Search
  • Home
  • Resources
  • News & Announcements
  • ‘Hope Floats’ Puts Smithville, Texas on the Map

‘Hope Floats’ Puts Smithville, Texas on the Map

July 15, 2021 | Smithville, Texas

In celebration of the Texas Film Commission's 50th Anniversary, we went to the archives to see how our history has been shaped by the initiatives, programs and productions from the past 50 years. View more from the archives here.


July 1997 | A decade before the TFC’s Film Friendly Texas program was created, director Forest Whitaker and stars Sandra Bullock, and Harry Connick Jr., arrived in Smithville, Texas to film Hope Floats. Residents of the community worked with filmmakers to help match local businesses with production-related needs and services.

The thrill of having a film production like Hope Floats in your community starts with those first contacts with the location scouts, but really doesn't end when it wraps and the crews and equipment leave town.  

What follows next is the excitement of seeing your area come to life in the production. How did they make it look like Sandra Bullock look like she had travelled miles, but had only gone a few blocks? Look how amazing that home looks! Our Main Street looks beautiful! Look at those stuffed cats!

Then comes the tourists anxious to be a part of the movie they enjoyed! They want to see that home and walk those streets. The thrill continues to this day.  – Adena Lewis, Director, Tourism & Economic Development, Bastrop County

Ten years after the filming of Hope Floats the community of Smithville, TX became the first Film Friendly Texas certified community in the newly-launched program of the TFC, which prepares communities to meet the opportunities and challenges of accommodating media production.

With the rise of film tourism over the past decade, the TFC launched a curated series of self-guided Texas Film Trails to recognize the communities that have supported Texas’ place in filmmaking history while also creating a fun new way to enjoy your favorite films. Smithville and Hope Floats are part of the TFC’s Classic’s Film Trail.

Explore TFC History 

Explore Texas Film Trails 

TFC50_Archive_1990s_Hope_Floats.jpg Image
Texas Film Commission Logo

Texas Film Commission

P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-9200


  • Site Policies
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Site Map
  • TRAIL Search
  • Texas.gov
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube

© 2022, State of Texas, Office of the Governor, Texas Film Commission
This is a reference website. No endorsement or quality judgment is implied. Unless noted, all information is provided by listee.