While it doesn’t have the historical appeal of the Alamo in San Antonio or the pop culture defining setting of J.R. Ewing’s famous ranch in Dallas, the City of Tomball is hoping to get a foothold in the famous landscape of Texas filming locations.

Tomball’s newly-appointed marketing director, Mike Baxter, is working to put Tomball’s best foot forward and show site scouts, the folks who help television, movie and commercial directors pick out filming locations, that Tomball has much to offer.

In one of his first tasks, Baxter contacted the Texas Film Commission to find out if Tomball was in its database. He discovered that Tomball, in fact, was not on their roster.

The Texas Film Commission is a branch of the Governor’s Office charged with bringing film, commercial, television, animation and video game projects to the state.

Lucy Nashed, a spokesperson for Gov. Rick Perry’s office, confirmed that the City of Tomball had contacted the Commission and requested a representative to scout the city.

“A lot of times when producers are looking to film in Texas, we help them scout locations and keep a database of cities that ask to be part of that,” Nashed explained.

Baxter said that Productions Resources Coordinator Alicia Downard, a representative from the Film Commission, will visit Tomball on Aug. 11.

 He explained that some of the locations that Downard and producers may be interested in viewing include “the courthouse and city hall, downtown and Main Street, theaters or dancehalls, neighborhoods, schools, high schools, historic schools, athletic fields, city parks, abandoned buildings, anything of interest.”

More specifically, Baxter pointed out producers may be particularly interested in Tomball’s Downtown Depot and buildings at the Tomball Museum Center.

Baxter’s efforts are not the first the city has officially undertaken this year. In February, the city council formally adopted an ordinance that encourages the “filming and videotaping” of the city for television, commercials and movies.

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