MEXIA, TX — Lights, camera, action! Another Texas town will soon join the ranks of those that are "film ready," a special certification from the state.
Joe Friday's Diner in Mexia looks like something off a Hollywood sound stage, a throwback to a different era.
Owner Stephen Friday believes it would make a good movie set.
"Mexia's a great town, and I think they'd make the right choice if they came here and did business with Mexia," said Friday.
Others have begun to think so too, so the Mexia Economic Development Corporation has plans to get Mexia ready for it's close up by having Texas certify the town as "film-friendly".
The town must have services movie producers need, and a set of city ordinances addressing filming and safety of the film crew and the public.
The first film made in Mexia under the new film program? An independent production on bullying.
By getting into the film business, Mexia puts itself in competition with its neighbor Corsicana, which already has a huge head start. Some Corsicana city leaders are even members of the Screen Actor's Guild.
But Mexia City Manager Eric Garretty sees the two cities competing for different films.
He believes Corsicana has a bit more of a big city feel to it, while Mexia has more versatility. It can be an old town, a new city, a neighborhood, even a foreign capitol.
"So this town could be a suburb or small town. Exactly. It could be Midwestern or Southern. Right. Could it be Northern?... perhaps," he said.
Garretty said the money film crews would spend during their stay in Mexia would provide more jobs, and give the economy a boost.
”So I think the full spectrum of film production could come here and be satisfied with what they have to work with,” he explained.
And while Garretty says Mexia would welcome both big and small productions, one of Mexia's most popular restaurants, the Farm House, says it's ready with banquet rooms and catering to meet a film crew's needs.
Stephen Friday said he and his restaurant are ready too. How many films does he hope to see?
"I'm not sure. I don't know, five to ten I would hope. That's ambitious," he laughed.
But he said he and his catering business will stand ready to feed new customers in town to film a movie in a town that no longer has a movie theater.
