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You can count actor Matthew McConaughey among those Austin residents who are thrilled with the city’s explosive growth, with soaring house prices and worsening traffic.
McConaughey tells The Hollywood Reporter that he was “waiting for the secret” about Austin. (However, many of us believe the secret was long out.)
“I’m looking forward to growth,” says McConaughey. “We’re not going back. We don’t have a landmark like Niagara Falls or Disney World or the Eiffel Tower. They all come for the mood. We have people. “
That includes a roster of Hollywood people who have moved to Austin. Among them are Shazam! Star Zachary Levi (who plans to build a studio on his lot in Bastrop), Scott Eastwood (son of legendary Clint), Stephen Amell (Arrow), Adrian Grenier (Entourage) and James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek).
Like many Austin residents, McConaughey worries about how the influx of newcomers could affect the city.
“What we have to be careful about in Austin is preserving our DNA,” says McConaughey. “I’ve spoken to a lot of people before and since they came here, and the two words I keep hearing are ‘hospitality’ and ‘optimism’. So my line was: ‘Don’t transform here why you left there.’ Our challenge will be how to deal with this huge influx. If any place has an identity in the soul that we need to preserve, it is Austin. “
“Austin’s unwritten motto is: Keep Austin Weird,” he adds. “The landscape has changed, but I hope that doesn’t change. It’s a cool place. Hopefully it stays that way.”
One celebrity who isn’t that keen on Austin is stand-up comedian and podcaster Tim Dillon, who recently had a transplant. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he believes his move to Austin was a mistake.
“It’s not a world-class city,” Dillon grumbled on a recent episode of his podcast. “The city of Austin, Texas is a city [for artists] who left New York or LA and never found a way to make their art commercial. It has always been a community of sloth-like people. Joe Rogan can walk around and say, ‘Why don’t you write anymore? Shouldn’t you be exercising? ‘ They are losers to the bone. “
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