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The Bottle Rocket Tour, Revisited

Last spring, with the assistance of this website, I visited almost every location where Bottle Rocket was filmed. Since the movie was filmed mostly in Dallas and I had nothing to do for a few days, I figured I would take "the tour." I took pictures of the hotel where Dignan, Anthony and Bob hide, the bookstore they rob, Bob Maplethorpe's house, Hinkley Cold & Storage (now the Texas Ice House) and the street where Dignan and Anthony talk about the "Things Dignan's Not Supposed to Touch" list.

Well, I'm glad I took pictures because some things have changed.

First of all, the hotel where Dignan, Anthony and Bob hide looks completely different now. I found this out while en route to Austin for SxSW a few months ago. Right off of I-35E in Hillsboro is the hotel, near the big outlet mall. The hotel was a locally-owned place but now it is a Days Inn and looks nothing like it was in the movie.

Second of all, the bookstore is gone. The bookstore had long since closed when I was there a year ago but now the building is now completely gone. I found this out as I searched for an Al's Formal Wear the other day. The building was completely demolished because the mall in front of it is expanding.

I don't mean to sound like Luke coming home to find his home burned down and his aunt and uncle dead. Since I drive through these areas on a regular basis, I often forget that one of my favorite movies was filmed here. Makes me think about all the New Jersey residents that have to deal with people that want to see the locations where Kevin Smith filmed Clerks and Chasing Amy . . .

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