Latest news with #TexasMovingImageIncentiveProgram
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson testify in support of Texas film incentives bill
The Brief Actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson testified in support of Senate Bill 22 Senate Bill 22 pumps $500 million every two years into the new Texas Moving Image Incentive Program AUSTIN, Texas - There was some Hollywood star power in Austin on Monday. Actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson testified before the Senate Finance Committee in support of legislation to beef up an incentive plan for the entertainment industry. The backstory Lockhart became a film set back in July when the TV western series "1923" came to town. The production was one of several entertainment projects lured to Texas with money from an incentive program. On Monday, state Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) pitched legislation to revamp the program. "For every dollar paid in a grant, $4.69 is spent in the state, according to the office of the governor," said Huffman. Senate Bill 22 pumps $500 million every two years into the new Texas Moving Image Incentive Program. The grant money comes with several strings attached. There is bonus money for using rural areas and a rejection clause for scripts that put Texas in a negative light. "It further codifies a list of projects that are currently not eligible for reimbursement, such as: pornography or obscene material, political advertising, casino-type video games, and more," said Huffman. What they're saying The committee hearing featured a unique cast of supporting characters that included Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. SB 22 is a priority bill for Patrick, but his attendance was overshadowed by actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Earlier this year, the two teamed up with fellow Texan Dennis Quaid and met with the Lt. Governor. The meeting came after the three released a promotional movie trailer for the incentive program. In the video, Quaid suggested a "Wholesale takeover." Harrelson responded by saying, "A small fraction of the Texas budget surplus could turn this state into the new Hollywood." In the committee hearing, the Texas story pitch came with a plot twist when McConaughey testified. "So, I'm going to propose a bigger thought here. I'm going to propose doubling down on, if we pass this bill, what we can do. How do we do that? Number one, we train our own workforce. We partner with local community colleges and tech schools across the state of Texas, and we get Texan men and women trained and certified to learn the below the line trade jobs needed to make films," said McConaughey. Lawmakers were told that local communities could be prepared for the way jobs programs are done for more traditional industries. "We have a real pipeline. We have infrastructure, we have wood screws, not Velcro," said McConaughey. Doing that, McConaughey suggested, would make Texas a permanent supporting cast member. The grant money, with the infrastructure, would exceed what's being done by Georgia and New Mexico. It was even argued that eventually, providing a financial incentive may no longer be necessary. "This is how Texas becomes its own profitable and self-sustaining industry. This is how Texas becomes more than just a destination for out-of-state productions. This is how Texas becomes more than just a tax-incentivized advertisement, with hey, come shoot here. If we do this, we begin to create our own industry. We do this, we start to create our own pipeline of film and television, which, in turn, means producers and financiers are not going to want to go to other states because they don't have the infrastructure that we'll have, and they're too expensive," said McConaughey. Chad Gundersen, a producer for the TV series "The Chosen", also spoke to the committee. He agreed with McConaughey that the new infrastructure system should also include post-production work. Gunderson noted how Texas A&M has a great animation program, but a lot of the Aggie graduates leave Texas to find work. The Source Information from a Texas legislative session hearing
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Texas arts, music scene generates $7.3B economic impact over past decade
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas' arts and culture industry helped generate $7.3 billion for the state's economy over the past 10 years, according to findings in the 2025 State of the Arts Report released Wednesday. Nonprofit organization The Texas Cultural Trust produced the report as part of its efforts to bolster 'access and awareness for the arts across the state,' the reported noted. From its findings, the Texas arts and culture industry grew more than 60% in the same timespan, producing almost $459.1 million in state sales tax revenue. Statewide, almost one million Texans work in the creative sectors, comprising almost one out of every 14 jobs in Texas. When broken out by metro, Dallas generated the largest sales tax collections as part of the arts and culture industry, with $1.27 billion in taxable sales made in 2023. The Houston metro ranked second, with $1.06 billion secured, and the Austin metro came in third with $607 million generated. As the state's art industry has grown, so, too has its tourism earnings. Tourism spending reached $94.8 billion in 2023, up from $68.7 billion nearly a decade prior in 2015. From an employment standpoint, Texas' tourism industry amounted to 719,000 employees in 2023 — rebounding back to the same pre-COVID levels found in 2019. Within the film sector, the report found the Texas Moving Image Incentive Program helped draw in $2.52 billion of in-state spending over the past 17 years. The report highlighted two specific projects: '1883' from Paramount+ and HBO Max's 'Love & Death.' Filming within Fort Worth, Guthrie, Weatherford and Palestine, '1883' hired more than 1,100 Texas crew members and more than 800 Texas cast members, with the production spending more than $44 million in the state. For 'Love & Death,' more than $45 million was spent in state while filming in the Austin area, and the project hired more than 7,200 cast and crew members and worked with more than 900 Texas businesses. Those filming pursuits in Central Texas aren't one-offs, either; production studios are in development in San Marcos and Bastrop, joining the likes of existing facilities like ATX Film Studios, which served as the production base for the Golden Globe-nominated series '1923' last year. The full report is available online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
