Latest news with #TexasSenateBill22
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Texas Is Going About Its Hollywood Ambitions All Wrong
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- There's nothing particularly new or unusual about states offering incentives to lure entertainment companies to produce films, television shows and video games within their borders. For decades, state and local governments in New York, Georgia, New Mexico and elsewhere have offered rebates and/or incentives in exchange for the boosts to local commerce and employment that large-scale productions can offer. So, on its face, Texas Senate Bill 22 — legislation providing at least $1.5 billion over 10 years to increase production in the Lone Star State — seems not only wise but uncontroversial. But, the measure, which was approved by the state Senate in April and passed by the House last month, is loaded with the kind of poison pills that could conceivably push major productions away. 'Those who opposed the bill raised concerns about how the governor's office will determine which productions to fund,' The Texas Tribune's Pooja Salhotra noted earlier this year. 'The bill gives the governor's office complete discretion over which projects receive grant funding.' In fact, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who has made the proposal a priority, has explicitly decreed that these state-subsidized productions should 'export Texas faith and family values,' and each project will be judged on whether it 'portrays Texas and Texans in a positive fashion.' It should be noted that Texas isn't exactly a barren wasteland for film and television production as it is. The annual SXSW conference is a splashy showcase for new movies and television shows from both independent and studio filmmakers, and one that frequently spotlights local talent. Austin-based writer-director Richard Linklater helped put his state on the map via locally set and shot films such as Slacker, Dazed and Confused and Bernie. Fellow Austinite Robert Rodriguez built an entire studio and postproduction facility in the city, where he's produced and directed multiple films and series. Rodriguez, Linklater and other Texas filmmakers have taken advantage of existing state incentive funds to work there — though not always smoothly. After the release of his 2010 action-comedy Machete, the Texas Film Commission denied Rodriguez and his producers the money they'd been promised, objecting to the film's negative portrayal of Texas. (Its sequel, Machete Kills, was denied funds outright, prompting its production company to sue the Commission.) Perhaps because of that spotty history, coupled with the larger incentives offered by nearby states and their film commissions, many recent Texas-set productions have been shot outside of the state. Some native power players, however, have pushed back, often at their own expense. Matthew McConaughey has said that he and fellow Texan Woody Harrelson gave back 15% of their pay to offset the cost of shooting their new Apple TV show Brothers in the Austin area, rather than its planned production base in Georgia. Both actors have thrown their enthusiastic public support behind SB22. But do they know what they're signing on for? Republican state Senator Paul Bettencourt of Houston indicated that the incentives shouldn't support the likes of Landman, the West Texas-set drama from television powerhouse, Texan and SB22 supporter Taylor Sheridan. Why? Because 'having Billy Bob Thornton f-bomb every sentence is not Texas values.' McConaughey and Harrelson shot a promo video for the bill, reprising their characters from the hit True Detective — but that show, which features not only copious profanity but nudity, graphic violence and themes of sexual abuse and pedophilia, would likely not have met the 'family values' standards of the bill. In fact, historical precedents indicate a hands-off approach is more effective. For decades, location shooting in New York City was all but nonexistent. The combination of unnecessarily complicated paperwork and pricy production expenses led most film and television crews to shoot their New York stories on Hollywood backlots. But in 1965, mayoral candidate John Lindsay campaigned on a promise to bring film production to NYC, and he kept his word. Lindsay's Executive Order Number 10 established the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, a one-stop shop coordinating production and allowing filmmakers to cut through the red tape. It also cut special deals with the labor unions for films shot entirely in the for Lindsay, film production in the city kicked into high gear just as crime was on the rise and tax revenue was tumbling, resulting in state funds incentivizing the making of movies, such as Taxi Driver and The Warriors, that depicted New York as a lawless hellscape. But Lindsay and his successors in the mayor's office refused to interfere, or to make the program contingent on their approval of scripts or finished films. They understood what Patrick, Bettencourt and their fellow morality police do not: that such restrictions amount to censorship, and that Texas's explicitly stated objections and goals amount to the creation of a propaganda program. There's no questioning the short walk from 'faith and family values' to the 'anti-communist' flag-waving of the McCarthy era — specifically, the targeted harassment by the House Un-American Activities Committee and its shameful campaign to flush out 'subversive' elements and influences in Hollywood. In the aftermath of those investigations and the film industry's voluntary blacklist of those accused, Hollywood embarked on one of its dullest eras. The period was filled with unobjectionable, squeaky-clean portrayals of good Americans going to work and being model citizens and otherwise projecting that era's equivalent of 'family values.'Many of those films haven't aged that well; they feel sanitized, empty, phony. Texas's efforts to turn itself into the Hollywood Southwest are admirable, but the products of its intellectually homogenized, artistically neutered program are likely to age just as poorly. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Jason Bailey is a film critic and historian whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vulture, the Playlist, Slate and Rolling Stone. He is the author, most recently, of 'Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend.' More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Texas Is Going About Its Hollywood Ambitions All Wrong
There's nothing particularly new or unusual about states offering incentives to lure entertainment companies to produce films, television shows and video games within their borders. For decades, state and local governments in New York, Georgia, New Mexico and elsewhere have offered rebates and/or incentives in exchange for the boosts to local commerce and employment that large-scale productions can offer. So, on its face, Texas Senate Bill 22 — legislation providing at least $1.5 billion over 10 years to increase production in the Lone Star State — seems not only wise but uncontroversial. But, the measure, which was approved by the state Senate in April and passed by the House last month, is loaded with the kind of poison pills that could conceivably push major productions away. 'Those who opposed the bill raised concerns about how the governor's office will determine which productions to fund,' The Texas Tribune 's Pooja Salhotra noted earlier this year. 'The bill gives the governor's office complete discretion over which projects receive grant funding.' In fact, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who has made the proposal a priority, has explicitly decreed that these state-subsidized productions should 'export Texas faith and family values,' and each project will be judged on whether it 'portrays Texas and Texans in a positive fashion.'
CBS News
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Hollywood figures rally behind Texas Senate Bill 22 for film industry tax incentives
Hollywood names are speaking up to support Texas Senate Bill 22, which would give millions of dollars in tax incentives to the film industry over the course of 10 years. But if passed, many wonder what impact this bill could have on areas like Tarrant County, where many TV shows and films are already being shot. On Monday, the Senate Committee on Finance approved the bill, which will now proceed to the full Senate. Texas natives and Hollywood stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson attended the meeting. McConaughey shared his testimony with the state's finance committee, highlighting Tarrant County College (TCC). TCC already has a pipeline program that exposes students to film opportunities and connects them with writers, directors, and producers in the industry. "One hundred percent of the students coming out of that program are employed, and getting employed," McConaughey said. "But a whole lot more are needed. We need to scale this idea to more schools in Texas so we can provide a competent workforce wherever we need to film in our state." Beth Hutson, a product of TCC's television and film program, credits the program for helping her succeed in the industry. "I don't think I'd be where I am had I not gone through this program," said Hutson, who now works as a producer. "They opened doors for me, so because of them I had the opportunity to work on some really cool large productions." If passed, the bill would allocate $500 million every two years in tax incentives to the film industry until 2035, doubling the current funds set aside for productions. Taylor Hardy, the Fort Worth Film Commissioner, said the bill would bring jobs to Tarrant County while boosting business for local hotels and restaurants and ultimately attracting more visitors. "Since the Fort Worth Film Commission was founded about 10 years ago, we've measured $700 million in economic impact and over 30,000 jobs supported. Those are over a period of time, but that's almost the equivalent of another American Airlines headquarters in terms of the amount of jobs it's created," Hardy told CBS News Texas. But at least one lawmaker who opposed the bill has raised concerns, particularly about the content being filmed in the state, citing the Paramount show "Landman" as an example. "That whole genre of 'Landman' is incorrect, it doesn't describe Texas oil fields," said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. "And having a guy whose primary claim to fame is an F-bomb every two seconds is not something I want to see on television and I certainly don't want to put our money behind it." Currently, states like New Mexico and Georgia are attracting film opportunities because of the incentives they offer. This is just the first step in the legislative process; there are still several more steps before this can become law.
