State lawmakers are debating whether to invest $2.5 billion in the state’s filmmaking incentive program over the next decade.
State lawmakers are debating whether to invest $2.5 billion in the state’s filmmaking incentive program over the next decade.
State lawmakers are debating whether to invest $2.5 billion in the state’s filmmaking incentive program over the next decade.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth officials set out barricades Tuesday, preparing to block off Taylor Street so crews can shoot a scene in the Fort Worth Club for Taylor Sheridan’s television series “Landman.”
Sheridan shot portions of the show’s first season, along with three other series he’s written or produced, in Fort Worth and surrounding communities. In March, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker told state lawmakers Sheridan’s productions generated more than $325 million for the region’s economy over the last three years.
Parker included the figure in support of a proposed, multi-billion dollar investment in the state’s Moving Image Industry Incentive Program.
“Truly, in our minds, it is a Texas-sized success story and one that can only be told right here in the state of Texas,” Parker testified.
The program provides grants to filmmakers who employ Texans and shoot in the Lone Star State. In 2023, lawmakers committed to investing $200 million in the fund every other year.
In its current posture, a bill by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would more than double the earmark again. With approval, lawmakers would deposit $500 million into the fund each biennium until 2035.
According to the Fort Worth Film Commission, the film industry has generated $700 million for Fort Worth and created 30,000 local jobs since 2015. During that span, more than 1,000 movies, shows, commercials, and music videos have been shot in Cowtown.
Parker likened the industry’s economic impact to having another American Airlines headquarters in the city.
“It has a huge, direct economic impact on our city and our state,” she testified.
Filmmakers spend about $5.20 for every dollar the state grants them, a Fort Worth Film Commission study concludes. A Visit Fort Worth survey found that people who watched Paramount+ shows filmed in Fort Worth were twice as likely to visit Cowtown, potentially leading to 230,000 more tourists each year.
Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and other actors with Texas ties starred in an ad commissioned to lobby lawmakers on SB22.
“If we pass this bill in Texas, we are immediately at the bargaining table for shooting for films, television, and commercials in our state,” McConaughey told lawmakers during a hearing in March.
Still, some lawmakers expressed concern about the appearance of a handout for Hollywood.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, asked whether tax dollars should incentivize filming of vulgar content, making specific reference to Sheridan’s “Landman.”
“It’s completely wrong,” Bettencourt said. “It’s not functionally-correct. It doesn’t explain what a Landman does, and – no offense – having Billy Bob Thornton F-bomb every other sentence is not, in my mind, Texas values. We do need to get a handle on this.”
But the bill cleared the Senate Finance Committee and could be called for a vote on the Senate floor in the coming days. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has identified the legislation as one of his priorities this session, thrusting key support behind the idea.