Comment on ''News Texas just turned into the UK: GOP House passes dystopian bill criminalizing memes…'' by rick

Parent Post: "News Texas just turned into the UK: GOP House passes dystopian bill criminalizing memes…"

rick · 6/4/2025, 10:22:46 PM · permalink

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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.

https://www.livemint.com/entertainment/texas-is-going-about-its-hollywood-ambitions-all-wrong-11749042420760.html

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rick · 6/4/2025, 11:25:09 PM · permalink

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