Texas’ film and television industry is being forced to up the ante to court Hollywood as surrounding states like New Mexico, Louisiana and Oklahoma offer robust tax credits programs, pumping billions into their economies in 2022. In response, this month a bill was introduced in the state legislature that proposes to supplement Texas’ existing grant program with a new, uncapped scheme that is targeted at large budget projects of at least $15 million or more. Also knowing that Texas’ stiffest competition may come from the Georgia filmmaking industry, which has already developed itself as a premier filming destination, spending a record $1.3 billion in tax credits and film and tv productions in 2023.
In order to capitalize on this, Texas lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick proposed for native, Taylor Sheridan, to move all his tv and movie production to the state. His charm for production locations seemed to have been drawn from the series – “Yellowstone” which shot in Venus, reinvigorating the economy with tourist dollars and other spending associated with the production. Fort Worth could potentially be the epicenter of Hollywood in the state, as Sheridan is currently involving himself in the development of seven TV shows set within Texas.
On the other hand, 828 Production, a California-based company, joining forces with Netflix and NBCUniversal to commit 1 billion and 500 million dollars respectively as they build production studios in New Mexico, creating a full service film and production shop.
Moreover, although not many similarities there are with the other three states, provisions in the bill suggest a standard refundable credit of 30 percent for in-state spending, raising it up to 42.5 including uplifts for 10 percent episodic TV series with proof of distribution and a further 2.5 percent with 25 percent of the project’s filming days done in an economically distressed area with a 3 percent raise for post-production spending in the state.
From an industry point of view, the incentives on offer this month might soon be a game-changer seeing as how Joe Chianese, senior VP and practice leader at Entertainment Partners, has commented on how this bill proposal appears to be an answer to the industry and its budgets. So,Texas could very well turn into the Hollywood of the South.
Taylor Sheridan is a screenwriter and director from Fort Worth, Texas. He is best known for penning the script for Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario and for creating the neo-western thriller series Yellowstone which stars Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly and Luke Grimes with Sheridan directing several episodes of the show. He is also the executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning series Yellowstone and is currently working on six other projects set in the state.
828 Production is a full service film, television and digital media production company based in California in the US. Founded in 2020, the company specializes in producing original and independent feature films, TV projects, and entertaining content. 828 Productions aims to produce engaging and thought-provoking content that appeals to a wide range of audiences. They are looking to expand their operations in New Mexico by constructing a new full service film and production shop and joining forces with Netflix and NBCUniversal to commit over $1.5 billion to produce content in the state within the next ten years.
