Don't Mess With Texas' Image

posted by Christopher Swope

Last week, Texas followed in the footsteps of many states by passing a big tax break for movie productions. The hope, as always, is to build up the best little Hollywood outside of California.

Here's the catch: If you take the tax credits, your film can't say anything bad about Texas.

That's right. Don't even think about making a film that portrays, say, 19th century slavery in Texas. Your film about the JFK assassination may have to skim past the minor detail of it occurring in Dallas. And when you make a documentary about the Texas legislature, following in the new tradition of state legislative movies, you may not want to mention what a boneheaded idea this law was.

OK, these are extreme examples. Still, it's fair to ask: Who will be the taste cops minding Texas' image on the silver screen? And how will they decide which films qualify for tax credits and which ones don't?

The bill gives that power to the Texas Film Commission, a niche economic development shop under the governor's office. The legislative language gives the commission wide discretion to decide for itself what amounts to a negative portrayal of the Lone Star State:

The office is not required to act on any grant application and may deny an application because of inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion, as determined by the office, in a moving image project.  In determining whether to act on or deny a grant application, the office shall consider general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the citizens of Texas.

I'm guessing that if Sacha Baron Cohen wants to make a Borat sequel in Houston, his moviefilm won't qualify for the tax credits. That's easy enough -- however anathema it may be to freedom of speech. What's more troubling is the idea of a director having to scrub her script in order to meet government approval.

Of course, there's a simple way around this problem: make your picture somewhere other than Texas. In the movies, Vancouver can pass for Dallas as easily as Albuquerque can pass for San Antonio. Ultimately, this is why the Texas law is so dumb. The whole point of having tax credits is to create a steady stream of jobs for all the technicians, carpenters and caterers that work behind the scenes to bring movies to life. It's not to somehow create propaganda for your state. Hollywood will surely notice the gesture Texas is making, but the chutzpah may drive away more productions than the tax breaks attract.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I really don't think it will end up making that much of a difference. If a filmmaker is set on knocking Texas to begin with, he'll probably pay the full tax. Since most of the movies made there just use Texas as its setting and nothing else, I seriously doubt this will serve as much of a deterrent.

I think the point of this tax is to attract people who wouldn't have otherwise come to Texas. If you were going to film a movie about the state, than it's likely you were already going to film there. So now, they will either get a break or won't depending on how offensive the material is to the state. Given all the competition between states with film tax breaks, I doubt this will make much of a positive or negative ripple in Hollywood.

[Will]

I think this offers potential insights into great questions--what exactly is it worth to dis Texas? Ceteris paribus, what sorta tax break would you need to write that joke about 10-gallon hats out of the script? Is ragging on Texas worth more than picking on Oklahoma? What about other states? What state could charge the most to knock it? [I'm guessing dear dirty New Jersey or some southern state might be able to reap the most.]

[Lurker]

Alabama and Mississippi come to mind.

Also, "Texas Film Commission" reminds me (Although I fully admit it's not the same) of the "Pennsylvania State Board of Censors".

Anyway, I could imagine Hollywood (or any group of people) getting annoyed enough at this, for whatever reason, to make merry with it to their expense. If done well, they might end up so ruining Texas' filmmaking reputation that this whole program gets hastily dropped.

[Kay]

Nice commentary! I totally agree and told my readers as much, citing your concurring opinion: ... Christopher Swope over at Governing.com's 13th floor blog agrees with me that the law is boneheaded. Movie makers and film fans have enough problems with the arbitrariness of the MPAA ratings. We don't need to add to movie making mayhem here in Texas with content curbs in tax laws. ...