AUSTIN 鈥� Fort Worth is projecting itself as a future filmmaking hub, drawing movie studios to Texas with state tax incentives and collaborative efforts.
Recent years have seen Fort Worth embrace fresh interest from the film industry, according to Jessica Hill, film commissioner and vice president of marketing for Visit Fort Worth, and John Hermansen, producer and production executive for .
The two spoke during a panel at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, where Visit Fort Worth鈥檚 presence as one of the event鈥檚 sponsors .
Since 2021, Hermansen鈥檚 studio has filmed at locations within 50 miles of Fort Worth for Paramount+ series like 鈥�1883,鈥� 鈥淪pecial Ops: Lioness鈥� and 鈥淟awmen: Bass Reeves鈥� 鈥� all from Paschal High School alumnus and 鈥淵ellowstone鈥� creator Taylor Sheridan. The film crews have converted nearby landscapes into settings like Montana, Mexico, Iran, New York and Washington, D.C.
Hermansen said the productions have poured $325 million directly into the region 鈥� a number that reflects catering, equipment, props and over 100,000 hotel room nights.
They鈥檝e put over 10,000 locals in front of cameras, and over 50,000 North Texas residents in crews behind them, Hermansen said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an economic effect: we pay them, they pay their mortgage, they pay their kids鈥� school fees, they pay for their food, the money gets redistributed in Texas as we distribute it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e paying people the money, and it鈥檚 staying inside the state to be regenerated inside the state.鈥�
Fort Worth is a 鈥測es city鈥� that collaborates with filmmakers, Hermansen said. Other cities that have historically seen studio traffic, like Los Angeles and Atlanta, are either more expensive or have more barriers for studios to film in.
鈥淲hen we ask, can we shut down a road? Can we shoot in the park? At the museum? The answer is never 鈥楴o,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭he answer is: 鈥榃ell, we haven鈥檛 done that, but let鈥檚 figure it out together.鈥欌��
Five years ago, studios didn鈥檛 see Texas as an easy place to film, Hermansen said. Three factors determine a 鈥済ood film state,鈥� he said: film stages, workforce and tax credit.
North Texas already has the land diversity for film stages, with Fort Worth鈥檚 Stockyards, downtown and nearby undeveloped Hill Country appealing especially to productions set in the West.
To establish a strong workforce in Fort Worth, Hermansen鈥檚 studio and the city鈥檚 film commission partnered with Tarrant County College to program that prepares students for skilled labor in a film studio.
Since the four-week courses launched in 2023, enrollment has risen from less than 20 students to over 200, he said. Hill said they let students work at their own pace to become certified in working on set with hair, makeup, lighting and construction.
Texas has multiple programs to attract filmmakers with tax incentives. In 2007, the Legislature created the and, two years later, the .
The Legislature has recently revived the programs, approving a $200 million grant through the governor鈥檚 economic development fund in 2023, covering productions through August 2025.
Through the programs, qualified production projects could recapture 20% of their budgets over $3.5 million in tax credit, in addition to grants and film crew stipends.
The incentives make it easier for filmmakers like Hermansen to convince studios to keep filming in the state.
Statewide, the programs to film in Midlothian, and HBO鈥檚 鈥淟ove and Death鈥� and Apple TV+鈥檚 鈥淭he Last Thing He Told Me,鈥� to film around Austin.
Smaller cities around Fort Worth like Cleburne, Strawn and Granbury have seen their communities transformed by seasons of filming. Even when a studio wants to renovate their downtowns into 1800s Western scenes, the communities see past the hassle and welcome the economic opportunity, Hermansen said.
The influx of activity shows no signs of stopping. In the near future, Hermansen expects more studios and shows to flood North Texas.
Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
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