Dallas will be the next Hollywood? (Fort Worth: living in, cost, discount)

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by BeenThereDunThat

From a logistics standpoint, Dallas has a great location. Direct flights to LAX or NYC which makes it easier on cast, crew and producers. Logistics has hurt Shreveport, La. as there are no direct flights from Shreveport to LA/NY or even to NEW ORLEANS and BATON ROUGE if you can believe it! Dallas could really become a super-player if the tax incentives were to be raised even a little bit just for the logistics benefits and hospitality amenities alone.

All of Texas is a great location. Its centralized with every major city offering direct flights to LA & NYC.

[Shantotto]

Hopeful this happens ~

[Lakewooder]

Two pilots for NBC, including Ashley Judd ‘mega-church’ drama, shooting in Dallas | Dallas Morning News

[Random1982]

Originally Posted by BeenThereDunThat

From a logistics standpoint, Dallas has a great location. Direct flights to LAX or NYC which makes it easier on cast, crew and producers. Logistics has hurt Shreveport, La. as there are no direct flights from Shreveport to LA/NY or even to NEW ORLEANS and BATON ROUGE if you can believe it! Dallas could really become a super-player if the tax incentives were to be raised even a little bit just for the logistics benefits and hospitality amenities alone.

not even better tax incentives would save Dallas---as most of the work would still go to Austin. There are too many major problems in Dallas for there ever to be a real film business: inexperienced and corrupt crews, a terrible film commission, an unhelpful city. And people in Dallas just don't get film production. They don't want to deal with the inconvenience of it. Dallas is known throughout the major production hubs (New York and LA) as being extremely film unfriendly. Producers with any smarts generally know to avoid Dallas and Texas in general, but if they're going to shoot anywhere in Texas, it really has to be Austin. At least there the city and surrounding area get the general idea of film production and try to be accommodating. In Dallas, the city, film commission, and various unprofessional people who think they work in film production all work to create obstacles for production. I have seen this firsthand. It's assbackwards in Dallas. Also, there's no real diverse "looks" for Dallas. It's an ugly city filled with ugly people, and the "film community" is a total joke. That is why Dallas will never be on the map for production, unless there's some revolutionary changes with the City and Film Commission, which I don't see happening anytime soon. If you're interested in discussing specifics, please contact me directly and privately. I've worked on major productions in many different cities, and Dallas has been by far the worst. A true nightmare for productions. If you're looking to film in Dallas, do yourself a favor, and shoot somewhere else. You'll save a lot of time, money, energy, and heartache trying to deal with the corruption and lunacy that exists in Dallas.

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by Random1982

Also, there's no real diverse "looks" for Dallas. It's an ugly city filled with ugly people, and the "film community" is a total joke. That is why Dallas will never be on the map for production, unless there's some revolutionary changes with

Oh really? -- I'm sure everyone will take you seriously now with that statement...

[elan]

They were filming a pilot episode in my Preston Hollow neighborhood last week. I have no idea what it was exactly, television production was the rumor I heard. They had the street roped off and a bunch of semi's were parked at the church parking lot. One of the trucks said Universal Studios, so who knows. It gave me something different to look at during my daily walkabouts.

[Method_Man]

Originally Posted by Random1982

not even better tax incentives would save Dallas---as most of the work would still go to Austin. There are too many major problems in Dallas for there ever to be a real film business: inexperienced and corrupt crews, a terrible film commission, an unhelpful city. And people in Dallas just don't get film production. They don't want to deal with the inconvenience of it. Dallas is known throughout the major production hubs (New York and LA) as being extremely film unfriendly. Producers with any smarts generally know to avoid Dallas and Texas in general, but if they're going to shoot anywhere in Texas, it really has to be Austin. At least there the city and surrounding area get the general idea of film production and try to be accommodating. In Dallas, the city, film commission, and various unprofessional people who think they work in film production all work to create obstacles for production. I have seen this firsthand. It's assbackwards in Dallas. Also, there's no real diverse "looks" for Dallas. It's an ugly city filled with ugly people, and the "film community" is a total joke. That is why Dallas will never be on the map for production, unless there's some revolutionary changes with the City and Film Commission, which I don't see happening anytime soon. If you're interested in discussing specifics, please contact me directly and privately. I've worked on major productions in many different cities, and Dallas has been by far the worst. A true nightmare for productions. If you're looking to film in Dallas, do yourself a favor, and shoot somewhere else. You'll save a lot of time, money, energy, and heartache trying to deal with the corruption and lunacy that exists in Dallas.

Maybe, it's just that you're an amateur.

Dallas has a record of film production both past and present that shatters your credibility.

[BeenThereDunThat]

If you saw the film "Battle L.A." the street scenes were shot in Shreveport, LA at I-20 & I-49 interchange. They made the area look like Los Angeles under siege by aliens. The movie wasn't great but the point is that thanks to post-prodn compositing, they made the lackluster area in Shreveport look like Santa Monica Fwy & Harbor Fwy - Downtown L.A.

http://www.battlela.com/site/

The only reason they came to Shreveport was because of two things: They had the freeway terminus that they could get closed for filming AND the 30% transferrable tax credits. The transferrable feature of the tax credits is a big, big deal for filmmakers as they can cash in on those at a discount when transferred to a party looking for a tax break. That's the thing that has made Louisiana a go-to destination for filmmaking. If they didn't have this tax incentive, it wouldn't get as much attention as it has from Hollywood & NYC studios.

[TrueDat]

Originally Posted by BeenThereDunThat

If you saw the film "Battle L.A." the street scenes were shot in Shreveport, LA at I-20 & I-49 interchange. They made the area look like Los Angeles under siege by aliens. The movie wasn't great but the point is that thanks to post-prodn compositing, they made the lackluster area in Shreveport look like Santa Monica Fwy & Harbor Fwy - Downtown L.A.

Battle: Los Angeles - Official Site

The only reason they came to Shreveport was because of two things: They had the freeway terminus that they could get closed for filming AND the 30% transferrable tax credits. The transferrable feature of the tax credits is a big, big deal for filmmakers as they can cash in on those at a discount when transferred to a party looking for a tax break. That's the thing that has made Louisiana a go-to destination for filmmaking. If they didn't have this tax incentive, it wouldn't get as much attention as it has from Hollywood & NYC studios.

The same was true for This is the End, which was filmed in New Orleans, but was supposed to be LA.

[Random1982]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Oh really? -- I'm sure everyone will take you seriously now with that statement...

..As someone who has worked as a location manager and scout on major productions for almost two decades, they should. i know what directors, production designers, and producers are looking for---firsthand, and dallas is significantly lacking: no hills. no beach. no good small town feels. there's not even good urban options here. it's just urban and suburban sprawl and a bunch of chains. dallas has no real character---no real soul---unlike the cities where major productions actually want to film in. also, everything is extremely spread out---making things even more difficult logistically... if productions want to film in Texas, there's a million reasons why they would choose Austin, over Dallas, but really, there's even better reasons for them to avoid Texas altogether. but again, the major factor is that Dallas just isn't film friendly---starting with the folks who are paid to be the most film friendly of all. there are big problems here. it's very corrupt. it might be painful for some of you Dallas lovers to hear, but if you want Dallas and/or Texas to seriously be on the map for film production (as opposed to being the jokes they currently are), then revolutionary change is needed. Unfortunately, most think that everything is great, and thus, the status quo is maintained.