Actor Dennis Quaid expounded on a new movement to make the Lone Star state of Texas the “film capital of the world” as people move out of California.
Speaking with Jesse Watters of Fox News, Quaid said “more business-friendly” legislation working its way through Texas could create another film boom in the state.
“We want to make Texas the film capital of the world. That’s what Texas used to really have – a great film incentive program and a great film crew base. About nine or 10 years ago, I made some great movies there and [I] love working there,” said Quaid.
Film funding in Texas could potentially increase from $40 million to $300 million.
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Quaid said that a film boom in Texas could bring thousands of people back to the state from neighboring ones.
“It would bring back a lot of people who moved to other states like Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, surrounding Texas, actually, and Georgia,” he said.
Quaid further recalled not being able to “remember the last time I made a film in California.”
“You know, they still do their game shows there and talk shows and stuff that everybody films in Georgia or Oklahoma or whatever, because it doesn’t matter where it’s supposed to take place cause it’s cheaper,” Quaid said.
California has become a state for pre and post-production in recent years while filming has largely happened in other states due to their massive tax incentives. That shift only accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. Quaid said that he wants Texas to compete with states like Georgia and Oklahoma by having great tax incentives.
Dennis Quaid and Laura Savoie attend CMT Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life & Music of Loretta Lynn at Grand Ole Opry on October 30, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Catherine Powell/Getty Images for CMT)
“Texas did a really good job at taking a big share of the tech industry away from Silicon Valley. You go down to Austin and you can see that really clearly. And the same thing can be done with movies and television shows. It’s a great place to shoot,” he said.
“Think of the California gold rush, you know? It’s like a few people did strike it rich, but the people who really made money were the shopkeepers and people selling shovels and spades and stuff like that who were doing other things besides mining for gold. And that’s kind of what happened here,” he added.
Dennis Quaid will be playing former President Ronald Reagan in an upcoming biopic.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or VIMEO On Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.