Rick Perry aims to provide Texas Tax Payer Dollars to Hollywood.
Posted on 10/09/2011 11:40:07 AM PDT by bgill
The Bravo network TV show and its production company, Magical Elves, are fighting efforts to disclose the details of an incentive package from the state worth $400,000 in taxpayers' money...
The requests sought details about the incentive agreement reached with the state. The program is outlined on the governor's website , but the deal struck with producers of Top Chef is the first of its kind.
Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry sent this response:
“The state has an integrated marketing agreement that allows for cross promotional opportunities between Texas Tourism and Top Chef.
(Excerpt) Read more at kxan.com ...
Our tax dollars at play. Who's not so bright idea was this? More of my taxes down the tubes.
More of that green thing stuff, this one about boiling green cabbages and green tax payers.
Other states have similar incentives to bring TV and film production to their locale. $400K is chump change when you consider it’s attracting a production that dumps $1M per episode (not uncommon) into the local area.
Also it says “incentive program worth $400K.” It doesn’t say that we paid out $400k - it could be something as simple as tax and permit waivers totalling that. No details are given.
Guess you missed the “one of a kind” in the article.
8 minutes. What took y’all so long?
It’s one of a kind FOR TEXAS because until the last few years we’ve had little interest in attracting media.
It’s not unusual at all, how do you think Vancouver attracts so much film production??
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/200-000-helped-get-Top-Chef-for-S-A-2208437.php
The San Antonio Convention and Business Bureau ponied up $200,000. Eight of the season’s 14 episodes are set in San Antonio.
We were too busy laughing at the outraged tone.
At one point I was involved in a couple of major TV projects; when we filmed on location, we dropped more than $400K PER DAY in local expenses.
I’ll just add part of what I told bgill on the Texas forum:
Showcasing Texas cuisine *will* help tourism, as most people’s impression of what’s available here is hopelessly out of date - my father didn’t think there was anything but BBQ and fast food here until he was forced to come to Houston with my mom for her treatments at MD Anderson. He was shocked to find good Greek, Japanese, Thai, etc., etc. There are such things as food tourists.
Right and more jobs for Texas.
I watch Telemundo, and at the end of a lot of their programs, it shows a little logo of the state of Florida, and a little blurb about assistance from the Florida Film Commission.
Oh, I just went and looked at their website. I see there are lots of movies, and television programs that are utilizing the Florida incentives.
Yup, and Florida is laughing all the way to the bank on that one. Between the increased tourism and the money those productions inject into the local economy, it’s long since paid for.
Good on Chuck Norris
OMG, I’m laughing so hard I can hardly type! Oh the outrage! Imagine giving tax breaks to a company to move to your state and give your people jobs, inject millions into the economy, and highlight your state as a great destination. Oh the humanity! LOL
Good for Texas!
Rick Perry aims to provide Texas Tax Payer Dollars to Hollywood.
Does that mean that barbecued bat will be a secret ingredient?
This is common practice across the national, although apparently new for Texas. $400K in tourism marketing for access to $15 million worth of cross-promotional opportunity. That's an excellent deal and just what a tourism office should be doing.
The only gripe here is the production company wanting to prevent details of the TX seasons from leaking while the state says the information should be released.
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