‘Yellowstone,’ ‘Twisters’ show filmmakers with no ‘hidden agenda’ choosing heartland over Hollywood

Texas, Oklahoma and Utah are luring more and more production away from Hollywood with both financial and personal incentives.

The Taylor Sheridan-created series “Yellowstone” and its spinoffs “1883,” “1923” and “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” have all filmed in Texas, as well as his latest series, “Landman,” with its story set in the state’s oil industry.

“Texas is the new Hollywood hot spot, powered by an explosion of generous tax incentives and a powerful and booming studio infrastructure, causing filmmakers to flock,” Reputation Management Consultants CEO Eric Schiffer told Fox News Digital.

Major stars like Matthew McConaughey, Dennis Quaid and Glen Powell, along with Sheridan, have all spoken out in support of the state’s incentives, which currently have $200 million set aside by the legislature that will expire in 2025.

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Sheridan and Quaid both testified before the Texas Senate Finance Committee in October to push for additional incentives. 

“We desperately need the employees. I would much, much, much rather hire a Texas local than fly in somebody from another state,” Sheridan stated, per Dallas Morning News, pointing to the fact he previously worked with students at Tarrant County College to train them to work as film crew technicians.

The Texas-born writer and director also lamented that one of his past projects, “Hell or High Water,” described as his “love poem to my state,” was forced to film in New Mexico because of the lack of filmmaking infrastructure.

“Texas is the new Hollywood hot spot, powered by an explosion of generous tax incentives and a powerful and booming studio infrastructure, causing filmmakers to flock.”

– Reputation Management Consultants CEO Eric Schiffer

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“Today, if I were a young actor, I wouldn’t go to Hollywood,” Quaid said, per Dallas Morning News. “I would go to Atlanta because the smaller roles are there. They’ve done a good job at developing an industry… That’s what I would like to see happen here in Texas.”

George Lane, Deputy Director of Government Relations with the Texas Attorney General’s office, told Fox News Digital, “You’ve got guys like the great Taylor Sheridan and the great Dennis Quaid that have really been putting their time in the legislature and really been cultivating relationships with statewide elected officials like Governor [Greg] Abbott and Lt. Governor [Dan] Patrick that want to see movies and TV about Texas made in Texas and not made in states that can’t stand up to the vastness of our state and just how badass we are.”

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He added, “These actors, they want to go shoot and they want to go home to their families. They don’t want to go to New Mexico or Oklahoma for months on end. Texas is just a better economy, a better environment, it’s safer.”

Lane also noted that in addition to the incentives, the stories being told are appealing to both filmmakers and audiences.

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“People are tired of their movies and TV having a hidden agenda or a political agenda, and it seems like the folks that want to shoot movies and TV down here in Texas want to create things that don’t have an agenda,” he said. “I think that the American people are striving for film and TV like that. So that’s why I think you’re going to see the state really grow film-wise because people want to see shows like ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘1883’ and ‘Landman’ and all these shows that really embody the typical American blue-collar worker. And I think that’s why Taylor has seen so much success, because he’s making TV and movies for the people and not for this select few in Hollywood.”

Doug Eldridge at Achilles PR told Fox News Digital, “Hollywood banks on trendlines, not popular trends, so they’ve clearly done their homework and determined that there is a sustainable appetite for this type of content. 

“In the end, it’s the American viewing audience who wins by the revival of the Western genre. In a broader sense, it’s emblematic of who we are as a nation — from our arrival and eventual migration west, to the struggles everyday Americans face in 2024. We’ve always had that pioneering spirit, and this category of film serves as a well-timed reminder.”

‘YELLOWSTONE’ AND ‘KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON’ LEAD RESURGENCE OF WESTERN GENRE IN HOLLYWOOD

Other states are upping their production incentives and storytelling, as well.

Oklahoma’s incentives have enticed films like the Oscar-nominated “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the Glen Powell-led blockbuster “Twisters,” as well as series like “Tulsa King” and “Reservation Dogs.”

“Today, if I were a young actor, I wouldn’t go to Hollywood.”

– Dennis Quaid

Jeanette Stanton, Director of the Oklahoma Film+Music Office, told Fox News Digital, “There’s definitely been a shift, and really at the base of it, it comes down to incentives.”

Oklahoma is one of 38 states that offers incentives like cash rebates or grants and tax credits, which can be converted into a refund or sold, and Stanton noted that “it’s super competitive.”

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“The incentive piece for every state is really part of the business model for production. And so when you’re running a business, you’re going to look for the best place to run your business, right? And that starts with what kind of incentive is the state offering? Second to that is going to be location, story based, the creative needs. And then we’re getting into infrastructure and crew base,” she said.  

“You have to make the dollars work, but the creative piece plays a significant role, right? Where can that story be told? Where should it be told? Where can it be told?”

“Killers of the Flower Moon” was inspired by the book of the same name, chronicling the real-life story of the murders of members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma by White settlers in the 1920s after recently discovered oil makes the Osage people some of the richest in the country. But it almost wasn’t filmed in the very state where it’s set, because of the incentives and crew available.

“New Mexico was in the running for that film because their incentive was a little bit better than ours to have a little bit more crew base than we do,” said Stanton. “And so when you’re talking about the production, obviously those business needs, they’re thinking about, ‘Where can I get the best bang for my buck? Where is that infrastructure?’ But at the end of the day, you know, that piece would not have looked the same. It would not have felt the same. It would not have probably had the same tone if it wasn’t told in the place that it needed to be told in.”

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Like Texas, Stanton also noted there’s an appeal for crew members leaving the traditional production hubs in California, and more recently Georgia, for other states.

“Ultimately, we have room to expand and to grow. And I think a lot of people appreciate that they want to raise their families here just because you can have a backyard here and it’s not going to cost you $1 million,” she said. “And so, I think that’s really, really important to what Oklahoma has to offer. I think people are really pleasantly surprised, especially when they come from out of state, on how much there is to do here, what kind of resources we have. And we get so, so many compliments on the people here, the hospitality here, just that we kind of welcome you with open arms at the end of the day.”

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Travis Knox, associate professor at Chapman University, told Fox News Digital, “There’s a lot of people who realize it’s becoming increasingly difficult to live in Southern California and make you start moving back to these places where they can have a ‘better life,’ raise a family more, get productive, as opposed to constantly living further and further outside of L.A. and fighting for the small amount of productions that are going to stay there.”

Utah is another state seeing its production infrastructure grow.

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The first two movies in Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga” four-part series recently filmed in the Beehive State, which doubled for locations in Wyoming, New Mexico and Montana, and he plans to shoot the third and fourth films there, as well.

“I couldn’t look away,” he told Deseret News of the decision to film in Utah. “I knew the story wanted to be set there. I thought that it would be the best possible thing for the movie. There are these wide, open spaces that almost defy imagination. That kind of look is fabulous for a Western.”

“I think a lot of people appreciate that they want to raise their families here just because you can have a backyard here and it’s not going to cost you $1 million.”

– Jeanette Stanton, Director of the Oklahoma Film+Music Office

The state offers a refundable tax credit of up to 25% on in-state spending for approved projects, and recently signed off on several more productions, including the Angel Studios series “Homestead,” a Bible comedy series called “The Promised Land” and a Hallmark film, “Deck the Walls.”

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Utah has become a bit of a hub for holiday filming, with movies like “Best. Christmas. Ever!” and “Falling for Christmas,” starring Lindsay Lohan, both on Netflix, and “Haul Out the Holly” and “Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up,” both on Hallmark.

“Filmmakers continue to bring new stories to Utah because of the ease of setting up productions in our state. In addition to our established infrastructure of experienced crew and vendors, filming locations like our famous red rock and desert landscapes allow producers to find what they need regardless of whether the story is set in Utah,” Utah Film Commission Director Virginia Pearce told Fox News Digital.

Knox said production moving out of the Golden State “is no longer a fad,” especially with increased production needs from streamers. “California can’t sustain it all.”

“There was a time in the late aughts when multiple states jumped into the incentive game, only to retreat when there wasn’t enough production to sustain. Fifteen years later, states like Georgia and Louisiana, which stuck it out, have benefitted from the explosive growth in streaming-fueled production. With twice as much production today, it’s clear why so many other states want to take advantage. There were less than 200 TV shows 20 years ago. That number has tripled,” he said.