Okay, actors. Whether you’re SAG, Non-SAG, SAG-Eligible or anywhere in between, you need to get involved by joining the TXMPA. If WE don’t achieve a significant increase in our state film incentive program in the upcoming legislative session, our TEXAS film industry is going to be further decimated. At that point the decision actors will [...]

It’s been said there are no small parts…only small actors. Well, that’s not really true. There ARE small parts. I know. I’ve done my share of them and will likely do more, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. Last year I had the pleasure of doing a decidedly small role in a project called [...]

ACTING OUT of STATE by Craig Berlin Founding Board Member (Retired) Texas Motion Picture Alliance  http://www.txmpa.org Acting is something close to my heart. Talent does not guarantee success and even though I did a lot of acting in high school and college, I opted to go behind the camera as a career because it felt [...]

Here’s an excellent article on state film incentives from Indy.com In Texas we are HOPING to get the legislature to increase our incentive from the current dead in the water 5% to a comparatively modest 15%. We are hoping that the existing infrastructure will make 15% more competitive. So far, 15% hasn’t primed the pump [...]

You Friday Night Lights fans might find this TV Guide article of interest. I’m wondering how this will work out as well. And will the DirecTV run count as first run and the NBC network run a rerun, or vice versa? Whatever the case, it’s just another example of the changing landscape for film and [...]

The following productions has approached SAG about shooting under a SAG signatory agreement. Not all of these projects will necessarily end up going SAG, so ‘buyer’ beware: American Cartel – Ultra Low Budget Agave Productions, LLC Location: San Antonio, TX Start Date: August 24, 2008 Devil’s Thumb – Low Budget Modified Ranch Studios Location: Austin, [...]

A MESSAGE TO THE MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS PRODUCTION COMMUNITY Folks, the legislative season is upon us. Long before the session begins in January, much work has already been done — and there’s a great deal yet to be done — toward making Texas’ incentive program more competitive, and regaining some of the ground that [...]

The following columm appears in The Dallas Morning News Online 08:49 AM CDT on Friday, July 25, 2008 By JOE O’CONNELL / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News  filmnewsbyjoe at yahoo.com Don Stokes skipped junior- high classes to watch Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway succumb to a spray of bullets as Bonnie and Clyde. [...]

Don Stokes has been in the film business in Dallas for many years. It looks like TXMPA should be in good hands under his leadership. Here is his recent letter to the masses: “It is my honor to be the newly elected President of TXMPA. Thanks to the leadership provided by past Presidents, Hector Garcia [...]

The following story on Amazon.com‘s new Video on Demand service appears in newspapers across the country today, 7/18/08. This is just one more example of where film and video distribution is headed. And it is one more example of why the AMPTP is trying to force feed a bad deal on Screen Actors Guild members. As [...]