Arlington officials recommended in an informal staff report for the city to develop a formal strategy to attract film and other media production in the city.
The report comes after Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 22, which invests $1.5 billion into the Texas film industry and goes into effect on Sept. 1, according to The Dallas Morning News. The bill was promoted by famous Texas-born actors like Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson and director Taylor Sheridan.
A big win, according to the report, would be for the city to secure a Media Production Development Zone (MPDZ) in Arlington. That would provide tax breaks for the creation or renovation of a media production site, making Arlington more attractive to the media industry. The tax breaks could count toward sound stages, animation studios and video game studios…