82R11700 MGR-F
By: Dukes H.R. No. 747
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, A state that is home to iconic American legends,
talented residents, diverse settings, and abundant resources for
all aspects of filmmaking, Texas has long been a favorite location
for motion picture and television productions, and that rich and
ongoing tradition is being celebrated on Texas Moving Image
Industry Day at the State Capitol on March 9, 2011; and
WHEREAS, More than 1,800 films and television programs have
been made in Texas since 1910; the first movie ever to win the
Academy Award for Best Picture, the 1927 World War I epic Wings, was
shot in and around San Antonio; and
WHEREAS, Audiences all over the world have discovered the
Lone Star State through films and television programs made here;
Giant, filmed near Marfa, tells the sprawling story of cattle and
oil in West Texas; John Wayne's 1960 epic The Alamo brought that
essential Texas story to worldwide audiences; the film and
television series Friday Night Lights revolve around the
distinctively Texan phenomenon of high school football, and 13
years after its release, Hope Floats continues to draw tourists to
its Smithville locations; Austin City Limits, aired on PBS since
1976, is the only television show to receive a National Medal of
Arts award; no fewer than nine Texas-made films and television
programs, including Terms of Endearment and The Last Picture Show,
have been based on the works of legendary Texas writer Larry
McMurtry; and
WHEREAS, Great storytellers from across the nation have
employed Texas locations, actors, and technicians to make their
films; Steven Spielberg shot his first feature, The Sugarland
Express, here, Sam Peckinpah filmed his classic thriller The
Getaway in San Marcos and El Paso, Clint Eastwood made A Perfect
World in Huntsville and Austin, and Joel and Ethan Coen utilized
various locations around Texas in Blood Simple and True Grit; and
WHEREAS, The state's own writers and directors have produced
many great projects here, including Robert Benton (Bonnie and
Clyde, Nadine), Horton Foote (Tender Mercies, The Trip to
Bountiful), Bill Wittliff (Raggedy Man, Honeysuckle Rose), Wes
Anderson (Rushmore), Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and
Confused), Tim McCanlies (Dancer, Texas Pop. 81, Secondhand Lions),
Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn), and John Lee Hancock (The
Alamo, The Rookie); and
WHEREAS, Texas has hosted a tremendous variety of
productions, from independent films like Bottle Rocket (shot in
Dallas) to classic westerns like Lonesome Dove (shot near Del Rio),
as well as war dramas like Courage Under Fire (shot in El Paso),
family adventures like the four Spy Kids films (shot in Austin), and
romantic comedies like Miss Congeniality (shot in San Antonio) and
Michael (shot in Austin and La Grange); the state has also been the
location for such Academy Award-winning features as No Country for
Old Men and There Will Be Blood (both shot in Marfa), Boys Don't Cry
(shot in Greenville), Places in the Heart (shot in Waxahachie), and
Hud (shot in Claude); and
WHEREAS, The state is known for its highly skilled film
technicians, whose expertise is so well-regarded that most films
shot in Texas hire primarily local crews; the state also boasts a
strong base of acting talent, and specialized film vendors and
services have been a strong part of the state's economy for more
than two decades; and
WHEREAS, With over 130 companies, Texas is the nation's
second largest center for the development of video games, and their
products include such popular titles as Epic Mickey from Disney
Junction Point Studios, Ultima Online, a groundbreaking
multiplayer game from Origin Systems, and Words With Friends from
McKinney-based The Zynga With Friends Studio, as well as military
simulation training games for the U.S. Army; and
WHEREAS, Over the past decade, the moving image industry,
including film, television, videos, commercials, animation, and
video games, has spent more than $2.5 billion and is estimated to
have created nearly 56,000 jobs in Texas, and the contributions of
this dynamic industry to Texas, and of Texans to the industry, are
truly worthy of recognition; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby recognize March 9, 2011, as Texas Moving Image
Industry Day at the State Capitol and commend the many talented and
creative individuals involved in this exciting field.