Since 2015, one of Fort Worth’s fastest-growing industries has injected nearly $1 billion in economic impact to the city and employed more than 50,000 people.
Film and television production has exploded in Cowtown over the past decade, from films such as “12 Mighty Orphans” and “The Old Man & the Gun,” to shows like “1883” and “Landman.”
Business is booming, and it’s only expected to grow.
Texas lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that puts $1.5 billion in film incentives up for grabs over the next decade. A couple of months ago, a new 450,000-square-foot production campus opened in north Fort Worth.
As more projects come the city, their first stop will likely be the Fort Worth Film Commission, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
“We never imagined film to grow this quickly,” film commissioner Taylor Hardy said. “$1 billion in 10 years is just a fraction of what we’ll see in the next five years. We have all the pieces that have fallen into place to support film.”
Fort Worth Film Commission’s early days
While the film commission launched in 2015, its inception can be traced to a year prior in China.
Then-Mayor Betsy Price traveled to the country on a promotional tour with American Airlines to highlight the company’s routes to China. Members of Visit Fort Worth and the Chamber of Commerce also tagged along to promote the city.
Red Productions President Red Sanders was there as well, and recalls what Price asked him after a long day of meetings in Shanghai.
“[She said] ‘Red, what can we do to grow the creative class in Fort Worth’?” Sanders said. “I was like, ‘Well, Mayor Price, I’m glad you asked.’”
Sanders said it would be effective for Fort Worth to create its own film commission, since it was the only major Texas city without one.
The Texas Film Commission launched in 1971, followed by one in El Paso in 1974. San Antonio founded its film commission in 1985, while Houston created its film commission in 1987.
There used to be a regional film commission for the Metroplex, but it shuttered in 2002. Dallas created its own film commission that same year.
In the interim, Sanders said Fort Worth was mainly pitched when a production needed something Western-specific, like cows in the street, since the Stockyards could accommodate.
After the trip to China, film advocates and city leaders got to work. The film commission officially launched on Oct. 20, 2015.
“Late to the party. But, man, like leading the party now,” Sanders said.
Fort Worth Film Commission gets to work
Jessica Hill served as the first Fort Worth film commissioner from 2015 until 2024.
In the early days, local filmmakers leaned on the commission to help on their films. David Lowery’s “A Ghost Story” was one of the first projects the commission worked on, along with his wife Augustine Frizzell’s movie “Never Goin’ Back.”
Lowery, who grew up in Irving and lives in Dallas, returned to Fort Worth and used the city as a major filming hub for his Robert Redford-starring “The Old Man & the Gun” in 2018.
“We couldn’t have made ‘The Old Man & the Gun’ without the support of the Fort Worth Film Commission. So many of the most memorable moments in the film were shot in and around downtown Forth Worth, and the time we spent there with our cast and crew remains one of my happiest experiences as a filmmaker,” Lowery said in a statement. “The film commission also came to the rescue on other films of mine, from ‘A Ghost Story’ to ‘The Green Knight,’ both of which had sequences that were filmed in Fort Worth. They’ve opened so many doors for us, and always help us make our little films feel far more epic than they would otherwise.”
Fort Worth native Channing Godfrey Peoples made “Miss Juneteenth” in the city in 2019. Soon after, historical sports film “12 Mighty Orphans” filmed in and around the city.
For some of these filmmakers, Hill said they could have landed better incentives in other states, but choose to stick around locally.
From permitting and road closures, to coordinating with Fort Worth fire and police — all the work on the films laid the groundwork for what came next.
“Those early projects really helped everyone find a groove,” Hill said. “Word started to spread like, ‘Wow, Fort Worth makes things happen.’”
Taylor Sheridan boom ignites film business in Fort Worth
In 2021, “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan returned to his old stomping grounds to film the show’s prequel “1883” in Fort Worth.
The move proved to be a watershed moment for the city and the biggest project the commission had worked on to date. The production spent $44.4 million in the Fort Worth area over 74 days, in addition to hiring more than 1,100 crew and more than 800 cast members.
Sheridan has continued business in Fort Worth ever since.
“Lawmen: Bass Reeves” filmed locally in 2023, followed by “Lioness” season 2 and “Landman” season 1 the following year. “Lioness” and “Landman” returned to Cowtown this year to film new seasons, along with the first season of “Yellowstone” spinoff “The Dutton Ranch.”
The Michelle Pfeiffer-led “The Madison” filmed season 1 in 2024 and will return sometime this year. Episodes of “Yellowstone” and “The Road” have also filmed in the city over the past year.
“I think [Sheridan] sees the potential for the city and wants to help take it to the next level,” Hardy said.
Since 2021, 101 Studios, the production studio for most of Sheridan’s shows, has booked more than 75,000 hotel rooms.
On “Landman” season 2 alone, 101 Studios hired 1,092 crew, 192 cast and more than 2,500 extras. The oil industry drama spent much of the spring and summer filming across TCU, downtown and more.
In addition to hiring local cast and crew, more production companies are setting up shop in Fort Worth. Hardy points to Nametag Films relocating from Dallas to Fort Worth as one example.
Facilities that the city needed like post-production and prop houses, are now starting to pop up in Fort Worth.
“We had to be really scrappy in the beginning,” Hardy said. “We were repurposing buildings for stages and offices and just trying to work together to find solutions. Now, I think, we have more of this traditional businesses and services and infrastructure in place.”
Beyond the economic impact production has on the city, Hardy said locally-filmed shows also equate to tourism.
Audiences who have seen a Paramount+ show filmed in Fort Worth are two times more likely to consider travel to the city than those who had not, Hardy said, citing a survey the commission produced. Potentially, that could lead to more than 230,000 visitors per year.
“We also saw from that survey that more than half of the people said that their perception of Fort Worth improved,” Hardy said.
The next 10 years of the Fort Worth Film Commission
Hardy has been with the commission since nearly the beginning.
She first joined as an intern in 2016, later that same year securing a full-time gig. Over the years, she’s served as associate film commissioner and officially took over the top job after Hill left in October 2024.
Having been there for almost all of it, Hardy said the biggest change over the years has been awareness.
When “The Old Man & the Gun” filmed in the city, director David Lowery and star Casey Affleck would walk around Sundance Square unrecognized. Now, locals have an ear to the streets.
“I think now people have kind of embraced Fort Worth as a film destination, and are so excited about the productions coming to town,” Hardy said. “That gives us just even more energy and that community collaboration to be able to support and welcome them, which has been really exciting.”
That support is also felt in city hall, where Mayor Mattie Parker has embraced the film industry.
Parker’s annual State of the City earlier this month was all about the industry’s impact in Fort Worth, where “stories come to life.”
“For more than a decade, the Fort Worth Film Commission has been the driving force behind the growth and vitality of the film and entertainment industry in our city,” Parker said in a statement. “Through these efforts, Fort Worth has emerged as a premier destination for production – creating sustainable workforce pipelines and significant economic impact for our residents and businesses alike.”
As the film commission looks ahead to its next 10 years, it’s anyone’s guess as to what the future holds.
Hardy never imagined the commission would be where it is now. More than 1,000 projects have filmed in the city since 2015, from film and television to commercials and music videos.
What is for certain is that the commission will continue pushing Fort Worth as a supportive space and, maybe most importantly, as a “yes” town.
“We’re ready for any new challenges,” Hardy said.
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