Texas’ Film Friendly Program Aims to Connect State’s Vast Production Network

EXCLUSIVE: Amid all the strike news and Emmy noms on the horizon, here’s something wild we heard recently and that’s that the Sundance Film Festival has been fielding bids from a handful of cities to relocate the festival from its Park City, UT home base.

One couple in Texas are lending a helping hand to a boy who knocked on their door looking for friends.

Elon Musk’s attorneys have filed suit against the law firm that represented Twitter when Musk was trying to buy the company last year, claiming an overcharge when the company was transitioning to new ownership.

Zorro Days” in the park, where actors from the popular Disney-produced “Zorro” television series (Guy Williams, Gene Sheldon, and Henry Calvin) would greet guests and perform in wild west stunt shows. At the time the memo was sent, the movie was scheduled to hit theaters in 2010. A vast and varied array of options were presented, ranging in ambition and complexity.

The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, has been voluntarily recognized as the bargaining representative of 129 artists and production workers at Powerhouse Animation in Austin, Texas. The guild called it an “historic voluntary agreement.”

Britney Spears has addressed the attack on her in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.

EXCLUSIVE: Texas Monthly, the magazine that has been chronicling life in the Lone Star State since 1973, has continued its expansion into film and TV by setting its first-ever feature documentary, to be made in partnership with Peabody and Critics’ Choice Award-winning filmmaker Deborah Esquenazi (Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four).

Brad Pitt and Damson Idris got right into the action while filming their upcoming Formula One movie at the British Grand Prix on Thursday.Produced in collaboration with F1, the film will be shot in and around actual Grand Prix weekends, giving fans a firsthand look at all the action. Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes — according to set pics showing his character's garage at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England — a retired driver who returns to F1 racing in order to help train a young upcoming star, played by Idris.On Thursday, Pitt was spotted walking around the track and meeting some fans while Idris looked ready to race as he walked the paddock. The garage for Pitt's character, Sonny Hayes, in the upcoming F1 movie from Apple Studios.The Apple Studios film — which reunites 's director Joseph Kosinski, writer Ehren Kruger and producer Jerry Bruckheimer --  doesn't have an official title yet, but a since-deleted tweet from the ESPN F1 account hinted that it might be called .The Formula One twitter account also shared a first look at the APXGP car that will be used in the movie.FIRST LOOK: Introducing APXGP, starring in an Apple Original Film#F1pic.twitter.com/0qDe3zMicpA major F1 fan in real life, Pitt was spotted enjoying himself at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, last October, where he chatted with Formula One star driver Lewis Hamilton and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

banned in Vietnam for apparently featuring a map showing China’s claims to the South China Sea that many say includes the territory of other nations.When asked about the controversy during a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was dismissive of Hanoi’s outrage.“China’s position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent,” the official said, adding that Vietnam “should not link the South China Sea issue with normal cultural exchange.”The nine-dash line shown on the map represents China’s claim to a vast section of the disputed waters, which are also being fought over by Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.An international tribunal at The Hague found the Chinese Communist Party’s map illegal. Beijing dismissed the ruling at the time.The map’s inclusion in “Barbie” underscores the growing controversy over Hollywood’s reliance on China, which has rivaled the US for its biggest market in recent years.

A Texas teen who went missing in 2015 has been found alive.

Texans fear there is a serial killer on the loose in their state after a fifth body was found at a lake in the space of six months.

When Midnight Cowboy came out in 1969, Miami Herald critic John Huddy heralded its arrival with a string of superlatives: “Staggering, shattering, heartbreaking, hilarious, tragic, raw and absurd.”

“Freaks, Gleeks, & Dawson’s Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television.”According to the producer, Smith — who had veto power on every story arc in the ’90s sitcom — rarely rejected ideas but “refused” to have Charles, 62, on the show.Simon said that Smith, 54, “kept repeating that it was a bad idea,” so he eventually gave up and backed down on the idea. The “Mad About You” producer later told Glassman that he suspected that Smith was worried about protecting his reputation.“The reason he would say no is because of his image.

A woman from Kentucky has been arrested after she allegedly shot her Uber driver, thinking he was kidnapping her.

EXCLUSIVE: Phoebe Tonkin (Babylon) is among the cast leading the indie crime drama And On The Eighth Day from debut feature filmmaker Alexandra Chando, which has just wrapped production in New Mexico.

Texas’ Sharleen Spiteri has thanked Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis for being a “massive supporter of female musicians” during the band’s performance on the Pyramid Stage.The Glaswegian group took to the stage on Friday afternoon (June 23) to perform a career-spanning set. Towards the end of their one hour slot, Spiteri praised Eavis.“Not because she’s ticking a fucking box to put us on these stages, she’s putting us on these stages because she thinks we’re fucking amazing,” Spiteri told the audience.

EXCLUSIVE: Luke Wilson (Horizon: An American Saga) and Greg Kinnear (The Present) are set to star in You Gotta Believe, a film based on the inspirational true story of Fort Worth, Texas’ 2002 Westside Little League team. Others on board for roles in the pic from Santa Rita Film Co. include Sarah Gadon (Ferrari), newcomer Michael Cash, Etienne Kellici (Horizon: An American Saga) and Molly Parker (Deadwood).

@BryanCranston @MayaHawke @AsteroidCity #WWHL pic.twitter.com/A7mNJbnfHpCranston went on to describe Anderson as a director and as a person, summarizing what makes so many A-list stars want to work with the filmmaker.“He is a lovely, vulnerable, wonderful, kind, generous man,” Cranston said. “And that’s why everybody wants to work with him.

Paul Plunkett Texas offers vast, open spaces and is beefing up its industry infrastructure to attract production not only across the state but in several pockets that have become hubs for all types of media production. From the central regions in and around Austin and Waco to the western panhandle near Amarillo, the Lone Star State is positioning itself for a production boom, aided by the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive program, recently passed by the state legislature. “We were able to receive such great funding and have such support from the legislators across the board on both sides of the aisle, from rural areas to the cities,” says Mindy Raymond, communications director for the Texas Media Production Alliance, noting the leap in funding from the previous legislative session ($45 million) to this one ($200 million).

Andrew Barker Senior Features Writer Things have always been bigger in Texas. And thanks to some recently passed legislation, Texas film production is finally primed to take on a role befitting the state’s reputation. After years of watching productions opt for more incentive-rich states, Texas has been home to an immense amount of film and TV shooting over the past two years, with HBO’s “Love and Death,” Paramount’s “Yellowstone,” Apple TV+’s “The Last Thing He Told Me,” the CW’s “Walker,” Netflix’s “Hypnotic” and the Houston-set series “Mo” all setting up shop in the Lone Star state. And the floodgates look set to open even further with the recent legislative passage of $200 million in state shooting incentives, a sharp increase from the $45 million the state offered previously.