EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Hollywood filmmakers love everything El Paso has to offer, but more can be done to make the city a key playmaker in the film industry.
That’s according to professional film location manager Jacob Cena.
“So we have great locations. We have great people. Every filmmaker that has ever been out here loves El Paso. OK? The only thing that we’re lacking is a strong film incentive program to help create a discount that allows filmmakers and film production companies to come, and be able to compete with New Mexico, because New Mexico has a 35% discount,” Cena said.
Cena said he has been in the motion pictures industry for over 25 years, doing a little bit of everything. Most notably, he has worked as a film location manager for films like “Glory Road” and “Sicario” and more recently “One Battle After Another,” which was partially filmed in El Paso last year.
Cena said Hollywood filmmakers are eager to come shoot their films in El Paso, but that the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) which caps at 22%, is not enough to compete with New Mexico, which offers a 35% incentive. However, he believes that at least an extra 5% could move the needle.
“We’ve been trying to lure film production companies here because El Paso is great. It’s one of the safest cities in the nation. We’re near the border. We have what is it, 365 days out of the year, with continuous sunlight. So there’s a lot of great factors. We’re right smack in the center geologically from Los Angeles and New York. So it’s the perfect place to start a production company or to start filming from here and branch out,” Cena said.
Senate Bill 22, which was recently approved by both chambers in the latest Texas legislative session, will expand the TMIIIP by infusing $2.5 billion over the next decade into projects filmed in Texas. But Cena is calling on El Paso leaders, organizations, and film professionals to unite and organize themselves to attract those funds.
“But the key for El Paso is uniting to understand that bill. We need to create some kind of unity where we all work together, as a whole, to understand this and how we can get a piece of that. If we don’t work together, then it all stays in Austin,” Cena said.
Joining with Cena in his call to action is his colleague Troy Scoughton Sr., a film producer out of Las Cruces. He has produced several independent films primarily in Southeast New Mexico, and shares the idea that if El Paso gets organized and sees improved film incentives, the entire Borderplex region stands to become a key player in the film industry.
“When the filmmakers from out of town come in from LA or wherever, they see what we have to offer. It’s unique because El Paso’s Downtown doesn’t look like their downtown. Our deserts don’t look like their deserts. Our locations don’t look like their locations. And it allows them to produce entirely new kinds of content. And that’s really what they want to do,” Scoughton said.
Scoughton also said he believes that if El Paso draws the film industry it will benefit the community economically by creating jobs. But more importantly, he believes it will allow local talent to grow and carry out their film careers here along the border.
“We educate all these wonderful young people into the film business, and then they move away. Well, that’s the same as us exporting our most valuable, precious, natural resource, which is educated young people. And we don’t want to do that. But right now, that’s what we are doing. They’re all going to Albuquerque or LA or Georgia or someplace else, because we just don’t have enough films here to support them. Jacob and I are trying to change that,” Scoughton said.
Cena and Scoughton feel now is a pivotal moment to urge El Paso and Texas leaders for those film incentives, given the spotlight it will receive when “One Battle After Another” premieres in cinemas nationwide this September.
The movie is produced by mega studio Warner Bros., directed by the renowned Paul Thomas Anderson, and stars A-list actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn. It was partially shot in parts of Downtown and Central El Paso last summer.
“It was hard because we’ve never had such a big production here in El Paso,” Cena said. “Again, it falls back to the film incentive program. The director wanted to film in El Paso. He had to convince and tug Warner Brothers to come film down here. But what won him over was the people, and that’s how we overcame this. It was a group effort, we had the Downtown Management District, the county judge, the police department, so many entities. So again, if we were to stay unified like this we can bring more projects in the future. This is just a taste of what El Paso can do in the future,” Cena said.
Cena also manages Indian Cliffs Ranch, which has served as a filming location for many movies over the years including “Courage Under Fire” which stars Denzel Washington. The ranch is located north of Fabens and Interstate 10, and houses the well-known Cattleman’s Steakhouse, which along with the ranch is owned by Marc Gerzymisch.
Cena believes the ranch could be employed for large productions at an even higher rate than it has if the film incentives were higher. Combine that with the unique scenery and architecture of El Paso which he said already appeals to many filmmakers, and Cena believes it would be a game changer.
“This area has four different land formations. There’s caliche, clay, gypsum, and other different types of land masses,” Cena said. “Some areas can look like Saudi Arabia, the Western, Mars, whatever you want.”
You can watch the full trailer for “One Battle After Another” by clicking here.
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