"To have a project like Brothers, led by two iconic Austinites, be the first recipient under the new guidelines is more than fitting. It is a reminder that when productions choose Austin, they aren’t just filming here. They’re becoming part of our culture, our workforce, and our future," Anthony Segura, Austin Economic Development interim director, said in a statement.
What happened
The $150,000 award for "Brothers" comes under the city's updated Creative Content Incentive Program that has supported multiple local media productions since 2014. The Apple series started filming in March before a "creative reset," according to the city, and shooting resumed in October.
"The series focuses on the brotherhood of McConaughey and Harrelson as they combine their families in an attempt to live together on McConaughey’s Austin ranch," a city document states.
The final creative incentive will be based on local wages paid through the "Brothers" production, which has an estimated 320 cast and crew. More than $6 million in eligible pay is anticipated in addition to an estimated $9 million spent in the area on other expenses, resulting in about $160,000 in total economic impact. Apple did not respond to requests for comment about the series or incentive agreement as of press time.
The context
Austin's Creative Content Incentive Program was established more than a decade ago to promote local film, TV and video game productions. Earlier this fall, City Council voted to increase incentive awards, require higher pay and benefits for cast and crew, and adjust its application process and marketing requirements.
“Austin has always been a place where creativity doesn’t just live. It leads,” Segura said. “[W]e’re doubling down on what makes our city unmistakably ‘Austin’: our storytellers, our creatives, our crews, and the communities that fuel them."
The local program revisions came after lawmakers also recently upped state media production incentives through legislation supported by McConaughey, who testified at the Capitol this spring about his desire to film in Texas. McConaughey said he and Harrelson had taken pay cuts during the original "Brothers" shoot to keep the production in-state, and that a majority of the series' crew members were Texas residents.
“It's been said a few times, ‘Oh, just a bunch of Hollywood folks coming to our state.’ Woody and I invite you to come to our set anytime,” he told lawmakers in April. “You're going to see a lot of Texans working in Texas, all over and across the set.”
The outlook
"Brothers" was the first production to have an incentive framework approved by City Council members after their October vote for new program guidelines. Since then, Austin Economic Development reported rising inquiries and interest from various productions, studios and independent creators.
The department has received more than a dozen program inquiries since September, according to records obtained via public information request. Those came from Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellán's Austin-based Troublemaker Studios, the Hong Kong- and United Kingdom-based Phoenix Waters Productions, and Austin-based media firms such as Plaid Pony Productions and Bennett Creative, among others. Further information about those program inquiries wasn't available as of press time.
By the numbers
To date, Austin's creative incentive program has supported several TV series, a movie and a video game that spent more than $90 million around the Austin area and paid almost $75 million to thousands of local residents. Those totals don't include several productions that remain in progress or don't have completed incentive reporting available yet.
Most recent Creative Content Incentive Program participants didn't reach their originally anticipated incentive levels and employment, according to Austin records. However, all projects hired dozens or hundreds of local workers and ended up receiving city awards.
