Movies

The Texas-based film Tulia looks back on track, but don't expect it to be shot in the Lone Star State.

John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) has signed on to direct the long-delayed adaptation of Nate Blakeslee's book Tulia: Race, Cocaine and Corruption about the 1999 incident in which a 10th of the Texas town's black population was jailed on dubious drug charges. Most were later pardoned by Gov. Rick Perry. Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton are set to star when the movie shoots late this fall, probably in Louisiana.

What? Wasn't the new $20 million Texas film incentives program supposed to make sure Texas movies were made here? Not necessarily, says Janis Burklund, head of the Dallas Film Commission.

"Louisiana is still snagging them," she says. "They're giving away more for big-budget projects. We knew it wouldn't be a cure-all."

Instead expect the immediate future of the North Texas film industry to include lots of commercial shoots, reality shows, a lot of modestly budgeted independent films and perhaps another television series to complement Fox's currently taping Prison Break.

In fact, NBC execs have been placing feeler calls of late, Ms. Burklund says, and Fox folks have also expressed interest in shooting another series hereabouts.

"NBC really likes shooting in Texas," Ms Burklund, says, citing the television movie Saving Jessica Lynch, the pilot for LAX and the Austin-shot series Friday Night Lights as proof. "I know they would love to find another project to bring here."

Some smaller-budgeted feature films have made inquiries about North Texas, but don't expect to see a real impact until the fall, Ms. Burklund says.

"It's everything from less than a million up to $15 million," she says. "Most are in the $2 [million] to $3 million range, which seems to be the spot for this particular incentive."

Meanwhile, commercials remain the industry's bread and butter, with Dallas-based Uproar churning out commercials for Hasbro's Transformers toys and Toby Keith stopping in town to shoot a Ford commercial. And reality shows are flocking to the area, including crews from Ireland and Holland.

But don't think North Texas is ceding the big-budget films to Louisiana or New Mexico, which has gone so far as to put up interest-free loans to cover the budgets of the $7 million sci-fi flick The Burrowers and the $15 million political comedy Swing Vote. There's still the long-delayed big-screen version of television's Dallas on the horizon. The latest projection is that it will shoot in 2008. "Everyone can chill on that a little longer," Ms. Burklund says of the film that became an international rallying cry for the North Texas film industry.

Extra! Extra!: The most common request Ms. Burklund gets these days is for the location where Prison Break is taping on any given day. She doesn't divulge that information for fear that gawkers will crowd the set. The question most commonly asked of me? How to become an extra. If you're looking to get on Prison Break, steer clear of companies asking you to pay for the privilege. "We tell people on our Web site, if someone wants to charge you to get a job, run," says Ms. Burklund. You can find that Prison Break info on the Dallas Film Commission Web site at www.filmdfw.com. The series will pay you, not the other way around.