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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A state replete with diverse landscapes, iconic |
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American legends, and talented residents, Texas has long been a |
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favorite location for motion picture and television productions, |
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and that rich and ongoing tradition is being celebrated on Texas |
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Moving Image Industry Day at the State Capitol on March 4, 2009; and |
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WHEREAS, More than 1,600 films and television programs have |
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been made in Texas since 1910; the first movie ever to win the |
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Academy Award for Best Picture, the silent World War I epic Wings, |
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was shot in and around San Antonio; and |
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WHEREAS, Audiences all over the world have discovered the |
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Lone Star State through films and television programs made here; |
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Giant, filmed near Marfa, tells the sprawling story of cattle and |
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oil in West Texas; no fewer than nine films about the siege of the |
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Alamo have been made in Texas, including John Wayne's 1960 epic, The |
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Alamo; the film and television series Friday Night Lights tells the |
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distinctively Texan story of high school football, and 10 years |
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after its release, Hope Floats continues to draw tourists to its |
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locations in Smithville and Central Texas; week after week since |
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1976, Austin City Limits, the longest-running television concert |
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series, is still bringing the best of popular music to the nation |
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with a Texas flair; and |
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WHEREAS, Great filmmakers from all over the world have |
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journeyed to Texas to make their films; Steven Spielberg shot his |
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first feature, The Sugarland Express, here, Sam Peckinpah filmed |
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his classic thriller The Getaway in San Marcos and El Paso, Clint |
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Eastwood made A Perfect World and Space Cowboys in Texas, and the |
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German director Wim Wenders shot his art house masterpiece Paris, |
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Texas in locations all over the state; and |
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WHEREAS, The Lone Star State's own writers and directors have |
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produced many great projects here, including Robert Benton (Bonnie |
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and Clyde, Places in the Heart), Horton Foote (Tender Mercies, The |
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Trip to Bountiful), William Witliff (Lonesome Dove, Honeysuckle |
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Rose, Raggedy Man), Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore), Richard |
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Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, The Newton Boys), Tim |
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McCanlies (Secondhand Lions), Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin |
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City), and John Lee Hancock (The Alamo, The Rookie); and |
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WHEREAS, Texas has hosted a staggering variety of |
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productions, from independent films like Waiting for Guffman (shot |
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in Lockhart) to classic westerns like Lonesome Dove (shot near Del |
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Rio), as well as war films like Courage Under Fire (shot in El |
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Paso), over-the-top family adventure comedies like the three Spy |
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Kids films (shot in Austin), romantic comedies like Miss |
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Congeniality (shot in San Antonio), and classic horror films like |
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (shot in Austin); the state has also |
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been the location for such Academy Award-winning features as No |
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Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood (both shot in Marfa), |
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Boys Don't Cry (shot in Greenville), Places in the Heart (shot in |
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Waxahachie), and Terms of Endearment (shot in Houston); and |
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WHEREAS, The state is known for its highly skilled film |
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technicians, whose expertise is so well-regarded that most films |
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shot in Texas hire primarily local crews; the state also boasts a |
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strong base of acting talent, and specialized film vendors and |
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services have been a strong part of the state's economy for more |
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than two decades; and |
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WHEREAS, With more than 90 companies, Texas is the third |
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largest center for the development of video games, whose highly |
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skilled workers have created such popular titles as Quake from Id |
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Software, Ultima Online, a groundbreaking multiplayer game from |
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Origin Systems, and Age of Empires from Ensemble Studios, as well as |
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military simulation training games for the U.S. Army; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the past decade, the moving image industry, |
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including film, television, video, commercials, animation, and |
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interactive video games, has spent more than $2.2 billion and |
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created over 38,000 jobs in Texas, and the contributions of this |
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dynamic industry to Texas, and of Texans to this industry, are truly |
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worthy of recognition; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize March 4, 2009, as Texas Moving Image |
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Industry Day at the State Capitol and commend the industry's many |
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talented individuals for their creativity, hard work, and |
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determination. |