Texas to be the Next Hollywood?

Here's the scene: GOP Gov. Rick Perry stands on the shady shore of pristine Lake Austin, a just around the corner from Hippie Hollow. He happily signs a measure authorizing grants to companies making movies, TV shows and finishing similar projects in Texas. The crowd goes wild.

CUT!

That almost looked like the scene, though Perry was standing on a stage on the tarmac of an abandoned airport off 51st Street. The stage had a backdrop of a lake perhaps prettier than the lake in Bastrop — and there was a piney bough object draping overhead. An extra told me the photo backdrop is employed by the folks who tape NBC-TV’s “Friday Night Lights.” And the crowd included actress Janine Turner.

Perry was joined by actor and sometimes-Texas resident Dennis Quaid, Democratic state Reps. Dawnna Dukes of Austin and Joe Pickett of El Paso, and another fellow described to me as Quaid’s agent, no name provided. The event had a hooray-for-Texas/Hollywood quality, with everyone expressing hopes the approved film incentives — tallying $20 million up front that could be awarded to productions spending considerable money on projects in Texas, will foster creative results.

The big twist, proponents said, is authorization in the state budget for the Texas Film Commission to ask for more money from state leaders, in the form of the Legislative Budget Board — so long as it can show the additional funds will go to producers that have already poured plenty of money into working in Texas; essentially that could make the incentive fund unlimited.

“I hope one day Texas will be the creative capital of the world,” Perry said. For now, he added, he’ll settle for recapturing film and TV business lost lately to Louisiana.

Dukes, noting estimates that Texas has lost hundreds of millions of dollars of productions to states offering tax credits to producers, said: “The days of missed opportunities are finally over.”

Perry played down the significance of lingo in the law stating Texas “may deny an application because of inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion.”

“There’s been a lot of misplaced concern about the provision,” Perry said. His suss: Don’t look for Ozzy Osbourne prancing around the Alamo, but otherwise, it’s going to be lights, camera, action, many green lights.

Quaid’s punch line: “I’m moving here in 2 and a half years. And I would like this to be the new Hollywood.”

Cue palm trees.