The Fort Worth Film Collaborative returns to NE Campus with an advanced screening of Episode 1 of the Paramount show “Landman” on Nov. 4. starting at 5 p.m.
The show, which stars Billy Bob Thornton, is set in the 1970 and focuses on oil rigging in West Texas.
Students and community members will have a chance to learn more about the growing film industry in Tarrant County and about TCC’s film collaborative certificate program.
The event will include a red carpet, Q&A and a panel discussion with industry professionals David Glasser, CEO and co-founder of 101 Studios, other studio executives and TCC students who graduated from the film collaborative program.
Instructor Sean Fousheé who is the coordinator of the program said it has grown from 10 graduates to over 200 enrollments with a 100% job placement rate for graduates. For those interested, there will be a mobile registration center for class registration at the event.
After the screening, students Beth Hutson and Daniel Vazquez will join 101 Studio’s John Hermansen to discuss their experience in the program and the film industry.
Recently, Hutson, Vasquez, Fousheé and Director Taylor Sheridan testified at a Texas Senate Finance Committee hearing about the need for more funding to grow the Texas film industry.
The hearing was also attended by actor Dennis Quaid, real estate developer Ross Perot Jr. and several others related to the Texas film industry.
Fousheé said that to use state funding from the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, at least 50% of the members working on productions must be Texan.
“We’re trying to fill that specific demand, we’re trying to get as many people trained up as we possibly can,” Fousheé said. “Just to give you an idea, Taylor Sheridan, just on his productions alone, needs 2,500 people to work on his sets.”
Last year, the state gave $200 million in funding to bring more shows and films to Texas. This year, the stakeholders asked them to increase that funding to keep Texas competitive with New Mexico and Oklahoma.
“This money is not going to Hollywood, and I think that’s a lot of the misconception is that $200 million are being paid out by Texas taxpayers, and it’s just going straight back to California,” Fousheé said. “That’s not it. It stays locally. These are local dollars.”
Hutson, who owned an advertising agency for 20 years, was a publicist and creative director before she joined the film collaborative certificate program. She has always seen herself working on a Hollywood set.
“My professors were so great,” Hutson said. “The students you know have become like friends in a community. We just support each other, and opportunities started becoming available.”
After completing her certification, Hutson’s first official project was for Nickelodeon, working in the art department on the Kids Choice Awards promos. She also worked on a series of promo pieces and interviews for “Lioness” Season 2.
Vasquez, a former minor league baseball assistant general manager, moved from Los Angeles to Texas to get his certification.
Like Hutson, he also worked on the Paramount Plus production of “Lioness” Season 2.
He said the mixture of education and practical hands-on experience makes this program different.
Vasquez worked as a talent and location scout and was able to combine the skills he had acquired from his baseball team managing days and his new certification knowledge.
“I would say that it’s definitely worth it for the being part of the network,” Vasquez said. “The network itself is I feel like the most valuable part of it, being in tune with the opportunities.”
