The first season of True Detective was a landmark work of television for HBO, as the series would make a compelling argument for high-profile actors who have primarily worked on theatrical projects to dip their toes in the realm of network TV. Created and written by Nic Pizzolato and starring Matthew McConaughey & Woody Harrelson, many have called for another season of True Detective revolving around those characters, as future seasons ended up taking an anthology approach featuring other detectives. Now, fans have received the reunion they’ve been asking for, albeit in an unconventional way — a new commercial advocating for the Texas legislature to create more incentives for film productions.
The commercial, which you can view below, was written and directed by True Detective series creator Nic Pizzolato, with Harrelson and McConaughey cruising down a road in Texas, acting like their True Detective characters but addressing each other by their real names. McConaughey keeps the same existential dread energy of his character Rust Chole, telling Harrelson that “Hollywood is a flat circle,” with the actors discussing how movies and shows that take place in Texas, should be filmed in Texas.
The True Detective stars aren’t the only ones featured in the ad. Several other actors, such as Billy Bob Thorton (who has been making waves for his performance in Landman), Renée Zellweger, and even Dennis Quaid, handcuffed in the back of their car, all make an appearance to help advocate for more homegrown Texas productions. The actors all make compelling arguments, but at the end of the day, it depends on the Texas legislature to improve incentives for any production in the larger state.
The ‘True Detective’ Reunion Ad Is a Sign of a Larger Plea for More Texas-Based Productions
The creators behind this True to Texas commercial aren’t the only ones advocating for Texas incentives. Taylor Sheridan, the writer, and creator of the previously mentioned Landman, pleaded to Texas lawmakers, detailing a production of one of his passion projects that was forced to film elsewhere. Per a report by the Associated Press, Sheridan would say:
“One of my great frustrations was that I wrote ‘Hell or High Water,’ and they filmed the darn thing in New Mexico. My love story to Texas was shot west of where it should have been shot.”
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Thankfully, there seems to be some traction in projects filming in Texas. Just this past year, the next (and currently untitled) film by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson shot a significant portion of the film in El Paso, Texas. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro, the upcoming film is described as a significant event film that Warner Bros. has on its slate for this year, making the part of production filmed in a smaller city in Texas like El Paso feel like a big deal.
Overall, strides are being made in addition to this impressively shot and written commercial. The program that incentivizes film productions recently saw a $200 sum injected into it throughout a two-year period, a significant increase over the previous $45 million that was used to incentivize filmmakers in the past. Hopefully, creative commercials like this True Detective one, among other Texas-based creatives, will help continue to bolster the state’s potential to host more impressive movie and television productions.
You can view the original article HERE.
