\n\tAs sweetened production incentives roll out in Texas, an Austin-based company wants to help filmmakers capture the maximum possible rebate from the Lone Star State and beyond.<\/p>\n
\n\tIts new platform called Goldenrod<\/a> is now live for productions based in Texas, with pilot projects in Kentucky and Louisiana. The launch announcement is timed to the Toronto Film Festival at a moment of great attention to state incentive packages and a potential national benefit <\/a>that\u2019s currently being drafted by lawmakers in Washington. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGoldenrod offers productions (film, television, commercial and video game) purpose-built technology alongside in-person incentives consulting. Filmmakers are welcome to bring early-stage projects to strategize before shooting starts. Goldenrod monitors compliance during production and manages final submissions through approval and payment.<\/p>\n \n\tThe expanded Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program that passed last fall<\/a> established a $1.5 billion fund, or $300 million every two years for a decade. The base incentive rate for qualifying film and television projects is 5% to 25% depending on in-state spend (a minimum of $250,000), with uplifts possible. It\u2019s a cash rebate system, which pays out faster than a tax incentive. At least 60% of production must be completed in state.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIncentives compliance is genuinely hard to get right,\u201d says producer and Goldenrod co-founder Russell Wayne Groves (Family Movie, Stages), founder of The Ranch Productions in Austin. \u201cThe administrative load pulls you off set, off the creative work, and if you miss something, you\u2019re either leaving significant dollars on the table or facing disqualification entirely.\u201d He compares Goldenrod to a TurboTax for production incentives. \u201cYou focus on the work, we make sure you\u2019re maximizing every dollar you\u2019re entitled to, and your financiers always know exactly where things stand.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe other founders are Ted Griffis and Brandon Thomas of Austin-based post production studio TBD Post (Iron Lung, Netflix\u2019s The Long Game, Apple TV documentary Fathom), and Tara Khanna, former Incentives Team Lead and Senior Production Incentives Specialist at the Texas Film Commission.<\/p>\n \n\tThe company takes a deposit upfront and a percentage of incentives captured.<\/p>\n \n\tTexas\u2019 production profile has been rising, including a shoutout by David Ellison last month. The Paramount CEO named it as one of a few states he\u2019d consider to relocate the Hollywood studio absent settlement talks<\/a> on an antitrust lawsuit. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading a dozen states to block Paramount\u2019s planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. <\/p>\n \n\tA federal tax incentive like those available in many other countries was recently resurfaced by President Trump and is creating major industry buzz. It could be paired with state benefits to offer a substantial package encouraging projects to film in the U.S. Production drives jobs and spending in local economies across both red and blue states.<\/p>\n \n\tGroves tells Deadline he was the first to onboard Goldenrod with his SXSW-premiering film Stages and about 10 productions have beta tested the service. The ideal scenario is \u201csomeone that has a budget and a schedule, and we help make sure the budget is optimized for the benefit of that project. In the state of Texas, if you don\u2019t use it, you lose it. So we want to make sure that you\u2019re getting the most out of whatever your budget is.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTexas has 35% residency requirement for cast and crew to qualify for the rebate. \u201cSo, if you iwere at 30% and you were on week four of five, you\u2019d \u2026 need to hire an extra five people to fit in that box. That is what we\u2019re trying to flag.\u201d<\/p>\n