'1923' filming moves from Butte to Texas (2024)

DUNCAN ADAMS

The filming of the Taylor Sheridan series “1923” brought hubbub and movie stars to Uptown Butte, as well as the Butte Civic Center and other regional locales for a few lively months in 2022.

Butte residents breathlessly described sightings of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren around town in settings ranging from an Uptown Butte bar to Walmart. Some locals hired as extras were fitted with weathered cowboy hats and gunbelts.

But Season 2 production is moving to Austin, Texas. A collective sigh blew down Broadway on Monday in wake of the news.

The change is likely attributed to generous film incentives increased last year by the Texas Legislature and the influence of Sheridan, a resident of Texas. Sheridan’s immensely popular productions about the fictional Dutton family include “Yellowstone” and prequels “1883” and “1923.”

“The decision to film the Yellowstone series of ‘1923’ in Texas is disappointing,” said J.P. Gallagher, chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow County. “Nevertheless, we respect the production team's decision and acknowledge that these choices are influenced by factors beyond our control.

“We were in talks with the production about ‘1923’ coming back to Butte because of the positive experience they had here, but state tax incentive programs were a major factor for the production to move to Texas,” Gallagher said Monday.

Last year, Montana legislators narrowly defeated increasing the state’s cap on tax credits for movie and TV productions filming in the state.

Supporters of increasing the cap argued that film productions spend more money in Montana than they receive in tax credits.

Opponents of increasing the cap included Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda.

Allison Whitmer, film commissioner with the Montana Film Office, deferred a question about the impact of the failure to raise the state's tax credits cap to Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, who sponsored the bill that would have done just that. He could not be reached for comment before deadline Monday.

The production of “1923” generated millions of dollars in revenue for Butte-Silver Bow County and local businesses that included restaurants and lodging, the Butte Civic Center, building supply companies and pay for local extras and more.

Gallagher said he believes there might be limited production in Montana, whose landscapes will be tough to replicate in Texas.

“The Montana film tax credit incentives were essential in attracting film productions to the state,” he said. “Many states recognize that tax incentives create a favorable environment and increased investment in the film industry, making states like Texas more favorable for studios to do business.

“It will be my intent to work with the 2025 Legislature to recognize the benefit of increasing the tax incentive for film production in the state of Montana,” Gallagher added.

Prolonged strikes in 2023 by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, the performers’ union, shut down the production that year of “1923,” raising questions about whether, where and when a second season would be filmed.

The Austin Business Journal reports that “1923” will shoot at ATX Film Studios in Austin. The Cinemaholic reported there will be filming also in San Antonio and Galveston.

ATX film studios’ website describes six separate studios, ranging from 135,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet. It boasts 30 loading dock truck bays and notes that trucks, including 18-wheelers, can be driven directly into all studios. During the 2022 filming in Butte a remarkable array of trucks and equipment lined streets in Uptown.

A spokesman for 101 Studios reluctantly confirmed Monday that “1923” is moving to Austin. The second season is in pre-production, he said.

The Austin Business Journal suggested film incentives increased last year by the Texas Legislature played a possible role in the production’s move south.

The journal reported that Sheridan had lobbied the Texas Legislature to increase film incentives.

The Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program provides qualifying productions an opportunity to receive a cash grant based on a percentage of a project’s eligible Texas expenditures, including eligible wages paid to Texas residents.

Much of “1923” was filmed in Butte, but there were location shoots near Anaconda, Whitehall, Pony and other regional sites. The production’s spending on a historic schoolhouse in Pony helped with its restoration. A segment on Yellowstone Public Radio quoted locals who expressed positive feelings about the crew and the production.

In Butte, a few buildings along Broadway and Granite were ambitiously transformed, with additions of temporary brick veneer facades, a Hotel Bozeman sign, a faux garage front, camouflage for a speakeasy and a host of other changes.

A boxing ring hosted a match.

In one interview, Ford, who has a home in Wyoming, described Montana’s weather as brutal.