Port Arthur Wants Filmmakers to Blow Up its Old Buildings

Will anyone take the offer?

By Rhonda FanningApril 22, 2015 8:43 am

Tough economic times can stimulate creative ways for cities to save or raise money. Sure you could trim the workforce, or raise taxes to help fund urban renewal projects, but one Texas town is thinking a bit bigger: they want to take it to the silver screen.

The city of Port Arthur is taking steps to designate their town as ‘film friendly.’ That makes sense when you imagine how much money could be injected into the local economy by having large movie production crews coming to town, but one city councilman hopes a film crew could help clean up their downtown… by blowing up some rundown buildings.

Port Arthur Mayor Pro tempore, Derrick Freeman joins the Texas Standard about where he got the idea.