“One Battle After Another” Shines The Light On El Paso

El Paso got a rare Hollywood moment this week, and I was lucky enough to be right in the middle of it. Thanks to good friend Jacob Cena, a Hollywood location manager and picture car coordinator who worked side by side with Paul Thomas Anderson, both Iris and I were invited to the early cast and crew screening of One Battle After Another.

Before the film even began, the audience was greeted with a video message from Anderson and Benicio Del Toro. They spoke directly to the people of El Paso, thanking the hardworking crews and locals who helped bring this film to life. And yes, we all heard Anderson call Jacob Cena the “real mayor of El Paso.” That was a moment.

The movie itself? Surprising in the best way. What I expected to be a tense, high-octane story also turned out to be consistently, laugh-out-loud hilarious. The theater erupted with laughter, gasps, and cheers at all the right times. From the action sequences to the unexpected twists, One Battle After Another delivered an electric experience that had everyone buzzing on the way out.

READ MORE: Are These Shots From The Trailer In El Paso??

But what made the night unforgettable wasn’t just the story on screen, it was how much of that story was El Paso. Nearly the entire second half of the film is packed with shots of our city, from local shops to iconic views, and the audience let loose with cheers every single time a familiar landmark appeared. The pride was contagious. When the film shifted indoors, members of the crew who had worked on those sets would nudge the rest of the theater, letting us know, “That’s El Paso, too.” Each time, the audience roared. For two hours, El Paso wasn’t a backdrop, it was a star.

That matters. Because right now, as Texas debates how to distribute funding for its film incentive program, El Paso has everything to prove. Austin gets the lion’s share, while our city often gets overlooked. But One Battle After Another proves that El Paso can carry a production of this scale, not as a side character but as a leading presence. The pride, the laughter, the thunderous applause in that screening weren’t just for a movie. They were for our city, our crews, our stories.

READ MORE: What The New Texas Film Incentive Means For El Paso

This is why our slice of those film incentives has to grow. Every dollar invested here brings jobs, culture, and visibility to El Paso. It invites more studios, more directors, and more stories to showcase who we are. Anderson’s film is more than a Hollywood spectacle, it is a reminder of what’s possible when El Paso is given the chance to shine.

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And here’s the kicker: Paul Thomas Anderson fought to make this movie here without those incentives. Imagine what kind of films could be made if directors didn’t have to fight so hard to convince studios to shoot in El Paso. That’s what proper funding for our film industry could mean, a future where our city is not just a location but a destination for some of the best stories Hollywood has to offer.