SHOOTING J.R. IN DALLAS: The Dallas City Council voted yesterday to approve an incentive package that could keep Dallas filming in Dallas for up to six seasons. If the show decides to keep production in town, it would receive $200,000 in incentives per season. And before the vote took place, dallasnews.com reports council members were tripping over one another to say how much they liked the show. (In their defense, it is pretty good.)

DUAL THREAT: Frank Mosley considers himself a director first and an actor second. But the acting part of the equation is very important – it provides the money for the directing projects. It’s a formula that’s worked for other filmmakers – John Cassavetes is one of Mosley’s role models. In the current Fort Worth Weekly cover story, Mosley – who lives in Arlington – talks about the deep connections he’s made in the North Texas film scene and why he’s thinking of leaving that scene for New York.

THE GATEWAY: Museums have the Impressionists. Ballet has The Nutcracker. They’re considered “gateway” art – art that is so popular it attracts patrons who might not otherwise attend. The hope is that when newcomers check out these works, they’ll be driven to return. And that concept has Dallas Opera general director Keith Cerny wondering what the equivalent gateway work is for the opera world – and if there even is one. He writes about the possibilities in his latest Off the Cuff column on theaterjones.com.