PRODUCER KNOWS THE LURE OF HOUSTON

When Ike Barinholtz was preparing for the national press tour for his new movie “The Oath” — a swing that would take him to Austin, Dallas and Houston — he received a heads up from one of the film’s producers, Raymond Mansfield, about what to expect in H-town.

“He told me, ‘You’re going to have a great time,’ ” recalls Barinholtz.

And he did.

“It was just so great,” Barinholtz said. “I was just texting my friends this morning, and I was like, ‘The next time you have a movie, you are insane if you don’t go to Houston.’ ”

But New Jersey-born Mansfield, who has lived in Los Angeles for nearly two decades and co-produced such films as “BlacKkKlansman” and “Get Out” through his QC Entertainment company, didn’t come across his Clutch City admiration by accident. He spent much of his youth in Kingwood, his wife is from Humble and he admits he packed up his car and fled Texas upon graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000 partly because of the heat.

Now, he likes to return to the Houston area two or three times a year. “The main thing I like to do is visit friends,” he said by phone. “Everyone has kids now, and to see our kids playing together and to think about when we were growing up, is so much fun.”

There’s one more reason Mansfield likes to come back.

“I’m very happy that Torchy’s Tacos is now in Kingwood,” he said.