'Censorship' Issue Remains Alive in Texas Moving-Image Production Incentives

It's pretty much a cinch now that Entertainment 7's movie Waco will not be shot in Texas.

It could never pass the Republican-inspired legislative clause that denies Texas state incentives to any kind of film, TV or game project that contains "inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion, as determined by the [Texas Film Commission] office, in a moving image project."

There wasn't much "positive fashion" for Texas or Texans in the 1993 shootout and standoff that left more than 80 Branch Davidians and law enforcement officers dead.

Louisiana appears to be the leading site candidate for Waco now, unless New Mexico or Michigan or some other state with strong incentives makes a concerted effort to grab the $30 million project.

Meanwhile, criticism of the Texas Film Commission's decision continues to float up in a few places. Here is one disappointed blogger's recent comments on the controversy.

Whether the producers of Waco formally applied for state incentives or not (as some of the producers' critics have stated), the controversial "negative fashion" clause remains in effect.

How long will it be before it rears up again and bites Texas' long-suffering moving-image workers on the butt? (Many of them, of course, were hoping to work on Waco.)

Many producers and production companies are now aware of the "negative fashion" restriction. They may not wish to run afoul of moralistic Texas legislators and a Texas Film Commission that has to follow the law and also rely on those same Chamber of Commerce-minded politicos for funding.

Almost any movie that can, or will ever, be made about Texas and Texans is going to come face to face with a plethora of "negative fashion" issues. And almost any other state in the nation is going to be more than happy to host a movie, TV show or game project that Texas officialdom doesn't want.

Texas' new moving-mage production incentives are helping bring some new projects to the state, and they are helping create some jobs. But the "negative fashion" restriction will end up costing the state a lot of money and a great deal of sorely needed good will in the moving-image industry.

Meanwhile, many Texas moving-image workers will continue commuting to Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and elsewhere to work on projects that could have come to the Lone Star State, if Texas was more concerned about making money than "protecting" its image (an utter impossibility since about 1835 or so).

The production incentives laws need to be changed by the Texas Legislature to remove the "negative fashion" restriction. Or, they need to be challenged in court on First Amendment grounds that they abridge "the freedom of speech."

Either way, they need to go -- soon.


-- Si Dunn

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Si Dunn's second book of poetry, Anchoring, is now available through Lulu

"Waco" Production Company on Texas: "We Will Never Ever Shoot in That State"

By Si Dunn

Emilio Ferrari, described on the Internet Movie Database website as "one of Hollywood's busiest independent producers," is hopping mad. Ferrari, an executive with Entertainment 7 in Sherman Oaks, Calif., is vowing to "never ever shoot" another movie in Texas.

The Austin American-Statesman reported May 20 that Texas state tax incentives have been denied for Entertainment 7's movie project Waco because of alleged "factual inaccuracies" in the script.

Waco focuses on the violent 1993 standoff between federal law enforcement agencies and the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh, at a compound near Waco, Texas.

Texas State Film Commissioner Bob Hudgins rejected the incentives, telling the American-Statesman that his decision was based on restrictions put into place in 2007 by the Texas legislature. A provision (introduced by Republican State Senator Steve Ogden) restricts filmmakers taking tax incentives from depicting "Texas or Texans in a negative fashion" in their productions.

Hudgins told the American-Statesman that his decision to deny the incentives to Entertainment 7 was "not censorship at all," and he added that Entertainment 7 is welcome to shoot Waco in Texas--without state financial assistance.

But Emilio Ferrari, in an email sent to Dateline: Oblivion from the Cannes Film Festival, sees things much differently:

"First of all, for the record, the script on the story of what happened in Waco is very accurate. Years and years of research and our co-producer is someone whose Waco doc won an Emmy and was nominated for an Academy Award. Also, it's pure bullshit what the head of the film commission said about the script having factual inaccuracies. He has had the script since last year and loved it and couldn’t wait for us to come there and shoot and was helping us with locations, etc. And now, suddenly, the script is no good, like he is amazingly now an expert on Waco based on his years and years of research. Come on, give me a break. We all know what’s going on here. It's politics in full force. And...it's pure censorship and political pressure," Ferrari stated.

"We were also going to bring another film to shoot there (Texas) with a studio behind it, but now, after all this, we will never ever shoot in that state. And we shoot a lot of films."

This news likely will be disappointing to many who work in Texas' struggling moving images industry. Hopes for new productions and new jobs have been running high since Gov. Rick Perry signed Texas' new production incentives legislation into law April 23 at Robert Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios in Austin.

The Waco movie was expected to create numerous production jobs in Texas.

But as Ferarri told the American-Statesman, "It's not a movie about Texas. It's about an incident that happened there, but it could have happened anywhere."

In this case, after the incentives rejection, Waco very likely will now be filmed "anywhere"--except Texas.

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