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Latest word on ‘Waco’ flap
If you’ve read our Charles Ealy’s report from Cannes that suggests an “unnamed senator” in Texas vetoed the script for the film “Waco,” we have an update.
(First, you can read that blog entry HERE.)
Turns out the decision not to give tax breaks to the planned movie about the Waco/David Koresh incident was made exclusively by Bob Hudgins, director of the Texas Film Commission.
We spoke to Hudgins today, and here’s some of what he said:
“It’s not censorship at all. There’s a program that’s giving state money as an incentive to filmmaking and there was criteria put in the statute for that money. That criteria states that anything that shows an inaccurate portrayal of actual events (in Texas) and comes down to that narrow definition.”
After reading the “Waco” script, “I did some fact checking and I feel very confident in the checking I did. I talked to people, law enforcement and journalists, who were actually involved in the whole incident. This was not something that was done lightly at all. We’ve been given this incentive program and we have to live within its constraints. This project steps outside an accurate portrayal of those events.”
Hudgins declined to elaborate about what’s inaccurate, though he did say that the people he talked to said the script was off-base. “My job is to define if things are not accurately portrayed. They’re purporting to be a factual film about Texas and they don’t meet the mark. Living within the structure of the statute, I have to make this decision.”
“I would love to have not had to make this call, because I realize the direct cost to Texas in jobs and income. That’s what makes the decision so difficult. I’m here to promote as much production activity in the state as possible, but I also have to live within the confines of the statute.”
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