Filmmaker Says Gov. Perry Broke His Word
AUSTIN (CN) - Texas reneged on its promise of film incentives for Robert Rodriguez's film "Machete" due to pressure from anti-immigration activists, the producer claims in court.
Machete's Chop Shop Inc. sued the Texas Film Commission and its director Heather Page in Travis County Court.
They claim their application for a grant under the Texas Moving Image Industry Program was approved in May 29, 2009, and that former Film Commission director Bob Hudgins verified that the script complied with requirements that it not include inappropriate content or depict Texans "in a negative fashion."
"The approval of the qualifying application induced producers of 'Machete' to spend millions of dollars in wages and other production-related expenses in the state of Texas, which they did in reliance on the approval," the complaint states.
"Were it not for the approval, 'Machete' would have been produced elsewhere."
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But after a trailer for the film was released on Cinco de Mayo 2010, anti-immigration activists "inundated the Texas Film Commission with letters, faxes, emails, phone calls and other communications, all claiming that the content was inappropriate. Content that was not available to the general public," the complaint states.
Eight months later, deputy Film Commission director Carol Pine told the plaintiffs the film did not qualify for a grant because it portrayed Texas or Texans "a negative fashion."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/15/59349.htm
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A shame that they allowed FReepers and teabaggers to bully them into making such a ridiculous statement.
I have Machete on Blu-ray and just watched it again yesterday, so I know what I'm talking about. 