The irony of the most anti-capitalist industry in America begging for tax credits/incentives/welfare in order to keep pumping out their anti-corporate/American product is just too rich. Nevertheless, from this story, it’s obvious “Machete” creator Robert Rodriguez is very much counting on mucho tax dollars to make his film… And may still receive them:

Oddly, Machete may have been shot in a different state if not for Perry, who signed a bill last year giving his office the ability to grant larger tax incentives to lure filmmakers to shoot in Texas.

Perry signed the bill at an April 2009 ceremony at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios. Rodriguez told The Associated Press at the time that, without the bill, he would have had to move the production of projects including Machete to another state.

“Thanks to this bill, I don’t have to go shoot out of the state,” Rodriguez said.

This appears to be accurate. Both Ain’t It Cool News and JoBlo.com have posted James Cameron’s full “Avatar” script. To triple-check I went to the 20th Century-Fox site and found that they posted the same script, as well. After being as careful as possible (wouldn’t want to smear Cameron like he did the U.S. Marines. NOTE for Leftist hair-splitters: former Marines), I bring you a scene written by James Cameron that was cut from the final film but serves as a glimpse at the director’s childish prejudices and mindset:

INT. ARMOR BAY – DAY

TROOPERS issue automatic weapons and magazines to a long line of mine workers. The miners lock and load like the redblooded redneck NRA supporters they are.

BLASTING TECHS are setting radio-detonated primer charges into two-ton stacks of EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND. The stacks are band-strapped together on pallets.

TRACKING WITH SELFRIDGE, staring around him in growing dismay as he walks through the full-scale mobilization. He approaches Quaritch, who is barking orders amid a hive of activity around the ampsuits.

SELFRIDGE
This thing is completely out of control!

Quaritch ignores him, turning away to focus on ordnance loading.

SELFRIDGE
Listen to me! I am not authorizing you to turn the mine-workers local into a freakin’ militia!

(more…)

In this post, I want to give some advice to beginning screenwriters who are having difficulty finishing — or even starting — their first screenplay. I’ve been mulling over what to say for several weeks now, trying to come up with some inspirational words of advice to motivate you into achieving your goal. After much thought and deep-dish contemplation, I’ve boiled my advice down to this:

If you want to write for Hollywood, think like a
hack writer and stick to the Hollywood Formula.

How’s that for inspiring rhetoric?

Now, most “creative” types (that is, people who don’t actually have a job writing for Hollywood) will tell you that adhering to a formula is a bad thing because it stifles creativity. (more…)