Waco in 12 photos

Moments from a day in Waco, Texas.

The first thing I saw when driving in. Waco, like many cities, is tearing itself down, reinventing. ©Joe O'Connell

Downtown triangles. ©Joe O'Connell

Church Under the Bridge. ©Joe O'Connell

Animatronic and very lifelike. ©Joe O'Connell

Dr Pepper horse. ©Joe O'Connell

The past alive today. ©Joe O'Connell

Waco remains the only city where I've seen Klansmen in their full outfits. Not sure what that has to do with this photo... ©Joe O'Connell

25 years ago people came from all over to dance here. ©Joe O'Connell

Five sisters and their mother at Ninfa's restaurant.
©Joe O'Connell

The Praetorian houses both lofts and an art collective. ©Joe O'Connell

Sorry, Schmaltz's fans, the very similar (black olives?) Schlotzsky's opened in South Austin four years before this place, which is pretty good. I like the garlic butter they add to the sourdough. ©Joe O'Connell

The last image burned in my mind as we left town. ©Joe O'Connell

David Koresh says 'Waco' still swirling

That's actually John Leguizamo, who is set to portray David Koresh in Waco, the movie about the seige on Mount Carmel near Waco. In an interview this month, he describes the film as "still in the development process." Recent reports had it filming soon in Detroit utilizing Michigan's film incentives. The cast--if this controversial film ever gets made--is expected to include Kurt Russell, Adrien Brody and Sharon Stone.

Could Sid the Sloth really play Koresh in 'Waco'?

I haven't heard much from the semi-controversial Waco flick about the Branch Davidian raid lately. Now I see the cast has gotten very interesting: Adrien Brody as Steve Schneider, Kurt Russell as FBI guy Byron Sage (whom I actually met as a reporter prior to the Branch Davidian seige), Sharon Stone as Judy Schneider and John Leguizamo as, perhaps, could it be ... David Koresh? No confirmation on the last one but he could perhaps pull it off. He is listed as in the cast without a role stated. Very interesting.

Last I heard they were looking to make the film in Louisiana.

Turns out Texas is not alone in film content clause

A provision in the Texas film incentives program barring funding for films that portray the state in a negative light has brought some recent controversy, specifically involving a fictional take on the real-life events at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco and, to a much lesser extent with Robert Rodiguez's Machete.

Now The New York Times tells us other states are getting in on the act. What nixes funding in Michigan? Cannibals, my friends.

'Waco' film to shoot in Louisiana?

That's what Charles Ealy reports from the Cannes Film Festival. He says filming could start in a few months.

Ealy writes on the Austin American-Statesman's blog:

The news comes a year after a dispute erupted in Cannes over whether the movie would qualify for state incentives. At the time, Bob Hudgins of the Texas Film Commission said that Entertainment 7, the production company, need not apply for incentives because they would not be approved, citing what he called inaccuracies in the script about the government raid on the David Koresh compound near Waco.

Ferrari received the news about the Texas incentives during the festival last year and strongly rejected the contention of script inaccuracies.

On Thursday, Ferrari said that Kurt Russell has been cast to play Byron Sage, the key FBI agent at the siege of the Branch Davidian compound, which left 54 adults and 21 children dead.

Sage was one of the key sources for the Texas Film Commission’s determination that the script was inaccurate.

Other cast members include Adrien Brody as Koresh’s right-hand man, Steve Schneider, and Sharon Stone as Judy Schneider, his wife. The role of Koresh has not been cast yet, Ferrari said.

'Waco' film on track with Kurt Russell, Adrien Brody, Sharon Stone?

That's what Production Weekly tweeted:

Kurt Russell, Adrian (sic) Brody & Sharon Stone attached to Rupert Wainwright's "Waco," which plans to film this fall.

It's the story of David Koresh and the 1993 Branch Davidian raid in Waco. (Should I mention I have a big box of Koresh sermons on cassette tape sitting next to me as I type this? They fell into my hands recently...) Take it for what it's worth since they didn't even bother to spell Brody's name correctly.

The big question is where it will film, since Bob Hudgins of the Texas Film Commission said the film will not qualify for film incentives, a stance that led to this recent "award" from a civil liberties group. Hudgins questions the facts as presented in the script based on a review by people portrayed in the film by name.

I talked to director Rupert Wainwright last year when the film got its share of free publicity over the incentives flap. "We have spent a lot more time investigating this story than the head of the film commission of Texas has," he said then.

Wainwright and co-writer James Hibberd, a University of Texas grad now writing for The Hollywood Reporter, also scoured court transcripts and brought on documentarian Michael McNulty (Waco: The Rules of Engagement) as a consultant.

Wainwright went so far as to hint that unnamed federal officials had put pressure on Texas officials to quash the film. That's a charge Hudgins flatly denied.

It's a film standoff that points to the vagueness of the content clause, added in 2007 by Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, in response to the film Glory Road, which some say exaggerated racism within college basketball.

Texas lege gets Muzzle Award for nixing 'Waco' bucks

The Texas Film Commission's decision to potentially deny (the request was never officially made) incentive funds for the making of Waco, a film about the Branch Davidians has earned the Texas Legislature a Jefferson Muzzle award from the Thomas Jefferson Center. The Lege gets the credit because the decision was based on an incentives rider that says something the effect that no funds will go to projects that show the state in a negative light. Film Commish Bob Hudgins has contended factual errors were the basis for the decsion. See my Dallas Morning News article here.



Here's the press release:

“One objection I have heard voiced to works of this kind—dealing with Texas—is the amount of gore spilled across the pages. It cannot be otherwise. In order to write a realistic and true history of any part of the Southwest, one must narrate such things.”
– Robert E. Howard, an early 20th century American author and proud Texan.

For denying motion picture production companies tax breaks if their proposed movies portray Texas or Texans in a negative fashion, a 2010 Jefferson Muzzle goes to…
The Texas State Legislature

Waco is the working title of a planned movie production about the FBI’s 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. This nearly two month long ordeal captivated the media across the nation and culminated in a shoot-out and fire, leaving 86 dead and more than 19 wounded, including 20 children. According to the movie’s production company, Entertainment 7, the film seeks to provide a historical account of the actions taken by the FBI and the Branch Davidians that led to the violent conclusion of the siege.

In order to encourage motion picture production in the state, Texas by statute offers a state rebate of up to 15% on in-state movie production costs. In 2007, the Texas State Legislature amended the Moving Image Industry Incentive Act to deny such incentives to films with “inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion.” The amendment was given effect for the first time in 2009 when Bob Hudgins, Director of The Texas Film Commission and the state officer in charge of making such decisions, determined that Entertainment 7 would not be eligible for the tax incentives because “[a]fter reading the Waco script, I did some fact-checking and 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. This project steps outside an accurate portrayal of those events.” Although Entertainment 7 had yet to formally apply for the incentives, they had provided Hudgins with a copy of the Waco script in anticipation of doing so.

Entertainment 7 producer Emilio Ferrari strongly disputes Hudgins’ claims of the script’s inaccuracies: “Show me where in the script there is anything against Texas. Those are his two points: It’s against Texans and it’s inaccurate. Neither is correct.” Says Ferrari, “it’s not a movie about Texas. It’s about an incident that happened there, but it could happen anywhere.” Ferrari points to the film’s production staff including Mike McNulty, who co-wrote the 1997 Oscar-nominated documentary, Waco: The Rules of Engagement. “We did years of research on this project, and there’s nothing inaccurate in the script. We have not been told of any specific inaccuracies, and I’d really like to know,” states Ferrari.

Hudgins contends that the movie’s script compresses and simplifies the historic event. Actions that were taken by several individuals are attributed to a single character in the movie. Hudgins appears to deny that the extent of a movie’s factual distortion is a factor in determining its eligibility for the tax incentives. “Either it is (accurate) or it isn’t.”

Whether Entertainment 7 or Hudgins is correct about the historical accuracy of the Waco is irrelevant to the First Amendment principles at issue in this incident. No state is required to offer tax incentives to movie production companies. If a state chooses to do so, however, it cannot bestow those benefits in a manner that discriminates on the basis of the views expressed in the movie. Yet such discrimination is exactly what is required under the amendment to the Moving Image Industry Incentive Act. Under the terms of the amendment, a movie that took a critical of Texans such as Lyndon Baines Johnson or George W. Bush would be ineligible to receive the tax incentives. Moreover, the amendment conflates questions of historical accuracy with the determination of whether Texas or Texans are depicted in an unfavorable fashion. In passing the amendment, the Legislature for the State of Texas fails to recognize that there has never been a movie based on actual events that has depicted those events with 100% accuracy; history—whether detailed in a book or depicted in a movie—always involves a significant degree of subjective interpretation. For engaging in blatant viewpoint discrimination by passing legislation that presumes the only correct view of Texas or Texans is one which depicts them in a positive fashion, a 2010 Jefferson Muzzle is awarded to the Texas State Legislature.

'True Grit' casting call

FEBRUARY UPDATE: Click here for the extras casting call info.

I'm getting a lot of hits here for the True Grit casting calls for the character of Mattie in the Coen brothers version of the tale. And, yes, it looks very likely it will shoot outside of Austin with Austin as the base camp. You heard it here, probably, first.

The Austin call info: No experience required. Bring a current, nonreturnable photo and only one family member. Girls only, ages 12 to 16. Time: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 28, the Omni Austin Hotel, 700 San Jacinto at 8th Street, Austin.

Waco casting call info: Waco casting call between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21-22, in the Dodge Hall at the Heart O’ Texas Fair Complex, 4601 Bosque Blvd.

The description of the character: “We are looking for REAL (scrubbed-down, no make-up), ‘gritty’ girls! Preferably the kind that rides horses, gets dirty & speaks her mind! We are NOT looking for ‘theatrical’ model types! Rodeo girls (who ride & rope) are best! Not ‘actor-like / pageant queens.’ “

Previous casting calls have been in Lubbock and Fort Worth

Waco newspaper axes Ted Nugent

Cox recently sold the Waco Tribune-Herald and the new owners have made two interesting changes: they added "In God We Trust" to the newspaper's masthead and now they've sacked Motor City Madman Ted Nugent, who now lives in Waco, as a columnist. Apparently they want a more "conservative" editorial page. The Nuge, who is straight-out libertarian in my mind, I guess has been deemed a damn hippie. I agree with very little of what the Nuge stands for (except Cat Scratch Fever, I've got a bad case of that), but sure seems silly to muzzle a celeb who is nothing if not entertaining and who surely was paid next to nothing.

My theory? The Nuge is in favor of dancing, and we all know about those Waco Baptists.

Should 'Waco' film get Texas incentives?

That's the subject of my latest Dallas Morning News SHOT IN TEXAS column. Your thoughts?

Surviving the book tour

Going on the book trail is an often odd and interesting experience. You never know where your book will sell well or what kinds of stories you'll learn along the way.

This past week I was in Waco to sign at the Barnes and Noble. I didn't have high expectations, particularly when the manager didn't even seem to know I was coming and the flyers I hand-delivered in advance were nowhere to be seen (they were later found in the back, but never posted.).

But it ended up being a good day, both for sales and for finding the cultural center of a town that the guy at the counter, a retired high school drama teacher, informed me had been declared the worst place in the country to raise kids. It seemed more friendly and wise this day.

Oh, and the dog in the photo? He's the true survivor. Look closely in the photo and you'll note the woman holding him has a cast on her arm. Seems she was grabbed a fews days earlier by two men as she was getting in her car. They shoved her in the car and took off. She opened the door on the moving car and skidded across the pavement to safety. The dog stayed behind, but was later found safely in the car. OK, maybe Waco has a little bit of work to do yet...