In the wake of the controversy involving Hounddog, the Sundance premiere which featured a brief scene in which the character played by young actress Dakota Fanning is raped, a North Carolina politician is proposing that the state Senate review and approve screenplays for films receiving the state filming tax incentive.

From an article by Mark Schreiner in the Wilmington Star:

Citing the controversy surrounding the Dakota Fanning film Hounddog, the leader of the state Senate Republicans says he wants the government to review scripts before cameras start rolling in North Carolina.

That system, said state Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, would apply only to films seeking the state's lucrative filmmaker incentive, which refunds as much as 15 percent of what productions spend in North Carolina from the state treasury.

"Why should North Carolina taxpayers pay for something they find objectionable?" said Berger, who is having proposed legislation drafted.

It is not known whether Hounddog's producers have or will apply for the incentive. A call Thursday to the N.C. Department of Revenue, which oversees incentive payments, was not returned.

Sen. Julia Boseman, D-New Hanover, one of the backers of the new law that created the current incentive system, said she couldn't say much until she saw Berger's proposal in writing.

"There's no bill yet to take a look at," she said. "But I am always willing to consider reasonable ways to improve the program."

She did say she thought looking at scripts before shooting starts might be meaningless because a script could be changed during production.

"We should consider the end product," she said, "which is what our current system is designed to do."

State law denies the incentive to films that are obscene. In state law, obscenity is defined as depicting sexual conduct presented in an offensive way that appeals to prurient interest, lacks any "serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value" and is not free speech protected by the state or federal constitutions.

Berger said the film-incentive ban should be broadened to include material considered objectionable. He said there should be no First Amendment concerns because the producer would be seeking money from the state government. But he did say that if constitutional questions confused the matter, it would be better not to have a film incentive at all.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 1/27/2007 11:05:00 AM

Comments (1)

 
Why is it that censorship remains at the top of legislators' agendas as a tool to satisfy their right wing evangelical fundamentalist constituency? We should simply ask if Sen. Berger has even seen Hounddog (did he attend the Sundance premiere or request a screener in advance?) before jumping to the conclusion that the scene performed by Miss Fanning is offensive to the point of 'why was the movie ever shot in the first place, especially in N. Carolina?' The film is a work of fiction; perhaps the Senator has missed the message, that the movie might actually create an awareness for public audiences that the exploitation of minors by sexual predators is a huge issue right now in the U.S. Moviemaking on-location has traditionally been an economic development boost to cities and states like N. Carolina. Let it be known loud and clear that if producers are required to have their scripts scrutinized by N. Carolina state legislators before choosing to film there, they CAN and WILL easily shift their spending over to Georgia, Louisiana or other nearby film friendly states that may not feel the need to feed off the paranoia of their own state senators!
# posted by Anonymous @ 1/31/2007 9:09 PM  

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