As an outsider in this conversation, I'm seeing the largest arguements are revolving around the amount of closed-minded language being used: "Only", "always", "all", "never", etc. If there is one thing I've learned from years of Social Studies and English essays, such words lead to many arguements, as they are rarely true.
Filmmakers, and anyone else for that matter, generally have more than one reason for doing something. For many of them, a career and money making opportunity is an important reason, but it's not going to be the only reason. Who would go ito film making if they didn't have some sort of desire to do so? Film makers, like any other artist, treat their work with respect, and only hope that the public shares this respect for their art. If the public appreciates it, the film maker is rewarded both financially and psychologically. His art did something good for the world, at least through the eyes of the people who watched and enjoyed the film. Like any career, money is one reason to get involved in film making, however the love of the art is bound to be one of the major drives to invest in such a career.