Posted: 5/16/2004 3:26:41 PM EDT
|
Fest's fave pest beats the drums Sat May 15, 8:00 PM ET Timothy M. Gray, STAFF Michael Moore (news) admitted Sunday that his "Fahrenheit 9/11" still does not have a distrib -- "Maybe some distributors are afraid of the film" -- but vowed the film must open in the U.S. before the election. "George W. Bush has to be removed from office," he declared. In his first public interview here, Moore did a one-on-one with Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart as part of the Variety Conference Series. Referring to the pic, which bows tonight in competition, he said, "From the beginning, there was pressure to try to stop it." FROM WHO? Though Icon had originally agreed to finance the docu, Moore was told that Icon topper Mel Gibson got a call from a honcho in the Republican Party who said, "Don't expect any more invitations to the White House if you fund this movie." If Gibson confirms it, I'll believe it. I dont see why the White House should extend hospitality to people bankrolling propaganda against it though. "Pressure", give me a break Harvey Weinstein and Miramax agreed to distribute the film ("Same deal, same money, same everything"). But Moore said that on April 23, Disney senior veepee of production Brad Epstein viewed the pic and reported back to Eisner: "One viewing from a low-level production exec" was enough to end a firm deal for distribution, he said, apparently because "the potential of this film to have an impact on the election is greater than they thought." Narcissistic self-aggrandizment on Moore's part and completely non-sensical. What Hollywood executive would be AGAINST releasing this film if it negatively impacted Bush? Disney's official explanation is that it doesn't want to do political entertainment in an election year, though Moore pointed out that Disney and its various channels and programs air Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson. The distribution problem "is intended to stop this film and make sure Americans don't see it," helmer said. Taiwan and Hong Kong have no deals for the pic, but otherwise it has a distrib everywhere in the world except the U.S. One of the sticking points with a distrib is the insistence on opening the July 4 weekend: "We won't accept a release date that conveniently pushes the film past the election." Distribs have been mum on whether they're in talks to handle the pic. Referring to Bush as "the dumbest man who ever ran for the presidency," Moore said Al Gore and the Democrats were unable to inspire voters to turn out for the 2000 election. So the film is important: "We decided we were not going to leave it up to the Democrats to fuck it up again and lose it." More self-importance. Democrats need Moore's help to win. Dadgumit, it was his endorsement of Nader in 2000 that led his flock away from Gore and delivered the White House to Bush and he's not gonna make the same mistake twice. Are you getting a picture of how Moore views himself? Promising "you will see things you have not seen before and learn things you have not learned before," Moore said the film evolved during its making and now is half about Iraq. He had crews working on the docu who were embedded in Iraq who uncovered great stuff. Talking of the forces behind the war, he exclaimed, "They are totally fucked! And that's all I want to say." The DVD release is targeted for October, and Moore said he plans to include commentary and include info on the problems of distribution. Asked by Bart if people will view his attacks on the administration as unpatriotic, he said, "I'm the most patriotic American who believes the principles of his country."  Saying America had created a lot of global havoc, he added, "My job is to be an American and try to turn things around." "I love America, even though it's destroying the world." I see. I dont think socialism, welfare states, and disarmament were the principles of this country's foundation, Moore. On a lighter note, Moore said he has ideas for both fiction and nonfiction films. "I'm already down the road on a few of those." Among his potential docu targets: U.S. health care, Israeli-Palestinian relations and an impending oil crisis. Moore and Bart got big laughs when they agreed that the audible booing at Moore's 2003 Oscar speech was disproportionately loud; no one in the audience was seen heckling, so they wondered where that sound came from. Moore also had the audience whooping with laughter as he did a Gollum impression debating whether to make his acceptance speech benign or incendiary. news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1940&u=/variety/20040516/va_fi_ne/fest_s_fave_pest_beats_the_drums&printer=1 |
| Old news, but relevant. The version I heard was more from the financial perspective, without Moore's pathetic commentary. In either case, the movie doesn't seem to be a documentary and it might be illegal as it might be seen as a ploy at political advertising by 2 hours of dirty campaigning. Its no wonder that Didney is staying away, they might actually run afoul of the new campaign reform laws if it is not a documentary. (As if we would actually believe it is.) |
|
While Moore's representatives claim that Disney's decision is based on a desire to keep tax breaks for its Florida theme parks, the article cites a senior Disney executive on what may be the real reason: Mr. Moore's film, the executive said, is deemed to be against Disney's interests not because of the company's business dealings with the government but because Disney caters to families of all political stripes and believes Mr. Moore's film could alienate many. "It's not in the interest of any major corporation to be dragged into a highly charged partisan political battle," this executive said. Later in the article, the Times says Mr. Moore denied the partisan label: Mr. Moore does not disagree that "Fahrenheit 9/11" is highly charged, but he took issue with the description of it as partisan. "If this is partisan in any way it is partisan on the side of the poor and working people in this country who provide fodder for this war machine," he said. In order to believe the denial of partisanship, you have to believe that the timing of the film's release (just weeks before the election), the target of the film (George W. Bush) and Mr. Moore's past statements about the need to defeat President Bush are all mere coincidences. Based on what you know of Michael Moore, do you think Fahrenheit 9/11 is likely to be partisan? If you're not sure, here are a few choice quotes from Michael Moore's Call to Arms, a video interview with Michael Moore posted on Brain Terminal last September: Michael Moore on why he does his work: "I create my work so that we end up with a country that is being run by a set of values and a political agenda." Michael Moore on who's responsible for September 11th: "I think Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Lott and the Republican Party owe the American people and the families of those 3,000 dead a huge fucking apology." Michael Moore on the 1998 Congressional elections: "What better year to come on the air when we got to watch the Republican Party go down in flames." Michael Moore on Hillary Clinton: "Maybe she should be the one who should be President instead of the other guy in the White House." Michael Moore on President Bush: "Commander-in-Thief." Michael Moore on the Bush Administration: "They were able to steal our White House from us." Michael Moore on the John Ashcroft: "John Ashcroft and his ilk are something to fear. They are stealing our country from us." Michael Moore on uniting the left: "Democrats and Greens have got to come together and form a coalition and get that guy out of the White House." Michael Moore on the 2004 Presidential election: "We do need to remove Bush in 2004. There's no doubt about that." Is Michael Moore partisan? I guess we'll just have to take him at his word. brain-terminal.com/articles/politics/partisan-moore.html |