Michael and Me

Saw Michael Moore interviewed by John Dean as part of a special Writer's Bloc program at the Wadsworth Theater last night. If I was a far more professional blogger with some technological savvy, right now you'd be seeing exclusive photos from inside the event. But I don't own a camera, or any visual or artistic sensibility, for that matter, so you'll just have to imagine it. Moore wore blue jeans and a ballcap and Dean wore a suit, if that helps.

Their talk was intriguing. Most of the time was spent on Moore's recent documentary, about which you may have heard something, Fahrenheit 9/11. I greatly enjoyed the film upon its release last summer. It's probably the weakest Moore project in terms of filmmaking or entertainment value, but it's quite possibly the most important work he'll ever complete. In the filmmaker's own words, the movie may not have changed who won the election, but it "helped prevent a Bush landslide," which will be crucial for the propaganda wars of the next few years.

Moore seemed particularly passionate when discussing the role of Hollywood in the Democratic Party. He rejects the conventional wisdom that Americans distrust Hollywood liberals, insisting that the power and glamour of the entertainment industry is just what the Democrats need to turn their party around. It's not a bad theory, though I'm not sure Moore is correct in his assertion that the Democrats should run Tom Hanks for President. (Whether he was kidding or not, I leave to you, dear reader).

The crowd, being almost entirely made up of aging West Coast liberals, didn't really need to hear much of Moore's amusing but somewhat tired anti-Bush diatribes (though they did seem to enjoy them), so he wisely focused most of the evening on his filmmaking technique, and how the phenomenal success of his film has affected his life and his outlook.

Interesting info about the making of Fahrenheit 9/11 I didn't know until last night:

• The Marine recruiters allowed themselves to be miked because they wanted desperately to be in a movie.
• The plane used to fly the Bin Laden family out of the country in the days following the 9/11 attacks was the same plane typically used to fly the White House Press Corps around.
• The video of Bush reading "My Pet Goat" immediately following the WTC attack was retrieved from a teacher at the elementary school, not from any media source.
• A secret source at one of the major networks leaked the "satellite feeds" at the opening of the film to Moore, showing the President rolling his eyes as he prepares to address the nation.
• For the first several months of pre-production, the film was financed exclusively by Icon Productions, Mel Gibson's Australian production company. When Gibson found out about the content of the film, he immediately insisted that Moore find alternate financing.
• Moore's agent was the basis for Jeremy Piven's character on HBO's miserable disgusting failure of a sitcom, "Entourage"
• Moore's family home in Northern Michigan is under 24-hour-a-day surveillance, because Dr. James Dobson's entirely reprehensible "organization" Focus on the Family has given out his home address to all their members.

And just in case you haven't read any of my previous rants about James Dobson, here's a quote from his website (which I will no longer link to, because it sucks) just to let you know where he stands:

Sadly, too many people today, including a few confused Christians, feel the need to affirm all belief systems and to avoid giving claim to any single religion as the one true faith. This thinking process goes something like this: All religions are equally true and they all deserve the same validation. Plus, it’s not good to “close your mind to vast areas of human experience and knowledge.” Based on this kind of thinking, you don’t have to make any hard decisions that involve a change of lifestyle. You can believe in everything and nothing — all at the same time — without any responsibility.

Guess what. This viewpoint is off base, incorrect, dangerous — not to mention a lie straight from the father of lies: Satan.

Sigh.

Following Dean's questions, Moore opened up the floor for a Q&A. They discussed everything from 9/11 conspiracies to Harvey Weinstein's management style to the identity of Deep Throat. In all, the event lasted a little under 2 hours. I'm not usually one for sitting still through long lecutres, but I'll admit that I found the better part of the talk captivating.

Moore is dangerous to the Right, because he represents a direct contradiction to their traditional stereotype of liberals. He's not from the East or West Coast, he is not the scion of a wealthy New England family, he's connected to Hollywood only tangentially. He's a self-made man. And he's incredibly famous. Plus, despite what Sean Hannity and his magical hair helmet say, he's telling the truth.