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Wed 28 Jul, 2004 11:13 am
Posted 7/27/2004
Filmmaker Moore, talker O'Reilly spar in Boston
By Mark Memmott, USA TODAY
7/27/04
BOSTON ?- Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore's already sizzling presence at the Democratic convention reached the boiling point Tuesday when he appeared on the Fox News cable network in a spirited debate with host Bill O'Reilly.
Moore also came under fresh attack from Republican Party officials, who fired off a series of press releases in an effort to make Sen. John Kerry answer for some of Moore's most controversial opinions.
Taped the day before, the Fox encounter was a verbal slugfest between the left-wing Moore and the right-wing O'Reilly. The two took shots at each other ?- passionately but not rudely ?- for 12 minutes on The O'Reilly Factor. It was perhaps the hottest face-off so far at a largely news-free and debate-free convention.
At one point O'Reilly accused Moore, director of the anti-Bush film Fahrenheit 9/11, of being Saddam Hussein's "biggest defender in the media."
"That's insulting," Moore said.
O'Reilly repeatedly pressed Moore to apologize to the president for saying Bush lied to the nation about whether there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before American troops entered that country.
"Actually it's President Bush that needs to apologize to the nation," Moore said.
After O'Reilly said the Bush administration made a mistake when it based the rationale for war in part on weapons of mass destruction, Moore got the host to agree that parents of American soldiers killed in Iraq shouldn't be satisfied with the explanation "we're sorry."
The lightest moment of the exchange, ironically, came after Moore asked O'Reilly three times whether he would be willing to "sacrifice his child" to fight with U.S. forces in Iraq.
"I would sacrifice myself," O'Reilly said.
"Can we sign him up? Can we sign him up right now?" Moore shouted with glee. "Where's the recruiter?"
"You'd love to get rid of me," said O'Reilly.
"No," Moore said, his voice softening. "I want you to live. I want you to live."
Moore, who had appeared on The O'Reilly Factor twice before, and the host have been sparring from afar for months. O'Reilly had accused Moore of "ducking me" by refusing to appear on the show after the host started to hammer Fahrenheit 9/11.
Moore said he wouldn't appear until O'Reilly saw the whole film. O'Reilly left a preview of the movie halfway through. He said the movie started late and he had to get to another commitment.
O'Reilly said Tuesday that he saw the movie soon after it arrived in theatres last month.
The Moore appearance on the show happened because the host saw the filmmaker walking down a Boston street. "We were driving by and I said 'stop the car,'" O'Reilly said Tuesday. "I jump out and go cantering across the street shouting at him. It was all arranged in an hour."
Moore said when he saw O'Reilly on Monday he asked the host three questions about the second half of Fahrenheit 9/11. "He flunked all three," Moore said Tuesday. "Then he said he went to the movie with his wife, who loved it. When he brought in his wife, I said, 'OK, that's enough.' So I did the show."
Also Tuesday, the Republican National Committee put out five press releases under the headline "Moore questions about the heart and soul of Senator Kerry's campaign." On the GOP's Web site, the releases were packaged with a photo of Moore at the Democratic convention Monday night, sitting with former president Carter. The aim: to embarrass the Kerry campaign by spotlighting some of Moore's more controversial opinions.
One quoted Moore writing that "'The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not "insurgents" or "terrorists" or "The Enemy." They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow ?- and they will win."
A Kerry spokesman, Chad Clanton, said in an e-mail statement that "We're bogged down in Iraq, health care costs have gone sky high and people's paychecks are shrinking. And the Bush campaign wants to talk about movies? No wonder Bush and Cheney have lost credibility with the American people."
Moore said "the more they do those things the larger the turnout will be for Kerry in November."
Today, Moore will go to Crawford, Texas, where Bush has his ranch. He has invited the president to a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11.
Michael Moore next film is "Sicko" re HMO system
July 27, 2004
Moore Says '9/11' Success Helping New Film
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) -
The success of "Fahrenheit 9/11" is making Michael Moore's life a bit easier on his next film.
With "Fahrenheit 9/11" becoming the first documentary to cross the $100 million mark at the domestic box office, director Moore expects a smooth path on raising money to make "Sicko," his critique of health-maintenance organizations.
Moore would not provide details but said financing of his next movie was in the works, thanks to "Fahrenheit 9/11," which cost just $6 million to make.
"Clearly, if you make a movie that has this ratio of how much it costs to its gross, you're going to find an easy time making your next film," Moore said in a conference call with reporters over the weekend.
The idea for "Sicko" stems from a segment Moore did on his "The Awful Truth" TV show, in which he staged a mock funeral at an HMO for a patient denied an organ transplant he needed to survive. The HMO relented and paid for the transplant.
Moore, an Academy Award winner for "Bowling for Columbine," said he would have plowed ahead with "Sicko" even if "Fahrenheit 9/11" had not given him new commercial clout to raise money.
"I've never let that get in the way, anyway," Moore said. "Even if this movie hadn't done as well, that movie was going to get made, because I think the American people are clamoring to see the HMOs punished."
This is posted elsewhere, BBB, and as his next production I hope he can do better than "Sicko." It sounds like some horror film involving bad food.
Quote:Today, Moore will go to Crawford, Texas, where Bush has his ranch. He has invited the president to a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11.
Moore Skips Fahrenheit Screening in Bush's Hometown
7/28/04 - 6:06 PM ET
By Adam Gonshor Print Article
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(andPOP) - Controversial director Michael Moore cancelled an appearance at the last minute in Crawford, Texas, President Bush's hometown, where a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11 is being held.
Moore did not issue an explanation to organizers of the screening. Crawford is within minutes of George W. Bush's ranch, and previously had no theatres offering to show the anti-Bush documentary.
Organizers from the local Peace House were disappointed, but said they expected Moore to pull out. There have been reported threats against Moore. 20 bags of cow manure were dumped on the site where television crews do reports.
Moore remains in Boston, where he takes part in the Democratic Convention. Moore says he's not necessarily a democrat, but he is definitely against Bush, and that may be an understatement. By not appearing, any chance that Moore would run into his star, Bush, is out the window.
A Spokesperson for Moore said he didn't want to detract from the fundraiser by appearing.
Moore is scheduled to post something on his web site Wednesday night.
Source
I guess the Klu Klux Klan has a new target.
I'm wondering how they could tell 20 bags of poop from Moore except that he's more like 40 bags...
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