Michael Moore, on his Big Fat Oscar Night

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(I liked the title of the thread on Polanski so much I copied it...)

A word of advice to future Oscar winners: Don't begin Oscar day by going to church.

That is where I found myself this past Sunday morning, at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Santa Monica Boulevard, at Mass with my sister and my dad. My problem with the Catholic Mass is that sometimes I find my mind wandering after I hear something the priest says, and I start thinking all these crazy thoughts like how it is wrong to kill people and that you are not allowed to use violence upon another human being unless it is in true self-defense.

The pope even came right out and said it: This war in Iraq is not a just war and, thus, it is a sin.

Those thoughts were with me the rest of the day, from the moment I left the church and passed by the homeless begging for change (one in six American children living in poverty is another form of violence), to the streets around the Kodak Theater where antiwar protesters were being arrested as I drove by in my studio-sponsored limo.

Rest here.

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Rest here.

Michael Moore's speech on Oscar night at the Kodak Theatre may have been given in an inappropiate place. But where else could he have the
opportunity to speak to a world-wide TV audience on a "live" show?

Agree or disagree, Mr. Moore's speech was definitely not unconstitutional.

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Those were the rules. Presenters stick to the script, winners get 45 secs. to say what they wanted. And it was Michael Moore, for Pete's sake. Nothing less can be expected of him.

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Some people is with him, and some people will be again him. That's how the world turns. Wink

c.i.

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Were I Michael Moore, my only regret would be that my acceptance speech got more publicity than the film for which I won the Oscar.

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Which film did he win the oscar for? Wink

Oooops, ended the sentence with a preposition.

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..." Bowling For Columbine", Which was a film about too much violence in the world, so his speech was true to what he is about.
...I have said before that I could have did without any Iraq speeches pro, or con. because I was taking a break from it. However I voted yes because that's what he felt like doing, and besides,...... It was Oscar night for Chrissakes! Somebody had to do it! Twisted Evil

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Of all the movies nominated for an Oscar Bowling for Columbine is the only one I'd seen before the presentations. It is Moore at his best. He irritatingly slow about getting to his point which is, if I may, that the American view of gun violence compared to the rest of the world appears to spring from a kind of delusion.

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I wish I had seen it - I never watch the Oscars.

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I have a complicated attitude here. I don't like Michael Moore and didn't much like his movie (too simplistic and playing too much to liberal pieties)--I think Moore has become the Rush Limbaugh of the left, right down to the waistline and the cheap applause lines. BUT I am glad he spoke his mind at the Oscars. Somebody needs to speak for the millions and millions of Americans like me who are appalled that Bush has attacked Iraq and hate what he is doing to this country and that country now. So while Moore may be the wrong messenger, on Oscars night he had the right message.

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I tend to agree with that, Larry. (I haven't seen the movie yet, so not that part.) I DO like a lot of what he has to say, but the article didn't sit quite right with me. Did he actually think of this stuff in church that morning? I doubt it. And the no prepared speech/ giving the same speech twice thing seems to contradict itself.

He also leaves out that the French documentarian on stage with him had no idea what was going to happen and was in fact very upset with what did ensue. Which also reminds me, MM said something about wanting to share the spotlight with the other filmmakers, but I don't think there was much spotlight sharing going on.

HOWEVER -- I think his is an important message, and, sadly, I think it wouldn't be as widely received if it were more nuanced. So I'm glad he's out there, doing his thing.

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It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Moore got the other nominees up there on false pretenses. He is something of a liar. When he was interviewed the Monday after the award, he denied that anyone booed him, even though there were VERY audible boos during his speech, louder than the appluase even. As I say, he is Limbaugh-like. Not someone I want speaking for me, necessarily.

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I concur with most of what you say on this point, Larry. Although I'm not as familiar with him as you are, I did see him on Bill Maher's show, and it put his timing and actions in better perspective, for me.

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What I love/hate about Moore is that he is not slick. He acts like he is a bit thick at just the right moments. They are throwing him out of another location, cameras are rolling but he looks not at all surprised or even moved by the moment. There is this expressionless mug hanging off his face even though you know deep inside he's happy he is making these dweebs look bad.

Joe

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Sincere Schlubb?

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It's always interesting to read comments about Michael Moore. Indeed it's usually a love/hate thing. But as far a liberals go and those that are left of liberal, what's the problem? Here is a guy who has his own voice, is very original, and tells the truth. If he's a little rough around the edges so what.
Anything that ruffles the sheeples feathers is a.o.k.

His oscar speech by the way was much shorter than Adrien Brody's. Brody's speech was probably more political and he even shushed the band when they started to play him off. Something MM wasn't allowed.

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Good points all, flatted 5th.

I think I want him to look like he's having a better time.

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I know what you're saying, Flatted 5th. I have no problem at all with the rough around the edges part; I like that aspect, in fact. It's the "tells the truth" part. He tells a lot of fundamental truths by fudging details in one way or another, and that opens him up to being discredited. I'd like it if he were absolutely 100% impeccably truthful at all times, and he's not. But what I'm saying is that I doubt an absolutely 100% impeccably truthful, shades of gray, nuanced type would get the kind of attention MM does, and since MM gets attention for genuine issues, I come down more on the side of loving him than hating him. But I'm ambivalent.

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Flatted 5th, Moore is NOT a truth teller. There are distortions galore in BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. Just one example: it is edited to look as though Charlton Heston gave NRA speeches immediately after the Columbine invcident in Colorado, when in fact he did not. Another example: Moore asserts that the defense contractor in Columbine makes weapons, when in fact it makes guidance computers. His movie is full of lies like this.

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Sozobe, I agree, Moore leaves himself open for individual interpretation. But the end product is always the truth.

And semantics is where your complaints are based Larry. I did not get that impression from that moment in the film.

There was no editing at the end of the movie when Heston spoke in Flint Michigan at a pro-gun rally just after a 6 year old killed another 6 year old with a gun.

If there were any untruths in Bowling For Columbine, I'm sure Moore would have been sued by now.

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Michael Moore, on his Big Fat Oscar Night

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