Michael Moore aims to expose in 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

From: Psalm 110 (Melchizedek_at_USA.com)
Date: 06/20/04 

Date: 19 Jun 2004 20:57:33 -0700

http://www.tribnet.com/24hour/entertainment/story/1443345p-8811073c.html

Michael Moore aims to expose in 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

By ROBERT DENERSTEIN, Rocky Mountain News

(June 19, 12:51 pm PDT) - The day I talked to Michael Moore, I'd read
an item in the New York Daily News claiming that this so-called man of
the people had a hot tub installed on the balcony of his Manhattan
apartment.

Asked about this earth-shattering news earlier this week, Moore
laughed. "I don't have a hot tub. I don't even have a balcony."

For his part, Moore has set out to expose bigger lies in "Fahrenheit
9/11," a sprawling look at the Bush administration's role in Iraq.

Moore's movie seems to argue the whole Iraq war was launched by Bush
for personal reasons.

"I'm saying it's primarily for personal reasons," said Moore in a
phone conversation from his Manhattan apartment.

"Personal reasons first because, as he honestly said, 'They tried to
kill my daddy.' And personal reasons also for wanting to distract the
public from the relationship his family has had with the very country
that was behind the murder of 3,000 Americans."

Moore is referring to Saudi Arabia, the nation that bred Osama bin
Laden. A justifiable leap?

"Look, if 15 of the 19 hijackers had been from North Korea, the
headline ... would have read, 'North Korea attacks the U.S.' If 15 of
the 19 had been from Cuba and were funded by Cubans, the headline
would have been, 'Castro attacks the U.S.'"

Moore further argues that Bush and associates - through board
memberships, jobs and gifts - have received $1.4 billion in Saudi
money.

"If you gave me $1.4 billion, I'd be real nice to you, too. If you
called and asked on Sept. 11 if you can get some people out of the
country, I'd do it for you. I'm not really judging (the Bushes). They
just did the human thing."

To show the lengths to which such "gifting" can go, Moore points out
that Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, has
donated a $1 million painting for any forthcoming George Bush Library.

Maybe the centerpiece book will be "My Pet Goat," he jokes.

That's the title Bush was reading to Florida school children on Sept.
11 when he was informed of the second attack on the Twin Towers. In
"Fahrenheit," we see Bush pondering the information while an
off-camera Moore speculates that the president may be wondering
whether he spent too much time on vacation.

Moore says most Americans assumed the president left the school as
soon as he received the information. The filmmaker noticed Bush had
been in the building six to 10 minutes longer than reports suggested.

"We were just sitting around thinking, 'How can we get this?' Someone
said, 'I wonder if the school videotaped the event?' We called the
teacher. 'Oh yeah, we have a tape.' 'Can we have it?' 'Sure.' 'Has
anyone else ever asked for it?' 'No.' That's all it required."

Moore uses the story as an example of the failure of the mainstream
media, which he suggests has continued in Iraq.

Moore says the media has been so reflexively pro-military, that the
Marine Corps didn't bother to ask him why he wanted to follow two
eager recruiters around a mall in Flint, Mich. That trip produced a
segment in which the recruiters seem willing to say nearly anything to
elicit positive responses.

"They just assumed it would be positive," Moore said. "That's a sad
commentary on how our media has behaved."

But how are we to know whether the opinions expressed by soldiers in
Iraq - many of whom question the United States' mission - are
widespread?

"I think it's very widespread, but I don't think it's the majority,"
Moore said. "I think these voices are numerous, and I want to know why
we don't see it on the nightly news? ... The news is being put through
a filter. I didn't construct the film that way, but I hope it is seen
as an indictment of our media."

Moore's Iraqi crew also shot footage of Iraqi prisoners being
humiliated in much the same way as prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Moore had
this footage before the Abu Ghraib news broke, but chose not to
release it. He thought the media either wouldn't respond or would
accuse him of publicity seeking.

"In some ways the abuse footage in the movie is more damning because
it looks so commonplace. It almost flies by," he said.

One of the most powerful segments in Moore's film focuses on Lila
Lipscomb, a Flint, Mich., woman who lost a son in the war. Lipscomb
was used to supporting the military, even to the point of giving her
frightened son a pep talk on the eve of his departure. But now she
tells Moore that her son might have died for nothing.

After Moore's last movie - the Academy Award-winning "Bowling For
Columbine" - he talked about exploring the Bush connection to the bin
Ladens. That interest began when he read an article in The New Yorker
saying that 24 members of the bin Laden family had been allowed to fly
out of the country immediately after 9/11.

"I'm not saying that the 24 had anything to do with the events of
Sept. 11. But if your cousin kills 3,000 people, the police are going
to ask you to come downtown for a few questions. ... They'd probably
be real suspicious if you wanted a one-way ticket out of the country."

Obviously, a film such as "Fahrenheit 9/11" will not go unchallenged.
At least one conservative group already is urging theater chains not
to play the movie, and there will be no shortage of commentators who
will attempt to demolish Moore's every contention.

Anticipating his critics, Moore says he hired Chris Lehane and Mark
Fabiani, both of whom served as political advisers to Bill Clinton and
Al Gore. They'll lead a team that will issue releases that support
Moore's assertions.

Those who accuse Moore of constant grandstanding might be disappointed
to learn that he appears in less of this film than previous ones.

"I just figured this time, the story didn't need me to nudge it
along."

It's always awkward to ask a filmmaker what he hopes audiences will
take from a film. But in a movie as pointed as "Fahrenheit 9/11," it
seems fitting.

"Look beyond what you're being fed on the nightly news. There's more
to the story," he said.

As for that phantom hot tub ...

"The opposition thinks it can undercut me with the mass audience. They
say, 'He's actually a rich guy.' They fail to understand that if a
working-class person from Queens read that, they'd be going, 'Hot
damn. Dude has a hot tub.'

"Years ago I'd get upset. Then I realized there are two Michael
Moores: the one that's been invented by the media and the real me. The
real me likes to read about the fictional Michael Moore."