Posted on 07/27/2006 8:22:38 PM PDT by kddid
Michael Moore has made a career of butting heads with bigwigs.
His documentaries, laced with satire on politics and society, have taken aim at General Motors Corp. (Roger & Me), the National Rifle Association (Bowling for Columbine, the 2002 Oscar winner) and U.S. President George W. Bush (Fahrenheit 9/11).
Still in the works is Sicko, a none-too-flattering perspective on the U.S. health-care system.
And he's overseeing the second annual Traverse City Film Festival in Michigan, which he established last year with author Doug Stanton and photographer John Robert Williams. More than 70 films, many independently produced, will be shown in three indoor theatres and on a giant outdoor screen from Monday through Aug. 6.
For movie buffs in Traverse City in northern Michigan, it's a chance to see many of the art films shown in big cities. But, true to form, Moore also regards the festival as part of a mission to combat what he considers Hollywood's slide into mediocrity.
"Hollywood has become an assembly line, not unlike GM, where it churns out the same old, same old year after year," said Moore. "Trying to play it safe, not taking any risks, and giving the people what they think the people need as opposed to listening to them and asking them what they would like."
Obviously, it will take more than one festival in a small U.S. midwestern town to stem the tide. But, hey, Moore says, Michigan has been a trendsetter before - think automobiles.
"I guess in our own small way, we'd like this festival to be the birthplace of this particular movement to reclaim the cinema as one of our few indigenous art forms."
No one was sure what to expect when Moore and his team proposed the festival last year.
Democrat John Kerry outpolled Bush in Traverse City in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, but northern Michigan is largely Republican. Some wondered if Moore, an outspoken left-winger, would provoke a backlash.
A handful of conservatives sponsored an alternative film festival, but attendance was sparse. Moore's program, supported by hundreds of local volunteers, sold more than 50,000 tickets - more than three times the city's population. Most of the 30 films were sellouts.
Moore said that simply shows that people of all political stripes hunger for quality films.
"We all walk into the theatre hoping to see something that . . . will take us back to that sense we had when we first started seeing movies, that sense of awe and wonder," he said. "It's rare to have that feeling today.
"For me, a great movie is a movie that takes me someplace I've never been before, that leaves me with a feeling of exhilaration, that sends me out of the theatre perhaps more enlightened. And the best ones of all give me a good, hearty laugh."
This year's festival lineup is an eclectic mix - timeless classics such as The Wizard of Oz and little-known indies; comedy and drama; humour and tragedy.
When is MM going to make a film called "hypocrite" starring himself?
Last photo of him that I saw, he certainly looked capable of digesting it.
IOW a freakin' loser.
I'm suprised that Michael Moore isn't particapating in the Code Pink Jamba Juice fast. He can stand to lose the weight.
And what is it with hippies being attracted to tourist traps anyway??? The same thing happens in Door County, WI.
And one more thing....
If one wants to counter Fat Michael Moore and Code Pink, hold a large gun show in Traverse City during the film festival.
[Michael Moore has made a career of butting heads with bigwigs.]
Correction: He's made a career out of gathering together a pile of cheap propaganda onto film and using it to suck the spare change from the pockets of millions of gullible left wing kooks.
And more power to him.
I have a suggestion. /sarcasm
I don't think the fat slob has made a public appearance in quite a while. I have a feeling that he's as big as a Goodyear blimp.
One of these days, he'll do us all a favor and eat himself.
I hate this guy. He has ruined my name. I might as well change my name to Sadaam Hussein.
Isn't that him doing those DirecTV commercials along with mini-me?
Wonder if he'll document the costs health care providers are having to spend to buy super size wheelchairs, beds, MRI machines, and so on for the svelte-challenged patients with girths like his.
I was hoping that he ballooned up even more, if that's at all possible. If he's in those ads, then I stand corrected.
At least then you wouldn't be sharing your name with a hypocrite
And here I am, stuck near Traverse City visiting my in-laws the very week of the film festival. Everyone here thinks it's a wonderful thing, and I'm trying to be the nice son-in-law, not going off on a tear every time I hear his name mentioned.
He's sucking the kids in with mainstream movies on a big screen every night, but meanwhile playing the worst politicized crap you can think of at every theater in town. The locals are getting a heavy dose of anti-American claptrap, and they're eating it up.
HELP!!!
Does anyone know if a FReep has been organized for during the film festival? I'll be in the area with my husband (also a FReeper), but not 'til later this week. Would love to see a few signs about "No festivals for Bush bashing", and "End the communist occupation of Traverse City", and any other "gems" you can think of.
My mom lives in the area, and runs into him from time to time, although unlike you, she can't stand him. She was actually behind him in line at the local theater and said that he hadn't shaved or showered, and smelled awful. Sorry to hear that your in-laws haven't seen the light, but don't be shy about where you stand. If you need help, get on the Free Repulic and ask, and any number of people can help in a debate, answer questions, or find facts to back you up.
I didn't know how lucky I was to have a mom more conservative than I am!
Eagles up!
Michael Moore is like the rest of the hippie Code Pink croud... He doesn't shower.
The thing about those tourist traps is that it attracts hippies and socialists there to work.
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