Michael Moore

Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American film director, author and social commentator. He is widely known for his outspoken and critical views of corporations and the Bush administration.

Directing

Films

Roger & Me: Moore first became famous for his controversial 1989 film Roger & Me, a documentary about what happened to Flint, Michigan, near Detroit and his hometown of Davison, Michigan, after General Motors closed its factories and opened new ones in Mexico, where the workers were paid much less. Since then Moore has been known as a critic of the neoliberal view of globalization. "Roger" is Roger B. Smith, former CEO and president of General Motors. The documentary was an extremely ambitious undertaking for someone who had never attended film school or worked in any capacity in the movie industry. Moore was largely taught the craft of filmmaking by his cinematographer Kevin Rafferty, who is ironically also a first cousin of George W. Bush. The influence of Rafferty, who co-directed the 1982 cult classic documentary film The Atomic Café, can be seen in Moore's satirical use of archival footage taken from vintage B-movies, television commercials and newsreels that has since become a hallmark of his documentaries.

Related Topics:
1989 film - Roger & Me - Detroit - General Motors - Mexico - Neoliberal - Globalization - Roger B. Smith - Kevin Rafferty - George W. Bush - Cult classic - The Atomic Café - B-movies - Newsreels

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Canadian Bacon: In 1995, Moore released a satirical film, Canadian Bacon, which featured a fictional US president (played by Alan Alda) engineering a war with Canada in order to boost his popularity.

Related Topics:
1995 - Canadian Bacon - Fictional US president - Alan Alda - Canada

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The Big One: In 1997, Moore directed The Big One, which documents the tour publicizing his book Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American, where he criticized mass layoffs despite record corporate profits. Among others, he targeted Nike for outsourcing shoe production to Indonesia.

Related Topics:
1997 - The Big One - Nike - Indonesia

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Bowling for Columbine: Moore's 2002 film Bowling for Columbine, probes the culture of guns and violence in the States. Bowling for Columbine won the Anniversary Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and France's Cesar Award as the Best Foreign Film. In the United States, it won the 2003 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. It also enjoyed great commercial and critical success for a film of its type, the highest-grossing mainstream released documentary (a record now held by Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11). It was praised by most critics for illuminating a subject slighted by the mainstream media, but it was attacked by some opponents who claim it is inaccurate and misleading in its presentations and suggested interpretations of events.

Related Topics:
2002 film - Bowling for Columbine - Cannes Film Festival - Cesar Award - 2003 - Academy Award for Documentary Feature

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Fahrenheit 9/11: Fahrenheit 9/11 examines America in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, particularly the record of the Bush administration and alleged links between the families of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. Fahrenheit was awarded the Palme d'Or, the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival; it was the first documentary film to win the prize since 1956. Moore later announced that Fahrenheit 9/11 would not be in consideration for the 2005 Academy Award for Documentary Feature, but instead for the Academy Award for Best Picture. He stated he wanted the movie to be seen by a few million more people, preferably on television, by election day. Since November 2 was less than nine months after the film's release, it would be disqualified for the Documentary Oscar. Moore also said he wanted to be supportive of his 'teammates in non-fiction film'. However, Fahrenheit received no Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The title alludes to the classic book Fahrenheit 451 (about a future totalitarian state in which books are banned; paper begins to burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit) and the pre-release subtitle of the film confirms the allusion: "The temperature at which freedom burns." At the box office, Fahrenheit 9/11 remains by far the highest-grossing documentary of all time, taking in close to $200 million worldwide, including domestic box office revenue of $120 million.

Related Topics:
Fahrenheit 9/11 - September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - George W. Bush - Osama bin Laden - Palme d'Or - Cannes Film Festival - 1956 - 2005 - Academy Award for Documentary Feature - Academy Award for Best Picture - November 2 - Fahrenheit 451 - Domestic

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Sicko (filming): Moore is currently working on a film about the American healthcare system from the viewpoint of mental healthcare, focusing particularly on the managed-care and pharmaceutical industries, under the working title Sicko. At least two major pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, have ordered their employees not to grant any interviews to Moore. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/9794410.htm?1c http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/business/9824781.htm

Related Topics:
Pharmaceutical companies - Pfizer - GlaxoSmithKline

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Fahrenheit 9/11½ (pre-production): On November 11, 2004 Moore told the Hollywood trade publication Daily Variety that he is also planning a sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11. He said, "Fifty-one percent of the American people lacked information (in this election) and we want to educate and enlighten them. They weren't told the truth. We're communicators and it's up to us to start doing it now."http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117913377?categoryid=2&cs=1 The sequel, like the original, will concern the war in Iraq and terrorism. Moore expects to complete Fahrenheit 9/11½ in 2006 or 2007.

Related Topics:
November 11 - 2004 - Iraq - Fahrenheit 9/11½

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Untitled Hurricane Katrina Project (concept) Moore has recently said that he is "seriously" considering a project about the aftermath of the Katrina disaster, and the Bush administration's handling of the disaster.

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Moore's documentary style is an involved, essayed form, as much about Moore himself and his opinion as they are about the subject at the heart of the film. This is a potential criticism from more traditionalist documentary makers, who prefer a more observational style, the filmmaker hidden behind the camera. The feature-length essayed form was pioneered by Nick Broomfield, and adopted by documentarians such as Louis Theroux, who himself worked with Moore on Michael Moore's TV Nation.

Related Topics:
Nick Broomfield - Louis Theroux - Michael Moore's TV Nation

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Moore's style has also come under fire from those who claim that when making his films, he unfairly edits and re-sequences events in order to twist or misrepresent the words of his targets or interviewees. Dave Kopel has compiled a list of alleged deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11, and Slate.com's Christopher Hitchens compiled a similar list. The caustic tone of these criticisms quickly drew counter-criticisms from OpEdNews.com articles like

Related Topics:
Dave Kopel - Christopher Hitchens - OpEdNews.com

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Deception; Desperate Right Wing Attacks on Fahrenheit 9/11 and How Many Lies Can Christopher Hitchens Tell? as well as an eFilmCritic article Defending Truth: Slate's Chris Hitchens does a hatchet job on Michael Moore and a Columbus Free Press editorial.

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Television shows

Between 1994 and 1995 he directed and hosted the television series TV Nation, which followed the format of news magazine shows but covered topics they avoid. The series was aired on NBC in 1994 for 9 episodes and again for 8 episodes on FOX in 1995.

Related Topics:
1994 - 1995 - Television - NBC - FOX

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His other series was The Awful Truth, which satirized actions by big corporations and politicians. It aired in 1999 and 2000.

Related Topics:
The Awful Truth - 1999 - 2000

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Another 1999 series, Michael Moore Live was aired in the UK only on Channel 4, though it was broadcast from New York. This show had a similar format to The Awful Truth but also incorporated phone-ins and a live stunt each week. The show was performed around midday local time, which due to the time difference made it a late-night show in the UK.

Related Topics:
Michael Moore Live - Channel 4

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In 1999 Moore won the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Arts and Entertainment, for being the executive producer and host of The Awful Truth, where he was also described as "muckraker, author and documentary filmmaker."

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Music videos

Moore has directed several music videos, including two for Rage Against the Machine for songs from "The Battle of Los Angeles": "Sleep Now in the Fire" and "Testify". He was threatened with arrest during the shooting of "Sleep Now in the Fire", which was filmed on Wall Street; the city of New York had denied the band permission to play there, even though the band and Moore had secured a federal permit to perform. http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/397/397p24c.htm

Related Topics:
Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles - Sleep Now in the Fire - Testify

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He also directed the music videos for System of a Down's "Boom!" and "All the Way to Reno" from R.E.M..

Related Topics:
System of a Down - Boom! - "All the Way to Reno" - R.E.M.

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