BuzzMachine

The media pundit's pundit. Written by NYC insider Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine covers news, media, journalism, and politics.

Michael Moore 411

18 comments on Michael Moore 411

Michael Moore 411

: I didn’t post about the controversy regarding Disney’s supposed sudden refusal to distribute Michael Moore’s anti-Bush movie because something just didn’t smell right about it. Well, I have a good nose for non-news:

Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it.

The admission, during an interview with CNN, undermined Moore’s claim that Disney was trying to sabotage the US release of Fahrenheit 911 just days before its world premiere at the Cannes film festival.

Instead, it lent credence to a growing suspicion that Moore was manufacturing a controversy to help publicise the film, a full-bore attack on the Bush administration and its handling of national security since the attacks of 11 September 2001.

In an indignant letter to his supporters, Moore said he had learnt only on Monday that Disney had put the kibosh on distributing the film, which has been financed by the semi-independent Disney subsidiary Miramax….

But Moore’s publicity stunt, if that is what is, appears to be working. A front-page news piece in The New York Times was followed yesterday by an editorial denouncing Disney for censorship and denial of Moore’s right to free expression.

I’m no fan of Disney (as a stockholder) but even they aren’t stupid enough to act like Clear Channel. When this story came out, the implication was that Disney was blocking anyone from distributing the film. Disney made it clear that Moore was free to find distribution — and he will. Movie studios pass on distributing films every day; it’s the way the business works.

What amazes me most about Moore is that he has no respect for his own credibility.

18 responses to “Michael Moore 411”

  1. justin @ RSR Avatar
    justin @ RSR

    If you love to hate Michael Moore, then you’ll love this video:
    (good commentary by the by)
    click here

  2. hugh macleod Avatar
    hugh macleod

    Face it- the guy’s a loon. This fits his loon-brand perfectly.

  3. dude Avatar
    dude

    “What amazes me most about Moore is that he has no respect for his own credibility.”
    That statement alone tells you all you need to know about Moore; but that his supporters don’t require credibility of Moore, tells you all you need to know about them.

  4. gw Avatar
    gw

    That’s not suprising — leftists never care about their own credibility, only the ability to say anything in any forum that itself gives them some credibility. They know everything they say is considered as truthful, regardless of the current known facts or when the truth eventually becomes known. Leftists always move on the their next rant.

  5. Brian Perry Avatar
    Brian Perry

    Really, it perfectly fits how the sucker left gets their news. Moore generates the knee jerk reaction:
    Damn evil corporations! How dare they, Republican slimeballs. I guess they’re just scared of what ol’ Mikey has in the bag this time! Bush is a miserable failure!!!!
    It sets up the perfect folk tale to accompany a film that will no doubt be as full of truth stretching and contradictions as the rest of his stuff. It will allow one left person to say to another- “But hey, did you know an evil corporation tried to block distribution?’
    It’s the ultimate stamp of credibility, cynically manufactured by Moore to be taken hook, line and sinker by his natural audience:
    Suckers.

  6. Glenn Avatar
    Glenn

    I think you have alluded to the truth without explicitly stating it – Moore is perfectly willing (perhaps even happy) to sacrifice his “credibility” on the altar of publicity. The extent to which he is willing to let his credibility be dragged through the mud is shocking only to those who don’t understand that Moore is all about self-promotion. His wacked-out liberalism is clearly nothing more than a mechanism to advance his own projects and fatten his pocketbook.
    Many on the left glorify an unrepentant hypocrite, especially when their hypocrisy results in publicity for their causes. So to them, Moore’s seemingly fanatical (but totally superficial) dedication to the far-left agenda is a cause unto itself – free propaganda driven by a ruthless self-promoter. Even if Moore’s personal credibility with the public is nil, his position as a moviemaker and distributor of liberal and anti-Bush dicta give the left what it really wants out of him anyway. Credibility in somebody like Moore is not only not necessary, but in the view of some on the left, perhaps even undesirable.

  7. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    So what sort of credibility did this guy have left to sacrifice after he made the Bowling for Columbine “documentary”?

  8. sol Avatar
    sol

    Howard ‘free speech martyr’ Stern supporters…try to see parallels here. This is a good opportunity for you. Exercise your brain cells. You have some. You need some to type your ‘Stern rules! Free speech!’ comments. We know you have some. Exercise them.

  9. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Could it be that Moore’s 15 minutes are up?
    Does the looney liberal left reach satiation?
    The rabid rightwing conspiracists no longer look up to bark as he passes.
    Nothing so sad as an idea whose time has passed?

  10. KMK Avatar
    KMK

    The only bright side to this is that now Moore has lost credibility with the NYT. (I can dream, can’t I.) I think Ted Rall has Moore beat by a landslide. He’s just barking.
    AN ARMY OF SCUM
    Or, We’re Looking For a Few Good Homosexual Rapists
    Now it’s official: American troops occupying Iraq have become virtually indistinguishable from the SS. Like the Germans during World War II, they cordon off and bomb civilian villages to retaliate for guerilla attacks on their convoys. Like the blackshirts who terrorized Europe, America’s victims disappear into hellish prisons ruled by sadists and murderers. The U.S. military is short just one item to achieve moral parity with the Nazis: gas chambers.
    http://www.uexpress.com/tedrall/

  11. Richard Bennett Avatar
    Richard Bennett

    Moore’s doing exactly the same thing that Stern is trying to do with his crocodile tears over the censorship of his fine show; in one case, it’s perfectly obvious, and in the other it’s not.
    Why is that?

  12. John Anderson Avatar
    John Anderson

    Moore knows the first story out is usually the one that people remember, no matter how often debunked.
    Compare Moore case to Stern case? How? In the latter, unprecedented actions/fines by the Federal government led to the distributor deciding not to take chances on future government decisions. In the former, an accusation was made about a private company which was known by the accuser to be false.

  13. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    It makes you how many other times we’ve been duped by Moore’s melding of fact and fiction.

  14. Ebb Tide Avatar
    Ebb Tide

    “Disney made it clear that Moore was free to find distribution — and he will. Movie studios pass on distributing films every day; it’s the way the business works.”
    Just replace Disney with radio station and Moore with Stern… same thing.

  15. Steve Rhodes Avatar
    Steve Rhodes

    That Independent story was a non-story. The original NYT article said Disney had told his agent a year ago they wouldn’t distribute it.
    But Miramax which invested millions in the movie did want to distribute. It certainly is possible that Disney gave a final no when more said they would.
    Eisner’s excuse they wouldn’t distribute a politically-oriented film during an election year is laughable. They distribute lots of political content, conservative political content.

  16. Richard Bennett Avatar
    Richard Bennett

    …unprecedented actions/fines by the Federal government…
    There’s that pesky meme again.

  17. Strong Box Lou Avatar
    Strong Box Lou

    Taking his cues on credibility from Moore, Steve links to FAIR, an organ of the hysterical radical left. FAIR is very closely aligned with the Institute for Public Accuracy, the pro-Saddam leftists who arranged Sean Penn’s infamous trip to Iraq. IPA’s Communications Director is a former FAIR operative, for example.
    FAIR, of course, promotes the lie that Disney engages in censorship whenever it opts not to promote FAIR’s preferred political causes.
    Steve also dishonestly obscures the distinction between films and talk radio, although that particular deception is trivial for the likes of Steve and FAIR.

  18. John Avatar
    John

    Drudge linked to Disney’s refusal to distribute the film LAST YEAR. I read it then. It was in the press. I don’t have Nexis, but it might be worth searching for. So yes, Moore did lie about it. Not surprising. People who like him won’t believe any criticism, people who hate him point out every error large or small.