Bloated poseur Michael Moore is poised for what he hopes will be a big opening this week for his pseudo-documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11." We were unable to avoid a brief trailer during "Letterman" tonight; a full trailer is available via Yahoo! if you're into mental self-mutilation.
Genuine artist Ray Bradbury is still mad about Moore's cooptation of his title, but his irritation is nothing compared to the complete evisceration delivered by Christopher Hitchens. It's a matter of temperament: Bradbury is a gentleman; Hitchens is a warrior.
Moore is a silly and shady man who does not recognize courage of any sort even when he sees it because he cannot summon it in himself. To him, easy applause, in front of credulous audiences, is everything.Posted by Alan at June 22, 2004 12:40 AMMoore has announced that he won't even appear on TV shows where he might face hostile questioning. I notice from the New York Times of June 20 that he has pompously established a rapid response team, and a fact-checking staff, and some tough lawyers, to bulwark himself against attack. He'll sue, Moore says, if anyone insults him or his pet. Some right-wing hack groups, I gather, are planning to bring pressure on their local movie theaters to drop the film. How dumb or thuggish do you have to be in order to counter one form of stupidity and cowardice with another? By all means go and see this terrible film, and take your friends, and if the fools in the audience strike up one cry, in favor of surrender or defeat, feel free to join in the conversation.
However, I think we can agree that the film is so flat-out phony that "fact-checking" is beside the point. And as for the scary lawyers—get a life, or maybe see me in court. But I offer this, to Moore and to his rapid response rabble. Any time, Michael my boy. Let's redo Telluride. Any show. Any place. Any platform. Let's see what you're made of.