Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Cannes, Celebrities and Controversy, The Weinstein Co., Movie Marketing, Politics, Michael Moore
This weekend marks the world premiere of Michael Moore's SiCKO at the Cannes Film Festival, and while we wait for the feedback -- including a Cinematical review from James Rocchi -- to come out of the French Riviera, there is an interesting note from Moore, on the filmmaker's website, that is worth reading. Following his unrestrained response to the U.S. Treasury Department, the new note is a lot more calculated and mature. Sure, he still criticizes Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, as well as the Bush Administration (it would be a shocker if he didn't), but this time he expresses his points more clearly than he did in his previous rant. If only he addressed his opposition as well as he addresses his friends (to whom this note is directed), more people might pay him respect. One major surprise in the note is that Moore honestly thought he could make it to Cannes without a lot of noise. He claims to have been intent on keeping SiCKO under wraps and on keeping himself uncharacteristically silent, mostly because he didn't want to prematurely upset the health care industry (wasn't it too late, though?). Of course, thanks to the Treasury Department's investigation of him, Moore and the film have been given a lot of press these past couple weeks, and certainly Moore is not too upset with the publicity. The filmmaker gives a tiny bit of information about the now infamous trip to Cuba and he hints that SiCKO actually goes somewhere far scarier, though he mentions that his lawyers have advised him to say little more about the incident other than to once again assure us that he has broken no laws. Moore also states that it was his lawyers who recommended hiding a copy of the negative outside the U.S. (he found the notion that the government might confiscate SiCKO to be absurdly un-American). Stay tuned for coverage of the filmmaker's reception at Cannes following its screening on Saturday night.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
