Film director, producer, writer, and political activist, born in Davison, Flint, Michigan, USA. He studied at the University of Michigan, Flint, and began working as a journalist for a local weekly newspaper, becoming editor of the Michigan Voice and Mother Jones magazine (1986). Moving into film production, he began with the groundbreaking documentary Roger and Me (1989), chronicling events as the huge General Motors corporation abandoned its hometown of Flint, MI. Topical issues in American society are explored in the films Canadian Bacon (1995) and Bowling for Columbine (2002, Oscar for Best Documentary). In 2004 the film studio Disney initially refused to give US distribution to his documentary Fahrenheit 911, which heavily criticized President Bush. Among his books are The Awful Truth (1999), the best-selling Stupid White Men (2001), a critique of corporate America, and Dude, Where's My Country? (2003), a commentary on the Bush administration. In 2004 appeared Will They Ever Trust Us Again?, a collection of letters written to him by American soldiers serving in Iraq, and their families.
Michael Moore|
|
|
| Born: |
April 23, 1954 Flint, Michigan, United States |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | film director, author, social commentator |
| Website: | www.michaelmoore.com |
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American political-activist, a film director, author, social commentator, and political humorist.
Early life
Born in Flint, Michigan, Michael Moore grew up in the city of Davison.
Moore, an Irish American, was brought up Roman Catholic and attended a Diocesan seminary at age 14.
Moore is also an Eagle Scout, the highest rank awarded by the Boy Scouts of America, and an achievement of which he is still very proud. In 1986, when Moore became the editor of Mother Jones, a liberal political magazine, he moved to California and The Michigan Voice was shut down. In 2003, the Star-Ledger printed an opinion piece by Paul Mulshine, where he quoted Paul Berman, who stated that Moore had been fired following a series of clashes with people on the magazine's staff, including a dispute over Moore's refusal to publish an article by Berman that was critical of the Sandinistas' human rights record.
Moore has been married to producer Kathleen Glynn (born April 10, 1958 in Flint) since 1990.
Currently Moore leads Michigan's annual Traverse City Film Fest, which is also the location of the State Theater, a classic venue that Moore (as of 2006) has been attempting to purchase. Me: Moore first became famous for his controversial 1989 film, Roger & Moore was largely taught the craft of film making by his cinematographer Kevin Rafferty, who is ironically also a first cousin of President George W. 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. Canadian Bacon: In 1995, Moore released a satirical film, Canadian Bacon, which features a fictional US president (played by Alan Alda) engineering a fake war with Canada in order to boost his popularity. It is noted for containing a number of Canadian and American stereotypes, and for being Moore's only non-documentary film. The Big One: In 1997, Moore directed The Big One, which documents the tour publicizing his book Downsize This! Bowling for Columbine: Moore's 2002 film, Bowling for Columbine, probes the culture of guns and violence in the United States. It also enjoyed great commercial and critical success for a film of its type and became, at the time, the highest-grossing mainstream-released documentary (a record later held by Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11). 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. Moore also said he wanted to be supportive of his "teammates in non-fiction film." Sicko (filming): Moore is currently working on a film about the American health care system from the viewpoint of mental health care, focusing particularly on the managed-care and pharmaceutical industries, under the working title Sicko. According to Moore on a letter at his website, "roads that often surprise us and lead us to new ideas -- and challenge us to reconsider the ones we began with" have caused some minor delays, and the film is set to be released sometime in 2007.. 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.
Another 1999 series, Michael Moore Live, was aired in the UK only on Channel 4, though it was broadcast from New York.
In 1999 Moore won the Hugh M.
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". the city of New York had denied the band permission to play there, although the band and Moore had secured a federal permit to perform.
Appearances in other documentaries
Michael Moore's brief appearance in Alex Jones's Martial Law: 9/11 Rise of the Police State, Alex Jones prompts Michael Moore for an answer as to why he did not mention any of the real issues about the September 11, 2001 attacks in his film Fahrenheit 9/11. Specifically, why Michael Moore did not mention why NORAD stood down. Michael Moore's reply was simply, "Because it would be Un-American." Moore appeared in the documentary The Yes Men, a documentary about two men who pose as the World Trade Organization. Moore was also interviewed for the 2004 documentary, The Corporation. One of his highlighted quotes was, "The problem is the profit motive: for corporations, there's no such thing as 'enough'." Moore appeared in the 2006 documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, which chronicles Madonna during her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. Moore attended her show in New York City at Madison Square Garden.Writings and political views
Moore has authored three best-selling books:
Downsize This! (1996), about politics and corporate crime in the United States, Stupid White Men (2001), ostensibly a critique of American domestic and foreign policy but, by Moore's own admission, "a book of political humor," and Dude, Where's My Country? (2003), an examination of the Bush family's relationships with Saudi royalty, the Bin Laden family, and the energy industry, and a call-to-action for progressives in the 2004 election.After Moore's departure from Mother Jones, he became an employee of Ralph Nader. He left Nader's employment on bad terms, but Moore vociferously supported Nader's campaign for the United States presidency in 2000.
In exchange for jumping in the shows "traveling mosh pit," Republican Alan Keyes won the endorsement of Moore's television series The Awful Truth in 2000, although Moore does not endorse Keyes' views.
Moore became a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association upon winning an NRA tournament as a youth.
In the 2004 election, Moore urged Nader not to run, despite having supported him in 2000, so as not to split the progressive vote. (Moore joined Bill Maher on the latter's television show in kneeling before Nader to plead with him to stay out of the race.) In June 2004, Moore claimed he is not a member of the Democratic party (although he registered as a Democrat in 1992 ).
Moore was a high-profile guest at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, prominently seated in a box with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife. Moore also attended the 2004 Republican National Convention, (for a daily column chronicling his impressions of the convention in USA Today), where he was criticized in a speech by Republican Senator John McCain as "a disingenuous film-maker".
During September and October 2004, Moore spoke at universities and colleges in swing states during his "Slacker Uprising Tour". This provoked public denunciations from the Michigan Republican Party and attempts to convince the government that Moore should be arrested for buying votes, but since Moore did not tell the 'slackers' involved for whom to vote, just to vote, district attorneys refused to get involved.
With the 2004 election over, Moore continues to collect information on the war in Iraq and the Bush administration in addition to his film projects. In 2006, Moore has also been involved in a email campaign regarding the 2006 United States midterm elections to draft up support for the Democrats.
Controversy and criticism
Moore has been the subject of some controversy and criticism. See Michael Moore controversies. Moore, Michael; Moore, Michael (2002). Moore, Michael (2003). Moore, Michael (2004). Moore, Michael (2004). Me (1989) Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint (1992) (TV) Canadian Bacon (1995) The Big One (1997) And Justice for All (1998) Lucky Numbers (2000) Bowling for Columbine (2002) Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) "Palme d'Or" in Cannes Sicko (projected for 2007) Fahrenheit 9/11½ (projected for 2007)
List of TV series
TV Nation (1994) The Awful Truth (1999) Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Michael Moore Michael Moore Live (1999)Current events (fan sites and watch sites)
Unofficial Michael Moore forums Michael Moore Online fan site with news. Moore Watch ThrowawayyourTV.com Michael Moore ArchiveGeneral criticism
"Bowling For Truth" by Richard Bushnell "One Man, Two (voter) Registrations: Michael Moore simultaneously on voter rolls in New York, Michigan " by The Smoking Gun Spinsanity on Michael Moore "Michael Moore, Humbug" in City Journal Ralph Nader criticizes Moore who supported John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election instead of Nader. Hardy "The lies of Michael Moore" in Slate by Christopher Hitchens "Fifty-Nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11" by Dave Kopel "War, Lies, and Videotape: A Viewer's Guide to Fahrenheit 9/11" "Propaganda Tactics & Sometimes Moore Is Less Moore is less "Backdraft 9/11" - Article examining possibility that Fahrenheit 9/11 caused "boomerang influence" and helped elect Bush. "I'm with Stupid" - About Michael Moore and the ethical dilemmas of means and ends in American elections, by Marco Roth in N+1 magazine. Michael Moore Exposed Moore Lies Michael Moore Hates America movie site Shooting Michael More official movie site Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White ManDefense articles
"Conservatives Seized upon Faulty Report of Moore's Supposed Dual Voter Registrations" by Media Matters "Scarborough Lied in Attempt to Catch Michael Moore Lying" by Media Matters "NY Post Pointed to Comparisons of Michael Moore to Nazi-propaganda Filmmaker" by Media Matters "FOX Hosts Join Drudge Sidekick in Bashing Michael Moore" by Media Matters "Deception; Desperate Right Wing Attacks on Fahrenheit 9/11" a rebuttal of Dave Kopel's "59 Deceptions" by Anthony WadeNews features
"Health Care Industry Tries to Stop Michael Moore's Sicko" in slashfilm, September 12, 2006 "Michael Moore dissects health-care system" in Courier-Journal., September 17, 2006 "Michael Moore announces return to Narrative Feature Films" in slashfilm, September 12, 2006 "Michael Moore to Borat's rescue" in The Globe and Mail, September 9, 2006 " Michael Moore previews new film 'Sicko'" in New Zealand Herald, September 27, 2006| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Moore, Michael Francis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Moore, Michael |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American film director, author, and social commentator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 23, 1954 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Flint, Michigan |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
User Comments Add a comment…