Features » March 24, 2003

Michael Moore Stars at Academy Awards

By Joel Bleifuss

On day five of the war, it was supremely ironic that network television viewers had to tune into the 75th Annual Academy Awards ceremony to hear voices that questioned the wisdom of the Bush administration.

Rumblings of protest began on Saturday. At the Independent Spirit Awards (the award ceremony for independent films) in Santa Monica, California, Maggie Gyllenhaal, the star of Secretary, said the country was “in the middle of a war about oil and imperialism and I hope for peace as soon as we can possibly find it.”

That same afternoon at the Miramax party, crooner Michael Feinstein couldn’t rouse the guests to sing “God Bless America” no matter how hard he tried.

Then there was ABC’s presentation of the Academy Awards on Sunday night. Steve Martin got the ball rolling: “I am really glad they cut back on the red carpet, that’ll send them a message.” Minutes later, he followed up with, “A movie star is many things: they can be tall, short, thin … or skinny. They can be Democrats … or skinny.”

The political statements ranged from the subdued to the outraged. Susan Sarandon, like many others wearing the Dove of Peace pins designed by Henry Dunay for Global Vision for Peace, flashed a peace sign. Chris Cooper, winner of the best supporting actor for his role in Adaptation, quietly said, “In light of all the troubles in this world, I wish us peace.”

Gael Garcia Bernal, the hunky star of Y Tu Mama Tambien, introducing the nominated best song from Frida, said to loud applause: “The necessity for peace in the world is not a dream, it is a reality. And we are not alone. If Frida was alive, she would be on our side, against war.”

Pedro Almodovar, accepting the Oscar for best original screenplay for Talk to Her, read a statement: “I also want to dedicate this award to all the people who are raising their voices in favor of peace, respect of human rights, democracy and international legality, all of which are essential qualities [for life].”

And the audience cheered as Adrien Brody, who won best actor for The Pianist, admonished the orchestra to stop so he could say, “Whether you believe in Allah or God, may he watch over you, and pray for a peaceful and swift resolution to this war.”

In a veiled protest against the war, which went totally unreported, Bono, lead singer of U2, sang “The Hands that Built America” from Gangs of New York, changing two lines of the song:

It’s early fall, there is a cloud on the New York skyline,
Innocents across a yellow line.

Became,

Late in the spring, yellow cloud on a desert skyline,
Some father’s son, is it his or is it mine.

And then there was Michael Moore. He received a standing ovation when Bowling for Columbine was announced the winner of best documentary. The Chicago Tribune’s Mark Caro reported that the pressroom also erupted in applause when it was announced that Moore had won.

Taking the stage, flanked by documentary filmmakers, Moore said:

I’ve invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us. They are here in solidarity with me because we like nonfiction. We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in the time when we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons, whether it is the fiction of duct tape or the fiction of orange alerts. We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Shame on you. And any time that you have the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up.

John Horn of the Los Angeles Times reported that “as Moore’s speech reached its crescendo” Oscar producer Gil Cates and director Louis Horvitz, who were in the production truck, decided “to cut him off. ‘Music! Music!’ Horvitz yelled. The orchestra quickly drowned out the rest of Moore’s speech.” And his microphone receded into the floor.

Most of the Hollywood audience smiled and applauded, but stagehands, who were close to the microphones, booed loudly, making it appear to a television listener that Moore’s criticism of President Bush was not well received.

“It was so sweet backstage, you should have seen it. The Teamsters are helping Michael Moore into the trunk of his limo,” quipped Steve Martin after a commercial break.

Backstage, Moore kept up his criticism. These remarks were well reported by the Tribune’s Mark Caro and the Chicago Sun-Times Bill Zwecker, but most of the national media ignored them.

Reporter: Why did you do what you did?
Moore: I’m an American.
Reporter: That’s it?
Moore: Well that’s a lot. I’m an American, and you don’t leave your citizenship when you enter the doors of the Kodak Theatre. … I don’t stop being who I am when I come to this ceremony, and I’m extremely grateful for this response.

Moore wanted it made clear that despite the loud boos from the stagehands, the Hollywood audience was behind him: “Don’t report that there was a split decision in the hall because five people booed,” he said. “I did not hear that. I saw the entire place stand up and applaud, applaud a film that talks about how we are manipulated by the fear that’s put forth by the White House and put forth by corporate America to create a culture of violence at home and abroad.”

Noting that his book Stupid White Men is on the nonfiction bestseller list, Moore said, “My finger’s on the pulse of where I think the majority of Americans are at, and I think it would be irresponsible of me not to say what I felt. I don’t think anyone who voted for me for this award thought they’d get a speech about agents and lawyers or the lawyers of agents.” America, he said, is “not divided … the majority of Americans do not want to see their boys or girls killed in this war. The majority of people do not want to see our democracy hijacked by the squatter on federal land at 1600 Pennsylvania. I just happen to believe in one person, one vote, and you count all the votes.”

Naturally, the national media, which have been busy as wartime cheerleaders, falsely reported that Moore was not well received. Kurt Loder of MTV’s report on Michael Moore’s “witless flip-out” was typical. Loder wrote: “Moore brought all of the losing nominees in his category up onstage with him as a show of ‘solidarity.’ (Uh oh.) He then launched into a raving denunciation of ‘our fictitious president,’ which … okay, a lot of people feel this way. But Moore’s spittle-flecked undulations were so over-the-top, that even the Oscar crowd—his natural constituency, you might think—erupted in a storm of boos. This was totally unexpected.”

Are Loder et al softening us up for another Hollywood blacklist? Boycott Hollywood already wants to dim the lights of 94 outspoken stars.

A statement released by the Screen Actors Guild, earlier in the month, put it this way: “Some have recently suggested that well-known individuals who express ‘unacceptable’ views should be punished by losing their right to work. This shocking development suggests that the lessons of history have, for some, fallen on deaf ears.”

The furor over Moore’s comments will no doubt continue. We should remember the words of Barbara Streisand, who said, “I am glad that I live in a country that guarantees every citizen, including artists, the right to say and to sing what you believe.” In a culture where the Dixie Chicks are being blacklisted, it was an affirmation that needed to be made.

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• Reader Comments

  Hooray for Michael Moore. He’s got my truth and I support him wholeheartedly.

  People, we’ve got to vote, get actively involved in our governing. Call and write, let your opinion be known.

  The presidential election was purchased.

  I do not believe in this or any war. A Pandora’s Box has been opened. Let’s help each other.  Organize, educate, liberate, celebrate our humanity not hatred and war.

  Posted by Coleen on Apr 1, 2003 at 9:07 PM

  I agree with michael moore 200%.
  I will continue read and support anything he puts out. Please keep up the hard work, this country needs to hear the truths this man speaks of. 

  Posted by ernesto on Apr 1, 2003 at 9:10 PM

  This is a nation of sheep. Pres. Bush is your shepard.
  Michael Moore and truth will set you
  free!
  

  Posted by ernesto on Apr 1, 2003 at 9:17 PM

  There are so many dangers in our world. We must learn to think independently, seperating ourselfs from the information we find and the views that are forced upon us. If Saddam thought like Bush would he have not attacked America before they attacked him? All I can see is contradictions. We are being lied to, poisoned through words, food and our own inibility to find our place in nature. Weather you agree with Mr. Moore or not, let this be a chance to find new information and not base your beliefs on what you have been told, or pure emotion.

  Posted by Casey on Apr 1, 2003 at 9:28 PM

  Iím a Mormon High Priest and conservative Republican and applaud Michael Mooreís hutzph to speak out.

  Has anyone seen the movie Matrix? Just a brief review of that movie and how it applies to the present situation is warranted as Michael Moore said: ìWe like nonfiction and we live in fictitious timesî. Bear with me. The movie is true to life in that the illusionary and imaginary world the people live in have come to think it is real and the real world they actually live in is an embryonic like incubator where they truly are asleep,  in a coma or are unconscious of their real plight. The electrical power their brains produce is exploited by the machines that service them like mechanical nannies that keep them alive until occasionally some of the people become self aware and wake up then they are disconnected and disposed of.

  Weíre living in that kind of world where the majority of the populations are constantly feed a barrage of false information by the power brokers, movers and shakers and opinion makers reiterated over the years. Weíve got these synthesized perceptions form years of indoctrination from our main stream media that make up our comfort zones and have lulled the majority into a ìcarnal securityîó(ìdonít worry be happyî, ìall is well in Zion, yea Zion prospers all is wellî). Some people are waking up to actual reality and find they are pitted against those who are still living a pipe dream existence. They stand out as individuals and say some radical things from what the lemmings are use to. Michael Mooreís comments are those radical things that can jolt us into the real world from the complacent world weíve become acclimated to. Thanks Michael for arousing me from my sleep. Remain bold and wake up others. For Theodore Roosevelt once said: Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.”—President Theodore Roosevelt, 1908

  Posted by Ric on Apr 1, 2003 at 9:37 PM

• extended discussion >>>Continued...

  Discussions with more than 5 comments are continued on our special discussion page to encourage continuity and ease of use. There are currently 2170 posts.

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