Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990 TAG: 9003071496
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Vinegar Hill Theater was packed for the screening and when Moore - the producer, director and star - spoke to the audience after the show, he was prickly and opinionated. If he thought that questions were inane or obvious, he said so. It was clear to everyone there that the infamous Hollywood hype machine hadn't touched him yet.
But right before the Charlottesville festival, he had signed a deal with Warner Bros. to distribute the film. He and his movie were about to move from the relatively safe world of the festival circuit to wide distribution in suburban shopping malls and multiplexes. At the same time, Moore began a publicity tour to promote the film.
Would the demands of commercialism compromise a fiercely radical filmmaker whose fledgling career is based on tweaking the nose of corporate America? When he met with a group of writers and reviewers in Washington in January, he was, if anything, even more outspoken and uncompromising than he'd been before.
Moore, 35, is a heavy-set guy with the same sharp, wry sense of humor and broad smile that make him so appealing as he pursues General Motors chairman Roger Smith on screen. He wears a baseball cap and a bulky sweater. He still needs a haircut and he has no apologies for his work. He flatly rejects the main criticism of the film, that it distorts the chronology of the events it describes.
"I call it a documentary; it's real people, real events. Everything in the film happened just as I say it happened; everything is in context. No, it did not happen in real-time order, but no documentary does . . . If you want real-time order, watch C-Span."
Moore has also been accused of "ambushing" one of Flint's most famous sons, Bob Eubanks, who tells a crude, tasteless joke on-camera. But, Moore says the scene was an accident. "I put the slate in front of his face; I clapped the slate; I said `roll 'em'; and he starts right into his jokes before I get to my first question."
There's also the famous rabbit scene, which shows a cute, fuzzy bunny being killed and skinned. Animal-rights groups and others have been outraged, and Moore admits some ambivalence. "I know it's a tough scene to take. I had it in; I had it out. It was tough to edit. We edited around it as much as we could. Again, I came down on the side of not hiding the cold, cruel reality of what it's like to live in a place like Flint, Mich. We like to believe we live in the richest country in the world.
"I guess I want people, when they come to that scene in the movie, to say to themselves, what am I watching here? Is this a Third World country? Or is this the hometown of the world's wealthiest corporation? Why does a woman have to live like this? And it's a metaphor for the clubbing and skinning the town has taken from General Motors."
In the film, the rabbit scene is deliberately juxtaposed with news footage of police shooting a black man. Moore has no patience with those who don't understand the connection.
"We're so used to seeing black men shot in the movies and on TV that we accept that image as normal. We don't gasp. Women don't run out of the auditorium. If I'd just had the black man getting shot, it would have been a PG movie. A rabbit is skinned and it's an R."
Even though the film had been shown at several festivals, the official "world premiere" was held at a multiplex near Flint. Moore beamed when he talked about it. "Standing ovations in all 14 theaters; it was a great night. Yes, the mayor is upset, the chamber of commerce is upset, the GM executives are upset. They should be upset. I'd be upset if they weren't upset."
When the discussion turned from "Roger & Me" to politics in general, Moore became more openly opinionated. "I'd like to see more democracy in the economy. We have no say in the decisions that effect our daily lives that these corporations make . . . I think closing down a factory and destroying the lives of 3,000 families is as immoral as selling crack and should be illegal because it destroys people's lives. And they're only doing it to make a profit. You've got to remember this: GM last year made $4.9 billion in net profit. They're not losing money; they're making money and they're closing factories."
He hopes that his movie will change that. "I want people to vote. Talk to your neighbor; have a political discussion. Get active in your union. If you don't have a union, start a union. . . . Agitate. Demonstrate. Do something. Being a citizen of a democracy demands that you be a participant.
"If you're a spectator, it's no longer a democracy; it'll crumble. And the Fortune 500 will continue their buyouts and their takeovers and become the Fortune Five and power will be concentrated in the hands of just a few corporations and that will be the true government, if it's not already, of this country - a government that we have no say in."
When asked if he is a Socialist, Moore cleared his throat, screwed up his expressive face and thought for several seconds before he answered.
"Well, umm, that's a hard one. I've never read anything by Karl Marx and I'm ashamed to admit it. I probably should have by now, so I can't really claim to subscribe to something I haven't read or studied. I happen to believe very strongly in democracy. I want it in the work place. I want it in the economy. I want it in the relationships I have with my friends. I want it everywhere. I can't believe that the East Germans are going to end up with more democracy than we've got. I mean they beat us in the Olympics and now they beat us in this. I mean, come on, guys.
"There's not the diversity of choices within our political system like there are in other democracies where you have four or five viable political parties. You have two here and they say virtually the same thing. One's a little kinder and gentler, and the other says they are."
And, what's his next project? "I'd like to do a film on American apartheid. You know, where for the first 15 minutes you think you're in South Africa, and then you gradually begin to realize you're in Baltimore or Washington. I have this one idea I'm working on called `West Bank Story' a comedy western about what's going on on the West Bank."
Given the current popularity of buddy-cop movies and sequels, both projects sound iffy. But if "Roger & Me" makes money, who can say? Hollywood has never been known to say no to someone with a hit.
by CNB