Ray Bradbury *criticized* Moore. If Moore can't handle criticism for his actions, he should leave public life.

The people who harass Ray Bradbury are IMHO intolerant of free speech. This is a familiar tactic used by the likes of Karl Rove--defame and "punish" anyone who criticizes their actions or politics. Now Moore or his henchmen are trying to harass, defame or threaten critics. Just yesterday Moore vowed to set up a "war room", use an "army" of lawyers, and use "force" against anyone who "lies about him" or criticizes his movie.

LOL. Welcome to Fascism Lite: Legal harassment of dissent, by someone who pretends to be "progressive"

Utter hypocrisy if you ask me!

Michael Moore was pretentious to choose this title. Moore is NO Ray Bradbury.

I agree. 'nuff said.

quote:

Originally posted by mx8:
Ray Bradbury *criticized* Moore. If Moore can't handle criticism for his actions, he should leave public life.

The people who harass Ray Bradbury are IMHO intolerant of free speech. This is a familiar tactic used by the likes of Karl Rove--defame and "punish" anyone who criticizes their actions or politics. Now Moore or his henchmen are trying to harass, defame or threaten critics. Just yesterday Moore vowed to set up a "war room", use an "army" of lawyers, and use "force" against anyone who "lies about him" or criticizes his movie.

LOL. Welcome to Fascism Lite: Legal harassment of dissent, by someone who pretends to be "progressive"

Utter hypocrisy if you ask me!

Michael Moore was pretentious to choose this title. Moore is NO Ray Bradbury.

no, we're not trying to stifle RB's freedom of speech. We're expressing our deep disappointment at his support for those trying to take away our freedom of speech.

The blows that hurt you are the ones you never saw coming, and nobody could EVER have predicted that RB would offer aid and succor to the tyrannizing powers-that-be, just when we need him most.

Ridiculous post. Bradbury has NEVER called for the movie to be censored or for it's distribution to be stopped. It's about the use of the title -- NOT from a legal perspective, but from a perspective of the respect artists commonly show for one another. This kind of class is simply beyond Moore.

Mr Dark is right. Mr. Bradbury never advocated censoring Moore nor helping anyone censor him. What a cheap strawman argument that is. He is arguing that **THEFT** of his ideas is morally wron,g and probably legally actionable. And I think he has a point.

What Moore and his fans are doing--harassing, defaming and targeting critics of his arrogant media machine--is the real threat to free speech and free thought.

What ever happened to the idea: "Imitation is the best form of flattery."?

So Moore will be flatterd by that movie "Michael Moore Hates America"?

The guy copies Moore's methods and turns the tables on him. I guess you will applaud that, right?

No hypocrisy here, right?

LOL

Someone actually did that? Cool.

Bradbury is well within his rights to criticize Moore; I feel that he crossed a line in asking for 'his' title back. It's not his title anymore; once he published the book, it belongs to the ages and is part of our shared cultural heritage. It's not about Ray Bradbury, it's about work that he happens to have done and it's too bad he hasn't matured enough in 83 years to figure that out. To me, it's as petty as Cole Porter suing Mad Magazine and it makes him look bad.

quote:

Originally posted by mx8:
So Moore will be flatterd by that movie "Michael Moore Hates America"?

The guy copies Moore's methods and turns the tables on him. I guess you will applaud that, right?

No hypocrisy here, right?

LOL

wow....that borders on mild retardation right there....did michael moore make a movie called ray bradbury eats children? no he simply used the phrasing of one of bradbury's titles.....big whoop....


and by the way...i would like to see anyone of you nay saying jackels watch the part in fahrenheit 911 with the mother who lost her son in Iraq....if any one sees that part and doesnt at least start to tear up...than you are inhuman....seriously....this is not a film that just sits there and bashes america...if anything its a little too pro-america for my tastes....it is nothing but a well thought out look at how an adminstration (expletive deleted meaning "mishandled,") for all the wrong reasons.......watch it...and THEN criticize.....


[This message has been edited by dandelion (edited 06-26-2004).]

Thormachine,

Please watch your language. Informally, this is a PG-rated site. Children come here for some serious research help. Besides, you only weaken your point when you have to resort to profanity.

Now, about the part of the movie you mentioned. Of course it sounds quite moving. Why on earth would you think that none of us on this site wouldn't be moved, even if we were opposed to the movie? I think your view may be a bit simplistic.

What do you think?

Best,

Pete

fist off....i will never apologize for my language...its that simple....

And secondly, i didnt say everyone on the site would be unmoved by the movie....i was specifically asking the people who obviously hate the idea of a politically minded movie coming out and will slander who ever they have to and however they have to in order to get across how much they hate it when people exercise their freedom of speech....

I think this way not out of simplicity but rather because i am used to dealing with people who think in those patterns....the biggest pattern of all in these people is the embracing of igonorance....and it sickens me....

Thormachine,

Then if you won't watch your language, you won't mind it if the moderator finds it necessary to clean it up a bit. After all, if you used that kind of language in a letter to a newspaper editor, they'd clean it up before printing it. No big deal. Really.

I don't think anyone here is opposed to Moore exercising his freedom of speech. Let's get his movie out to the market place of ideas, I say. From what I've heard, though, he may be playing fast and loose with the facts as he's done in prior movies. If so, he undermines his point. And people will see through it. How does Moore's apparant dishonesty help the dialogue? And if people embrace a movie that purports to be fact, would you consider them ignorant?

Best,

Pete

Michael Moore's concerns for fact are about as big as Mel Gibson's concerns for history.

June 17, 2004

Friends,

We're a week away from the nationwide opening of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and not a day goes by where we don't have some new battle to fight thanks to those who are still working overtime to keep people from seeing this film. What's their problem? Are they worried about something?

A Republican PR firm has formed a fake grassroots front group called "Move America Forward" to harass and intimidate theater owners into not showing "Fahrenheit 9/11." These are the same people who successfully badgered CBS into canceling the Reagan mini-series a few months ago. And they are spending a ton of money this week to threaten movie theaters who even think about showing our movie.

As of this morning, a little over 500 theaters have agreed to show the movie beginning next Friday, June 25. There are three national/regional theater chains who, as of today, have not booked the movie in their theaters. One theater owner in Illinois has reported receiving death threats.

The right wing usually wins these battles. Their basic belief system is built on censorship, repression, and keeping people ignorant. They want to limit or snuff out any debate or dissension. They also don't like pets and are mean to small children. Too many of them are named "Fred."

This new nut group is the Right's last hope in limiting how many people can see this movie. All of their other efforts have failed.. Let's recap:

1. Roger Friedman at FOX News reported that the head of the company which first agreed to fund our film �got calls from Republican friends� pressuring them to back out. And they did. But... Miramax immediately picked up the film! Except...

2. Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney, then blocked Miramax (a company owned by Disney) from releasing the film once it was finished. But... public attention and embarrassment forced Disney to let the Weinstein brothers of Miramax find another distributor! But...



3. Instead of a new distributor stepping right in -- as all the media predicted would happen -- it took another month to find distributors who would take on this movie. A number of other distributors, thanks to various pressures, were afraid to get involved. It looked for a while that we would be distributing this ourselves. But then Lions Gate and IFC Films rode in to the rescue!

So, we have beaten back all attempts to kill this movie, and the only thing in the way of you now seeing "Fahrenheit 9/11" is this Republican big-money front group trying to force theaters not to show the movie.

Please, contact your local theaters and let them know you want to see "Fahrenheit 9/11." Tell them that some people don't know that this is America and that we believe in freedom of speech and the importance of ALL voices being heard. (The members of MoveOn.org�an ACTUAL grassroots organization�have done a very cool thing. They are pledging to send a message to theater owners and are planning to attend a showing of the film on its opening weekend.)

I appreciate their efforts, but you don�t have to be a member of MoveOn to help stop this effort to keep �Fahrenheit 9/11� from making it to screens across the country. If a theater in your area is planning to show the film, just give them a call and thank them for standing up for the freedom of speech. If your local theater isn't showing the film, call them and let them know that you would like to see it and you'd like them to show it.

The White House and their minions in our media have presented one distorted version of the truth after another for the past four years. All we are asking for is the right to show what they HAVEN'T shown us, the real truth. The truth that ain't pretty (and is, sadly, damningly hilarious).

On top of all this, the MPAA gave the film an "R" rating. I want all teenagers to see this film. There is nothing in the film in terms of violence that we didn't see on TV every night at the dinner hour during the Vietnam War. Of course, that's the point, isn't it? The media have given the real footage from Iraq a "cleansing" -- made it look nice, easy to digest. Mario Cuomo has offered to be our lawyer in appealing this ruling by the MPAA. Frankly, I would like to think the MPAA is saying that the actions by the Bush administration are so abhorrent and revolting, we need to protect our children from seeing what they have done. In that case, the film should be rated NC-17!

However it turns out, I trust all of you teenagers out there will find your way into a theater to see this movie. If the government believes it is OK to send slightly older teenagers to their deaths in Iraq, I think at the very least you should be allowed to see what they are going to draft you for in a couple of years.

Finally, some very sophisticated individuals have been hacking into and shutting down our website. It is an hourly fight to keep it up. We are going to find out who is doing this and we are going to pursue a criminal prosecution. I'm preparing lots of cool stuff for the site so watch for new items on it next week (www.fahrenheit911.com and www.michaelmoore.com).

Thanks again for your support and I hope to see you at the movies on opening night, June 25.

Yours,

Michael Moore


PS. I am sponsoring a number of benefits around the country next week for local and national peace and justice groups, including Military Families Speak Out and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Please check your local papers and my website next week for further details.

PPS. Also, I am going to be on the �Late Show with David Letterman� on Friday night. It's on CBS at 11:35 PM Eastern and Pacific. And on Monday morning (June 21) I will be on �The Today Show� on NBC. Next week, Jon Stewart and Conan. I'd go on O'Reilly but, like a coward, he walked out on a screening we invited him to (with Al Franken just a few rows away!). I personally caught him sneaking out. Embarrassed, he tried to change the subject. He said, "When are you coming on my show?" and I said, "Turn around and watch the rest of the movie and I will come on your show." He walked out. Fair and balanced.