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Michael Moore toured the U.S. promoting and premiering Capitalism: a Love Story. Interviews with Moore can be found throughout the internet spanning Larry King to Poppy Harlow. Moore told MMM, “I’ve seen this movie a dozen times in various places across this country and the response has been overwhelming. It has been very powerful, and my guess is you are going to see the same thing happen today here in Flint. During the movie people have spontaneous reactions – spontaneous combustion - while it’s up on the screen. What they are seeing is what they have never seen before.” By Chris Aliapoulios • Photography by Erica Blair On September 27, 2009, the 20th anniversary of the American premiere of Roger and Me, Moore was in his hometown of Flint giving a free screening of Capitalism: a Love Story to a full house at The Whiting. Moore said, “the first thing I want them to feel when they walk out of the theatre is they just spent two hours watching something that is not like anything they have seen in the last year - a really good movie that made them laugh, cry, and get angry. I am a filmmaker first, and that is what I am attempting to do. I hope a lot of people that see this movie, in places like Flint, are going to feel like here is a film that is on their side. That I will tell their stories in a way that oftentimes doesn’t get told; I will go to bat for them; and I will go after the people that made their lives miserable. This is where I’m from. A lot of my friends and family are still here, and I didn’t want people to have to pay for this movie. You know, it is Flint. So, I decided to come back and show it for free.” Moore was introduced to a raucous standing ovation. He joked with the crowd saying “that was very generous and more exercise than we usually get here in Flint! I am grateful for old friends that I have. Some of you are sitting here today. I’ve always felt very blessed to have been born here.” As the film played, The Whiting audience responded much the way Moore predicted. There were laughs, tears, and spontaneous reactions shouted from the seats. When the credits rolled, the crowd was on its feet. Moore took the stage afterward for Q&A while members of the Flint community passionately offered solutions to the problems.
Michigan Movie Magazine asked moore reignites with flint Michael Moore: what advice would you offer a beginning filmmaker on making a documentary appeal to a large audience? “Make the film you want to make. Trust yourself. Trust there are people like you that would like to see it. Don’t try to please 300 million people; it’s impossible. In a county this large, you can have 299 million people that don’t like your movie, but if 1 million people went to see your movie, that would be huge. Follow your conscience, and follow your heart. Don’t do what you are told to do, do what you think is right, and always remember that sound is more important than picture. The audience will forgive the picture if it’s a little out of focus or the camera is jiggling. They will not forgive you if they can’t hear it. We call this a visual medium, and we spend so much time and money on these cameras and not enough on sound. I’m always pushing for sound having its equal due with camera.” What is the potential for Michigan to develop its own motion picture industry? “I think it already is. This coming Friday, two movies that are opening nationwide were both made in Michigan: my film and Drew Barrymore’s. That’s incredible. I think it’s a good thing for the state. Good for a lot of reasons: not only for the economy, but also the general spirits of the state and trying to lift them at this point.” You have a broad international fan base. Has it been important for you to make movies that have international appeal? “No. I make my movies for the American public. They do well overseas because I think people in other countries want to know what Americans are thinking, and they want to see a viewpoint from America that’s different from what they see on CNN. So I’m going to bring them pieces of America that they wouldn’t necessarily see. I think they find it interesting and informative, and that’s why they do well over there. I make these films for my fellow Americans because in addition to trying to provide a decent night out at the cinema, I’m also trying to make this country a better place.” 
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Tuesday, September 07, 2010
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