Posted on 09/13/2004 8:10:10 PM PDT by mehster
what's going on everybody. i live in grand prairie, tx... inbetween dallas and fort worth, south of irving, and east of arlington... just a point of reference. i drove the 20, or so, minute drive to the addison studio movie grill in prestonwood, tx. it's northeast of where i live. it was my girlfriend sara and i. here's a pic of her, if anyone cares.
so, anyway, we arrived about an hour early. the showing was at 7:30 pm, and the website said to arrive 30 minutes early, but there was a cowboy game (vs. vikings) that night, so i was accounting for traffic when we left at 6 (rush hour always sucks in dallas). but to my suprise, traffic was relatively steady, so we arrived an hour early and got a parking spot under a tree.
apparently, showing this film was just one of many in an event called the 'American Film Renaissance: Doing Film The Right Way'. a local AM radio station (570 KLIF) was sponsoring this event, as well as world net daily. here is the radio stations official truck.
when you walked in the lobby there is a bar right in front of you. this place is a 'movie grill' so you can order real food and real drinks while you enjoy your film. they need more of these movie grills, really cool place. anyway, when you walk in there was a table setup with a swarm of conservative and right-wing literature and purchaseable media. there was also advertising for the other movies being shown that weekend. movies about elian gonzales (the cuban kid crisis), movies about bush, about our troops, about iraq, about michael moore, about ann coulter, about the liberal media, etc... everything from 2-3 hour films, to 20 minute shorts. oh, and there was also a webcast for therightway.tv
ok... so after looking through all those pamphlets and reading about all those other movies... i grabbed a brochure about the AFR and headed to the line for the movie. my girl and i struck up a conversation with a few people here and there, but overall we just kept to ourselves... and patiently waited for the movie to be seated. the day before, they had showed Michael & Me... i wished i had been able to see that. and there was also a short about ann coulter, heh. overall there was about 40 or so movies being shown over the 4 day event.
we sat in the very middle, all the way to the back/top. so we had the best seat in the house, imo. at each seat there was a little review questionaire about the movie you were viewing. it was for the AFR, not for mike wilson, lol. just your basic questions, on a scale of 1-5, comments, questions, contact info? while we waited for everyone to be seated, we ordered drinks and this guy handed out a free cd which read:
Wake Up America!
The thread to the USA's global prestige posed by the BBC-Guardian's axis
This CD contains articles, news releases, and other docs proving the BBC's and The Guardian's anti-Americanism and symbiosis -- and offers the means to expose both organizations
the screen was a slideshow of information about the 'wounded soldiers fund' or something like that. quotes from famous republicans and such... pretty random. only one screen mentioned michael moore and it said
American Film Renaissance
Michael Moore had his time, now it's our turn.
Welcome to the first conservative film festival in the world.
American Film Renaissance -- history unfolding before your eyes.
by the time the movie started, all 200 reserved seats had filled up and they had to bring extra seats in. after that it was standing room only... and, as we found out later, some people were turned away because they simply didnt have the room.
and then the movie started. \:D/ ok, unbiased review time right? i can do that. 8)
well, the movie was nothing like i expected. i, like many people, judged the movie by its title. i expected moore to be land-blasted and venomously refuted with all intent of malice and ill-will. such was not the case. in fact, the harshest thing i remember mike wilson saying about moore, was that moore had 'pissed him off'. any slander of moore was done by the array of persons mike wilson interviewed... with the most blatant being big-boy penn, of penn & teller.
wilson did a very good job of not quoting moore out of context, and almost every time he showed moore speaking, the question moore is answering is heard as well. wilson also did a very good job of not slandering moore. he let moore contradict himself, and allowed moore to come across as odd, to say the least. i will say, for those who dont know, moore never conceded to an interview with wilson... ever. the movie shows a number of times that wilson contacts moore's production company [dog eat dog], and shows how many times he is ignored and forgotten. in fact, after a year and a half of asking for a 45-minute interview, and calling countless times to various places moore frequents (in an attempt to contact him), moore says in a tv interview (msnbc, i think... promoting bowling for columbine) that he has never heard of mike wilson or his movie. *rolls eyes*
the premise of the movie, is not so much that moore hates america, but that he portrays america so negatively, that it is very offending to the average viewer. wilson, shows a different side. he takes various people moore has used (bank employees from BFC, a congressman, etc), and tells the whole story... or at least, a more candid and truthful side. like how moore staged scenes over and over in the opening bank sequence. or how the 'vault' that 500 guns are contained in, is 300 miles away. or how the only gun in the bank that day, was the one moore wanted. or how he vehemently demanded to be able to walk out of the bank that day with said gun, when he called weeks in advance. the list goes on, and on, and on, and on... well, you get the idea.
wilson focuses on flint, the self-proclaimed hometown of moore, who is in fact a davison native. he shows how people are moving back because of more and more tax-break homes and various business oppurtunities. he talks to some actual flint natives about their view of flint, moore, america, and life in general. he also interviews various documentarians, filmogrophers, comedians, journalists, and many other people. one of most emotional parts of the movie, is when he talks to Sgt. Peter Damon... the man shown in F9/11 [without permission] after he had lost both of his arms after a terrible accident. the sgt. said something along the lines of, and im totally paraphrasing; "i was furious when i found out he had used me without my permission. what makes me even angrier is that people come away with the impression that i agree with him. its offensive. he portrays us as some poor helpless fools who didn't know what we were getting into. look, nobody sent me away, i joined because my life was heading in the wrong direction; my wife and i weren't together, my kids didn't have me in their life like they needed, so i joined the military to change my life... and it did. it changed my life for the better. we're not stupid, we sign up voluntarily, we know there's a large risk." that's a very brief summation of that section of the movie, the sergeant said a lot more and it was very touching and left you feeling very inspired. later, during the Q&A wilson told us that he asked him why he doesn't just sue moore, he replied, "because thats not what im about, i lost my arms over there so he could make his stupid movie."
overall the movie was very upbeat and positive, a suprisingly refreshing alternative to moore's unnecessarily negative portrayal of the very people, and way of life, that have made him the very thing he claims to hate. a rich white man. there's a part where moore is speaking at the university of minnesota and wilson steps up to the Q&A mic and tells him, roughly, "im one of those 'wackos' and im making a documentary called michael moore hates america... i was wondering if you would sit donw for me, on-camera, for a 45 minute interview..." at this point moore cuts him off yelling, "you hate america! you are f*cking ruining this country! you just slandered me, you realize that! you need to think about that... i love america!". the funny part is, after moore's lecture at the univesity, many people came up to wilson and commended him for his actions. they also told him they thought it was suprisingly bad that moore yelled liked that, and definitely think moore should've agreed to the interview.
there's a lot more to this movie than my little review. this movie has heart. it has a positive intention. it shows that, in this great country, we should be able to all sit down and have a civil discussion about our beliefs and the ultimate truth. and in this pursuit of the truth, one must consider all sides of an issue... something that moore consistently fails to do. as one person mentions, if moore would show all sides to an issue, pro and con, he would be much more respected and would more than likely have some credibility with people other than the vast far left. as wilson said in the Q&A, if a red-china communist comes to said discussion [mentioned above], that should still be considered a viable viewpoint, and one that should be listened to. to so venomously deny anything opposing your opinions, especially when they are consistenly debunked by the right and the left... and everyone inbetween, is just ridiculous. while i came away despising mikey moore then i already did... it was for different reasons. it wasnt that moore refuses to admit he is wrong. it wasnt that moore is a hypocrite. it wasnt that moore has such devious ways of perpetuating his agenda. it wasnt that he seems to have no conscience in his chosen line of work. i came away despising his negativity and, for the first time, realizing that i had been offended by his 'documentaries' as well.
michael moore hates america is, ironically, a postive answer to the piles of shit (read: lies, deceits, half-truths, editing techniques, manipulative wordplay, offending insinuations, and blatant inaccuracies) and heaps of negativity moore has fed to us through his various outlets. i recommend its viewing to everyone who has, even so much as, heard of michael moore.
after the standing ovation, michael wilson answered some questions from the audience. included were some such as: what kind of film did you use? 95% DV. what do you think of mikey submitting F9/11 for best picture? i think that's great, maybe now we'll get best documentary. do you have any other future film plans? yes, we have a few film scripts and some ideas, but right now we're enjoying the fact that we finished this film and such. there were many more questions, but i dont remember every one of them. there was a lot of people voicing why they didnt like moore, and asking mike what he thought about it. overall it was a very good experience and i enjoyed myself thoroughly. afterwards mike was signing a few posters and AFR brochures, and talking to people individually, and taking pictures and such. we talked a little bit about fahrenhype 9/11 and how a lot of people are disregarding this movie due to its title (to which his fitting reply was "screw 'em" lol). we shook hands, i told him that i was very glad to see his movie, and i thanked him for making it, and that was that.
That's one heck of a post for someone who is such a new member. I still haven't figured out how to do pictures. Welcome to FreeRepublic!
Have you lurked here before signing up?
They all say they have.......LOL.
Thanks for your review! Were you able to figure out whether they are going to show the movies elsewhere or just go straight to DVD?
I lurked here before I didn't lurk here.
I think that bothers Axis Mikey as much as the official Cuban broadcast of a "bootleg" of his film did (not one bit). The question isn't whether Michael is willing to piss off the video distributor of his film (he can still push the home video as a way of seeing the "bonus" supplements), the question is whether any network wants to be held financially liable in the resulting lawsuit.
Michael Moore wants to get as many viewers as he can influenced by this film. A "Hail Mary" October Surprise like this would still take a couple days of talk radio to once again refute the points.
If the DUI report in the final days of the 2000 election cost him 0.53% of the vote, then it cost George W. Bush the popular vote.
Great review! Now I have to see this film.
Welcome to FReeRepublic!
Great review! I was half expecting a predictable @ss-kissing review but it looks like you were honest and thoughtful about it. I'm even more curious about the movie now and am anticipating seeing it.
Thanks for that excellent synopsis of this film. I hope this will encourage people, who live in the area where the film is being shown, to flock to see this film, and have conservative news reporters interviewing the viewers for their opinion. I hope this film will be a huge success.
Your review was very useful to someone like me who would never be able to see the film. Thank you.
Thank you for your report. I hope I get the opportunity to see this movie. Welcome to FR.
Great job. I like your style of writing. It took me a while to get used to your unique punctuation. Hey, thanks for taking the time to review the movie in such a detailed and personal way. Kudos to you.
PLEASE POST REVIEWS of Conservative Film Festival "American Film Renaissance" Films!!!
"American Film Renaissance" Film Festival ^ | 9.12.2004 | DoctorZin
Posted on 09/12/2004 10:29:37 AM PDT by DoctorZIn
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1213960/posts?page=1
I enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing. Wish I had gone to see it myself.
You have great analysis, but Moore thrives on this confrontaion. He's eloquent and brimming with wit - this situation gives him a new platform. His absence from the 24 hour news cycle keeps him with his base: lamenting leftist. With this, we will have news from him.
Michael Moore and Bill Maher have that in common: the more radically politicized they've become, the less funny they've become, until it's hard to remember they ever used to be considered amusing.
I'm = I've. Sorry, posting while working.
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