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continued page 6 D

The film went on to become the
top-grossing documentatry of all
time, and cast GM, and Smith in a
rather unpleasant spotlight. The
film has been criticized for
preaching to the converted, but
Moore points out the reaction to
the film demonstrates a great
unrest among the American public.

The story behind the making of
Roger and Me is as interesting as
the film itself, as Moore sank
every penny he had into making
the film in an all-or-nothing
gamble to get the story of Flint
known to the rest of America. The
gamble paid off, in more ways
than one. According to Moore,
GM is “embarrassed” by the
public scruitiny, and “‘can’t do any
more damage in Flint, at least.”
One small victory in an ever
increasing litany of corporate
wrong-doings.

11:30

The CBC crew arrives moments
after Moore walks into the studio,
and they wait outside, joking it up
with the UTV’ers who go out to
see why they are loitering. A mock
interview is staged. The inter-
viewer and interviewee seem to
know each other, and I am left
wondering exactly how inbred is
the Vancouver TV market. Mo-
ments later, I am ushered in to
watch the taping. Moore is at his
TV Nation best, blossoming when
the camera is pointed his way. He
has been soft- spoken and reserved
in the cab, but on set he is a
dynamo, joking it up with Mark
Driesen before the camera starts to
roll.

“Do they call this the South-
west?” asks Moore.

“It’s considered a part of the
Pacific Northwest,” replies
Dresen.

“But it’s the Southwest of your
country.”

“Actually, it’s usually called the
Lower Mainland.”

“But if Canadians say that
they’re going on vacation in the
Southwest, do they mean here?”

“That depends on where you are,
I suppose.”

“But anywhere you are in
Canada, this is Southwest.”

Dresen turns to the camera.
“Welcome to Geography 101 with
Michael Moore....”

It doesn’t get any saner when the
camera is tumed on.

You've written, you've been a
movie producer, TV
producer...what the most difficult
thing you've ever

 

done?

Three laps around the hotel this
morning.

You seem to like Canada. Am I
correct in this?

No.

What suggestions do you have
for Canadians?

When are you guys going to
start carrying guns in this country?
You’re not a real nation unless you
arm your population. Secondly,
what’s this thing you guys have
with wanting to take care of people
when they’re sick? What the hell
are you guys doing up here with
this kind of redneck, socialist
medicine thing you got? If some-
one gets sick, let them heal
themselves! You gotta lot of
problems up here. And what’s with
this language thing? Hey! One
country, one language. I want
everyone speaking French by 6
o’clock.

No really. You guys are great the
way you are. Don’t become us!

Later. I ask him if he finds
Canadians are always looking to
him to massage our egos. “Yeah, I
want to stop doing that. You have a
lot of problems here. I’ve been
portrayed as a guy who loves
Canada, and I say all these nice
things about Canadians, but the
fact is you’ve got a lot of prob-
lems. It’s more to get at Ameri-
cans, and have them say, ‘We
should aspire to be Canadians.’”
12:00
Moore walks outside and is
mugged by the CBC camera crew
while the publicist and I wait in
the cab. The gist of the interview,
from what I can hear over traffic,
is why does Moore get half an
hour at UTV and CBC is stuck
doing a five minute on-the-street
interview? Moore grabs the topic
and runs with it. “Yeah, why? This
is the CBC. This is not AM1040,
this is the CBfuckingC. Can I say
that?”

Moore grew up along the
Canadian border, and has always
had a soft spot for Canadians. In
Downsize This!, he lists the best
way to emigrate illegally into the
US, including a nice spot “in the
field next to McDonald’s on New
York’s Route 87, near the Vermont
border.” but Moore recommends
just staying in Canada because
“you get all the amenities of
America...without any of the 23
000 annual murders and none of
the stupidity.”

12:05
In the back of the cab to
Granville Island, Moore sings

softly to himself his new version
of the Canadian national anthem,
rewritten for Americans.
“Ohhhmerica/My fucked up native
land/ True corporate love/ in
IBM’ command/With glowing
wastedumps, we see thee...” He
peters out. “I'll have it ready by
tonight,” he promises nobody in
particular, save maybe himself.
12:10

Granville Island. Moore and I run
into a cafe for a quick bite to eat.
This is the first time I’ve had
Moore to myself, and I take the
opportunity to ask him a few
questions

What was the appeal of TV
Nation?

I think it was a voice for people
who didn’t have a voice. It went
after the people who are making
life miserable for the average
American. It looked like those of
us the show acted as if we didn’t
care if we were ever going to be on
TV again. There was a certian
reckless abandon.

I’m on the web, and I find
Michael Moore. I wake up, and
Michael Moore is on CBC. I’m
reading Quill and Quire, and there
you are. For pete’s sake, I open up
a British Internet mag, and you're
in there. Why you, and why now?

Yeah, my questions exactly.
Leave me alone!

Why the sudden interest in you,
though?

I think it’s because millions of
people have seen their lives ruined
by companies like GM, and they
relate to me. They saw Roger and
Me, or whatever, and they think
“‘here’s somebody who has some-
thing to say about the things we’re
going through.’ You don’t usually
hear from us, guys from Flint,
Michigan. We don’t usually have
our own TV shows. So when all
those other people from all the
other Flint, Michigan’s around the
world see this, they think ‘oh my
God, here’s one for our side.’ I
think that might be what it is.

Other shows that try to imitate
TV Nation fail, because they’re
just pulling the stunts or pranks for
the sake of pulling a prank. I don’t
think that’s what people want.
They want something with sub-
stance, with a point of view. And
that’s what TV Nation has.

Judging by the first chapter of
your book, your life is pretty bleak,
with all the people
whose lives

Ine

been destroyed by big corpora-
tions coming up to you and telling

you their problems. How do you

motivate yourself every day,
knowing you're going to have to
drag yourself through the wreck-
age of capitalism?

(Laughs) That’s a great question.
I will always think of that question
every morning when I wake up.
‘Another day to drag myself
through the wreckage of capital-
ism.’ It’s so true, though. Even
here in Vancouver today, some-
body will stop and tell me there
story on being downsized. Or
having to work longer hours. Or
getting screwed by the company.
But nobody forced me to do this. I

sort of asked for it, so it’s okay, it’s

okay. I understand people need to
talk to someone.

What's the connection between
rage and humour?

It’s a very close connection.
They’re two sides of the same
coin. The humour is there to ease
the rage a little bit so you don’t
cause any serious property dam-
age.

You have to associate with large
corporations. BBC2 and Tri-Star/
Sony for TV Nation, Random
House in the case of the book...

... Lime/Warner in the case of
Roger and Me...

...Right. How do you handle
these associations?

It’s a lot harder on them then it
is on me, believe me. They have to
explain to their buddies at the
country club why they’re putting
me on the air. It doesn’t bother me.
I’m just using their vehicles to
reach a lot of people. They are
putting me on because they can
make money off of me, and by
doing so they are recognizing the
fact that there are literally millions
of us. If they thought we were just
a fringe group, people who believe
what I believe, they would never
put me on the air. But they put me
on the air and publish my book
because they believe there are
millions of like minded people out
there. They acknowledge some-
thing that even we don’t acknowl-
edge, that there are millions of us.
And we’ll spend the money. The
book is some outrageous sum here
in Canada. $29? I’m embarrased to
see it. can’t stand to
look at

     
     
    
 
  
   

that bigotry towards Canada.

Are media congomerates
changing the way we see the
news?

It’s very dangerous to have
media control in the hands of just
few people. It’s not good in a
democracy to have just a few
voices. You want as many voices
heard as possible. I don’t like it
one single bit.

Are you the anti-Rush?

Well, the difference between m
and Rush is that I have backup fo
my facts. He just skews things, ar
has nothing to back it up. I don’t
know what the left-wing version (
him would be, because I don’t
know anyone on the left who play
as loose with the facts as he
does.Huh?

Tell me a little about your
foundation.

After taxes, I took half of what
made on Roger and Me and put it
in a foundation. I’ve given out
grants totalling half a million
dollars in the last six years. This i
to independent film makers, to
homeless shelters, and to commu-
nity groups. I’ve donated 100% o:
my royalties on books sold on thi:
tour to local group’s trying to deg
with the effects of downsizing. I
lead a very simple life. I give aw
a lot of my money, put the rest of
back into my next project, don’t
own a car, have a two-bedroom
apartment. You’re looking at one
of the two pairs of jeans I own.
That’s how I choose to live.

Politics in the States seems to }
a process of inventing enemies. D
you ever get scared that you'll fa
into the same trap, going on sre
the ‘evil corporations,’ and lose
the heart of your message?

There is a lot of work to do. It’
not about feeling good by hating
Rush Limbaugh. It’s not just a
matter of stopping the ‘evil
corporations,’ it’s about putting
something in their place. It’s abo}
inventing an economic system
that’s fair and just and democrati

You tend to put off a lot of
people with your politics and
methodology. Is there anybody o
there that you regret alienating?

[Long pause] No. I don’t have
any regrets.

And then Moore is whisked
away to speak at the Writers Fest]
It’s only after he leaves that I

notice that Moore, th
man from Flint, |
Michigan, the hd
of millions, haj
eaten half my
fries.

 

 

 

 

6 January 61997 The Other Press