June 21, 2004

Fact Checking Fahrenheit 9/11

Posted by ryan at 02:36 PM in film . | 4 Comments

Michael Moore is ready to back the facts from his new film even if it leads him to court.

"Any attempts to libel me will be met by force," he said, not an ounce of humor in his familiar voice. "The most important thing we have is truth on our side. If they persist in telling lies, knowingly telling a lie with malice, then I'll take them to court."

"We have gone through every single word of this film — literally every word — and verified its accuracy," said Joanne Doroshow, a public interest lawyer and filmmaker who shared in a 1993 Oscar for documentaries and who joined the fact-checking effort last month. Ms. Doroshow is responsible for preparing what she calls a "fact-checking bible," with material ranging from newspaper and magazine articles to copies of the Federal Register, that will allow the film's lawyers and publicists to provide backup for its allegations.

 

Comments

Can't wait to see all the right-wing forums that spring up to discuss endlessly every minor detail of this movie. But maybe that will be a good thing.

Posted by: agent1073 at June 21, 2004 4:17 PM

Damn, fatty sounds paranoid.

Posted by: jt at June 21, 2004 11:27 PM

I wouldn't call it paranoia. I think it's good. My biggest complaint with Michael Moore has always been that he provides little fact and lots of fluff. It is good to know that if he is going to release a film like this that he can produce hard facts for any accusation he makes.

Posted by: ryan at June 22, 2004 11:27 AM

From what I'm hearing, it's alot of stuff that is factually accurate, but twisted to promote his point of view (then other stuff that's just B.S.).

For instance, it's a fact that President Bush sat in a classroom for seven minutes after being informed of the second plane on 9/11 and finished reading to children before getting up and entering a makeshift situation room to gain a foothold on the situation. It's like, yeah...and if he'd have instantly jumped up and left in a panic he would have been criticized for "rushing off to make his war plans" (or something similar), or just for projecting panic to the country at a crucial time. Anyway, from what I am reading it sounds like alot of that "damned if you do, damned if you don't" type stuff that he so often gets. Still not sure if I am going to see it...

Posted by: Dude at June 22, 2004 5:18 PM