Say Anything Blog

Michael Moore is being sued by a newspaper in Illinois for misrepresenting one of their headlines in his movie Fahrenheit 9/11 (via Blackfive).

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Filmmaker Michael Moore's Bush-basing documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" apparently has upset more than Republicans.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph newspaper in central Illinois has sent a letter to Moore and his production company, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., asking Moore to apologize for using what the newspaper says was a doctored front page in the film, the paper reported Friday. It also is seeking compensatory damages of $1.

A scene early in the movie that shows newspaper headlines related to the legally contested presidential election of 2000 included a shot of The Pantagraph's Dec. 19, 2001, front page, with the prominent headline: "Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election."

The paper says that headline never appeared on that day. It appeared in a Dec. 5, 2001, edition, but the headline was not used on the front page. Instead, it was found in much smaller type above a letter to the editor, which the paper says reflects "only the opinions of the letter writer."

"If (Moore) wants to 'edit' The Pantagraph, he should apply for a copy-editing job," the paper said.

Lions Gate Entertainment did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Friday.

This is representative of the problems with Moore's "documentary." If he wants to make a case against the war in Iraq and against George W. Bush in general I have no problem with that. The problems come from the way he makes his case. He takes things out of context. He misrepresents. His objective in making the film wasn't to represent the truth, but rather to slant the truth to fit his political world-view.

I hope he loses the lawsuit and is forced to admit, publicly, that he purposefully misrepresented the meaning of that newspaper article. It probably wouldn't get much media coverage (given Moore's status as a bona fide media darling) but it would at least be satisfying.