[h/t Hunter Baker and Robert Sloan at AmSpec]
In an interview this week with Wall Street Journal‘s “Deal Journal” column, noted film-maker Michael Moore speaks out about soon-to-be released Capitalism: A Love Story, produced by his own film production company, Dog Eat Dog Films. In the interview he suggested some changes in the ownership and decision-making structure of his own company*:
My role is not to applaud half measures. My job isn’t to start from a position of compromise. The workers need to own [100%] of Dog Eat Dog Films, Inc. The workers decide whether to accept investors. The consumer who watches the movie needs to have a representative on the board. If you let them have a say, the company will make a better movie….I didn’t deal with [the film industry] very much in the movie… I started to construct some scenes, but it felt like been there done that.
OK, that’s quite an interesting viewpoint. Let’s see, Michael Moore:
- went through all the trouble to begin the new company (in something like 1989), filled out forms, paid fees, and followed strict incorporating requirements
- at the beginning, took considerable personal financial risks on a venture that might or might not succeed
- writes, directs, stars, produces, and maintains creative control over all major processes
- makes many, many public appearances on behalf of the company
- risks considerable capital and his own reputation every time he takes on a film project, in an industry notoriously subject to the fickle imaginations and desires of the public
All that, but he thinks he’s not entitled to ownership or the profits. This part is important: He’s not being charitable. He BELIEVES he is not entitled to ownership or the profits.
He believes it’s right to see 100% ownership rest in the hands of the employees: assistant directors, makeup artists, key grips, dolly grips, best men, cinematographers, costume designers, sound editors, boom operators, foley editors. production design editors, actors, property managers, assistant art directors, assistants to the major actors, and so on. It should probably include non-film-related employees as well: janitors, secretaries, shipping/receiving clerks, payroll assistants, AP clerks, accountants, and so on.
Good man, that Michael. Of course, you, dear reader, realize there’s something wrong with this picture…..
If you read the link, you’ll see that it was not his own company he thinks should be given over to the employees, but General Motors. He was bagging on General Motors, Wall Street, and the “well-to-do” as evil and avaricious. He chuckles at the irony that he himself profits from his ventures and the system he attacks. In closing:
This is not about socialism versus capitalism. Let’s change the paradigm: It’s capitalism versus democracy. It seems to me that capitalism is the enemy of democracy and enemy of my faith. It’s the enemy of what any good Christian, Jews, Muslim or Buddhist believes in….
Instead of talking about it, he should put his money where his mouth is. And I don’t mean that as some kind of FatJoke™. Don’t even try to say that I said that.
*somewhat paraphrased
Steve Maley
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
Truth
dwintnf (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 4:28PM EST (link)Excellent post EPU. Soon all of these liars will be exposed.
The truth wins out in the end.
Dear Mr, Moore:
RedBeard Thursday, September 24th at 4:32PM EST (link)Please stop. Really. Just stop it. Take off the silly Working Man costume, complete with the deliberately ratty old ball cap, and just stop it. You’re not fooling anyone. Well, except for a few Hollywood types with room temperature IQs, but the rest of us have known for some time that you are nothing more than a hypocritical phony and a self-loathing closet capitalist.
I mean, your act might have worked once, back in the “Roger and Me” days, with folks buying the Working Man persona, but that act has become a self-parody over the years. So try something new. Maybe a ventriloquism act, with Jimmy Carter as the dummy.
Standard-bearer for grouchy curmudgeonry since, oh, 1975 or so.
Typical
Patrick McGarry Thursday, September 24th at 4:37PM EST (link)I love all these hypocritical Marxists. They always wait until all their cash is safely in the bank away from the tax man before they start counting other peoples money. What gall.
Patrick T. McGarry
http://curiousmojo.blogspot.com/
The workers shall control the means of production.
tantytantalus (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 4:50PM EST (link)I like how historically, every figure that instigates a revolution to achieve public ownership of industry, has attained dictatorial control of said industry to the detriment of the industry and its new, supposed owners.
yep, just had the conversation....
smitch61 Thursday, September 24th at 4:53PM EST (link)With my daughter. She may see that movie despite my best efforts, I did however go into length on the difference between capitalism and statism.
I LOVE MICHAEL MOORE!
erod (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 5:06PM EST (link)Because every time one of his stupid films comes out we conservatives research another one of the absurd claims (capitalism is evil, terrorists are our friends, Cuban healthcare is good) made in his “documentaries” and blow it to pieces. I was a freshman in college when I was forced to watch the film “Rodger and Me” and I came home a disillusioned teenager thinking that maybe Moore was right. But, after researching this movie and others and debunking many of the lies that were present in it, I felt extremely confident that Moore was just another lib spreading lies and half truths to advance their agenda. I guess if you’re Michael Moore your agenda is to capitalize on the far left’s angst, line your pockets and eat as much as you can so you can look like Peter Griffin from Family Guy (they look so similar, it’s scary). He’s an anti-American, food bag profiting off the greatest vehicle for wealth (capitalism) that the world has seen. Please Mikey take your b.s. someplace else; American’s with half a brain and a computer can see right through it.
BTW: Great site to visit is www.moorelies.com or www.moorewatch.com they’ll have all of the materials you’ll need to start debunking his malarkey.
Mikey Moore-on and the Lib-Zombies suffering chronic Liberal Laziness
JLenardDetroit (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 6:11PM EST (link)agree, as I’ve said of the other Lefty-loons on Race-baiting, ultra-Left agenda over-reaching, etc…. Please KEEP IT UP…. While, indeed, far too many suffering Chronic Liberal Laziness will not be cured without heavy medication and high doses of Reality, some are awakening and getting the much needed cure of/from Paying-Attention.
As for seeing this film…. I highly recommend it (we have to monitor our enemies works/deeds) but DO NOT ENRICH HIM IN DOING SO….How?… I’ve had this discussion several times before… It is really rather simple, I’m not advocating anyone rip-off their theater…. I’m suggesting, as I have done this with many movies (Liars for Losers [er... Lions for Lambs], etc) that I would NEVER pay to see, that you just pay to see a film of good value and moral fiber that you may have already paid to see once and support that film with your money again, but (of course) then just sitting in on the Moore-on’s flick. That simple.
Regards from NoMoTown (the MOTORlessCITY)
“Liberals, looking to do for? America what they’ve done for? Detroit! which is DESTROY IT!”
“I think, therefore I am Conservative”
“Conservative by choice, Republican by necessity”
“You can lead a Liberal to the Truth/Facts, but you cannot make them THINK!”
“Romney [No, not my first choice] does NOT have a MORMON problem. He has a, far too many Americans; these days; are MORONS problem!”
Follow @JLenardDetroit
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (message) (Warning: Children Will Die!!)
Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” – a Rush caller (other Quotes)
Pay for a ticket to: Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs instead
JLenardDetroit (Diary) Wednesday, September 30th at 12:03AM EST (link)Regards from NoMoTown (the MOTORlessCITY)
“Liberals, looking to do for? America what they’ve done for? Detroit! which is DESTROY IT!”
“I think, therefore I am Conservative”
“Conservative by choice, Republican by necessity”
“You can lead a Liberal to the Truth/Facts, but you cannot make them THINK!”
“Romney [No, not my first choice] does NOT have a MORMON problem. He has a, far too many Americans; these days; are MORONS problem!”
Follow @JLenardDetroit
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (message) (Warning: Children Will Die!!)
Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” – a Rush caller (other Quotes)
I LOVE MICHAEL MOORE!
erod (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 5:06PM EST (link)Because every time one of his stupid films comes out we conservatives research another one of the absurd claims (capitalism is evil, terrorists are our friends, Cuban healthcare is good) made in his “documentaries” and blow it to pieces. I was a freshman in college when I was forced to watch the film “Rodger and Me” and I came home a disillusioned teenager thinking that maybe Moore was right. But, after researching this movie and others and debunking many of the lies that were present in it, I felt extremely confident that Moore was just another lib spreading lies and half truths to advance their agenda. I guess if you’re Michael Moore your agenda is to capitalize on the far left’s angst, line your pockets and eat as much as you can so you can look like Peter Griffin from Family Guy (they look so similar, it’s scary). He’s an anti-American, food bag profiting off the greatest vehicle for wealth (capitalism) that the world has seen. Please Mikey take your b.s. someplace else; American’s with half a brain and a computer can see right through it.
BTW: Great site to visit is www.moorelies.com or www.moorewatch.com they’ll have all of the materials you’ll need to start debunking his malarkey.
Michael Moore is a very clever person who
kyle8 (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 6:31PM EST (link)has figured out how to make a crap load of money on gullible lefties.
I don’t doubt that he is a left winger himself, but just like a good troll he puts out an extreme version of his views in order to gain more notoriety and thus more money.
I am sure he is laughing at the gullible mooks who lap up his crap.
(To be fair Ann Coulter is much the same thing on the right, notice that every time she has a new book come out she will say something outrageous and get a lot of free publicity.)
“Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty”
Kyle
And my response is:
Leopard1996 (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 5:34PM EST (link)Something that I cannot post here without being banned. But he is the biggest hypocrite ever, and if someone deserves to burn in the lowest levels of hell its this asshat.
“The accumluated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, “Save Us!”….and I’ll look down and whisper, “No”…The Watchmen
What a doof!
sbugmom Thursday, September 24th at 6:04PM EST (link)Yesterday, I saw a commercial for his new movie during…wait for it….Glenn Beck!
Power to the people
fisk2521 Thursday, September 24th at 6:15PM EST (link)You had me…. I really thought Michael Moore was going to ‘spread the wealth’….. his own wealth, but not so much I guess.
I was going to suggest that he turn over his Manhattan condo to his ‘oppressed production workerz’ and then go to Cuba for his medical care. Wait …. he couldn’t do that because only the wealthy ‘visitors’ from Cuba get medical care.
Oh well. Power to the people.
LDavis
don't forget the Mikey Moore-on spoof: An American Carol
JLenardDetroit (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 6:21PM EST (link)If you’ve not yet bought a copy of (IMDB) An American Carol for yourself, friends, family, neighbors, anonymous giving to a Lefty Loon suffering chronic Liberal Laziness to see that while the real Mikey Moore-on has a new film coming out this film exposes his stupidity in great comedic form (as any good Psychologist knows, we often must breech our deepest darkest things we have Issue with, easiest in humor – first).
Regards from NoMoTown (the MOTORlessCITY)
“Liberals, looking to do for? America what they’ve done for? Detroit! which is DESTROY IT!”
“I think, therefore I am Conservative”
“Conservative by choice, Republican by necessity”
“You can lead a Liberal to the Truth/Facts, but you cannot make them THINK!”
“Romney [No, not my first choice] does NOT have a MORMON problem. He has a, far too many Americans; these days; are MORONS problem!”
Follow @JLenardDetroit
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (message) (Warning: Children Will Die!!)
Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” – a Rush caller (other Quotes)
I've learned one thing about movies.
Steph C (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 7:38PM EST (link)If it’s hyped up the way this one has been, it’s not worth seeing. Of course that means the education system will probably assign it as homework for kids to do a report based upon it and they don’t dare disagree with the premise!!!
It’s easy to say things like the crew should own the company when nobody is going to challenge it. If they should, why don’t they?
I know the answer to that: his movies suck so badly he is afraid they’ll fire him.
“[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.” –Candidus in the Boston Gazette, 1772
Hillbilly Politics
Capitalism versus democracy?
dpardue Thursday, September 24th at 8:39PM EST (link)Could Moore even provide a true definition of democracy? It seems he is throwing that one out there loosely
Not sure what point he is trying to make by comparing the two. The capitalism versus socialism comparison is much more appropriate, but notice he dodged any discussion of that.
Words fail me
anotherindyfilmguy (Diary) Thursday, September 24th at 11:22PM EST (link)when it comes to this guy… perhaps his next project should be a biographical on himself and how hard his life has been… or perhaps he should be filming the great struggle against imperialism in Afghanistan on the scene…
Santorum? Well, at least he’s not Romney…
http://www.zazzle.com/enemy_of_the_statist_tshirt-235977043035297478