dangin

I think you are right, but I also think some of what Heston is saying is code to the faithful who wanted the NRA to go on full swing. All the parties, all the guns, all the booze, all the lectures on armor piercing cop killing bullets and accessories that bring down police helicopters. He had to walk that line, or at least felt he had to walk that line. So I don't think it was intended as calousness, I think it was the least calous form of appeasement of the fanatics that his speech writers thought of.

Obviously this is my interpretation.

Deacon

I think you should really see the film first.

fatherphil

micheal moore, media whore.

dangin

I think I should, but what I am talking about is information that is available separate from the film. Now don't make me come over there and flip you off.

Wyz_sub10

Who isn't when it comes to the business?

I remember an interview where George Carlin was asked to respond to claims about "selling out" because he did the AT&T commericals.

His reponse was that he didn't believe in the idea of "selling out" simply as someone trying to get paid. In that vein, everyone "sells out". You just have to look for the right deal.

Deacon

If you saw the clip, you'd see Heston sternly and defiantly say "Mr. Mayor, we're already here."

fatherphil

the majority of award recipients avoided the attention grabbing ploy of mm that night. surely you could think of many in the business who really avoid bringing publicity upon themselves outside of the business itself. some succeed at living quite privately.

Wyz_sub10

The only reason anyone is there is to grab attention. That's what the golden statues, long speeches, designer dresses, red carpets, etc. are all about. Some do it with their words, others with their breasts.

True, the majority of participants refrained from making political or social statements, but many did. Moore's role in the industry is political and social. He isn't an actor or a writer in the strict "entertainment" sense. I'm not saying I think his comments were appropriate, necessarily, but I do think they are in line with what he does for a living.

I guess I find it interesting that the decisions of others to comment have been seen as "good" and "appropriate", while Moore commenting makes him a "media whore". (I'm not even sure what that means, exactly. If you mean "media opportunist", then I insist that this is the whole purpose of Oscar night).

You are right, though, in that not *everyone* takes the spotlight when the opportunity presents itself. But that, IMO, is the exception moreso than the rule.

fatherphil

you just elevated him to a position more lofty than befits the statuettes. he makes films that support his own agenda just like the german film industry of the late 30's, yet many of those artists were blackballed after the war.

if offered an award by my peers, i'd probably consider it an honor to show up to accept it. at its core, isn't that what the oscars are about despite the industry that has been created around them?

Clutch

Ebert wrote: "I am not sure an average customer would have been [given a gun in the bank]."

Bookman translates:Huh? "In other words"?

Ebert is "not sure". What he's not sure about is whether the way this happened on film would have been the way it would have happened had this not been Michael Moore with a frickin' film crew at the bank.

Somehow, Bookman adds this up to "the event was staged".

I bet Donald Trump could walk into a bank and do all sorts of things that "an average customer" couldn't. So I guess it's all staged...