Liberals putting politics on film

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

The silver screen has become an election-year battlefield.

Hollywood's nimble liberals are at work crafting a well-timed cultural salvo against President Bush and those who support his campaign.

Efforts from Michael Moore and other filmmakers who criticize Mr. Bush and laud his Democratic opponent Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts will reach the public beginning in June, culminating just as voters head toward the polls in November.

"These shrill films use smear tactics which may make some profit initially, but they also stand to alienate a good portion of the American family audience. They spread heat, but no light," said Tom Snyder, editor of Movie Guide, a publication of the California-based Christian Film & Television Commission, which offers reviews based on traditional values.

"These are the people who also went after Mel Gibson and 'The Passion,' and their criticisms backfired. The film has become a blockbuster. Now Hollywood is targeting Christian Republicans this fall," Mr. Snyder added.

Sony Pictures already has optioned the film rights to former White House counterterrorism maven Richard A. Clarke's book, "Against All Enemies," which criticized White House terrorism efforts and received a publicity boost from Mr. Clarke's appearance before the September 11 commission last month.

Meanwhile, the trend among some filmmakers to peddle their agendas and slam political opponents has become so pronounced that an industry name has emerged for it: "Documentaries as Swing Vote," according to a symposium at an independent film festival in North Carolina last week, which featured Mr. Moore, actor Harry Shearer and others.

Mr. Moore intends to release a documentary called "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- subtitled "The Temperature When Freedom Burns" -- to theaters this fall, said "to contain explosive info about Bush," according to this week's Variety.

The film examines "what happened to the country after September 11 and how the Bush administration used the tragic event to push its agenda," the filmmaker told the entertainment weekly in a separate interview.

It also traces "why the U.S. has become a target for hatred and terrorism" and depicts "alleged dealings between two generations of the Bush and bin Laden clans that led to George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden becoming mortal enemies."