On my way home today, I stopped at the store, and picked up “The Awful Truth” on DVD. It’s an awesome TV show created by the equally awesome Michael Moore, creator of “Roger and Me“, and “Downsize This!”
I was so moved by a segment on his show, that I had to write him an email, which came back because his mailbox is full.
So I’m reprinting it, here, because I know I’ll get busy and forget to send it:
To: [email protected]
Subject: The Awful Truth
Hi Michael,
I just bought the DVD collection of “The Awful Truth”, and I’m still wiping my tears of fury which became tears of joy, after watching you save a man’s life, in episode one.
You continue to be an inspiration to me.
Thank you for making a difference!
Fondly and respectfully yours,
Wil Wheaton
Los Angeles, CA
————————–
WIL WHEATON DOT NET
May peace prevail on earth
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Incidentally, I know that there are lots of people who don’t agree with Michael Moore.
Usually, those people like to let everyone know how much they hate him, and call him lots of names.
Well, I’m not paying for bandwidth for idiots to spew their hate.
So don’t even. I’m tired of the bullshit, people.
Hey, Wil. Wasn’t a fan of Wesley (my favorite bit in all of ST:TNG was the ‘Shut up, Wesley!’ sequence), but your blog is incredibly cool. Nice _People_ spread, by the way, and your stepkids are adorable as hell.
Just wanted to give you a heads-up that Michael Moore has a mailing list. If you’re a fan of “The Awful Truth,” you’d definitely want to subscribe to it — I think you can do so on his website. He also has a new book coming out later this month.
Cluelessly, I had never heard of Michael Moore. But now I have. I’ll keep my eyes open for those shows, and hopefully he will just happen to come here and see your letter. Cheers!
Let me provide the URLs:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mailing/mailinglist.html
Add “Stupid White Men” to your Amazon list:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060392452/ref=ase_dogeatdogfilms/
[The link is off Mike’s website, so the ‘dogeatdogfilms’ bit will give him a couple cents in addition to the royalty he’s getting on the book. :-)]
Thank god for people like Michael Moore and I think thats all I need to say about that.
Yeah, I already signed up for the mailing list 🙂
Wil, if you can, dig up some of the archives from what he sent out before. I’m pretty sure they’re somewhere on his site. He sent out some CHOICE stuff during the whole Emper-*cough*-President Bush fiasco going on. Quite a talented guy. I love his stuff to death and he obviously knows so much of what’s going on. Sometimes he’s a bit rabid and I fear that detracts from the credibility he might get otherwise, but then sometimes I think that’s part of his je-ne-sais-quo. Or however the hell you spell that.
BTW, y’all, I should just say I figured out how to use procmail to zap a lot of spam going to my address. I am quite happy.
— Mike the Geek
(not to be confused with Mike the Greek)
procmail is fun. if you really want to kill some spam, get spamassassin &/or razor going.
razor is razor.sourceforge.org. spamassassin is someplace else. google it.
I like the word “assassin”. It has “ass” in it not once, but twice.
michael moore is cool. haven’t caught his show for a while. You know what I really like right now? I like those “Truth” commercials about smoking.
You can also get his DVDs here.
http://www.dvdempire.com/
30.45 – 29.95
————————————————-http://video.barnesandnoble.com/
32.99
Michael Moore is an extremely funny and talented man…I haven’t got to see his latest series, but after Wil’s glowing review, I’m going to now.
Take care,
Mark
I’ve seen his show a few times. Some of the stuff he does is really funny, other times I think he steps over the line. For the most part though, I think I agree with most of what he says…well, what I’ve heard of what he says so far.
He is definately a very interesting guy, no matter how you look at it.
I have to admit, I loved watching Moore stick it to Humana. I remember watching it when it first aired and I was thrilled when I found the DVD’s a few weeks ago. I think my favorite sketch has to be “Hitler makes a Withdrawal”. I think it is about half way through disk 2. You’re gonna love it. Have fun with your new toy, it is six hours of pure fun.
I have to admit, I loved watching Moore stick it to Humana. I remember watching it when it first aired and I was thrilled when I found the DVD’s a few weeks ago. I think my favorite sketch has to be “Hitler makes a Withdrawal”. I think it is about half way through disk 2. You’re gonna love it. Have fun with your new toy, it is six hours of pure fun.
Oh yes, dear Michael Moore. He’s the sweet guy who posted an essay after 9/11 that said, among other things, that the WTC tragedy wasn’t so bad, since most of the people in the buildings were probably Republicans. Of course, you won’t find that in his archives, since he quickly made it disappear once he noticed that people actually read his website.
The guy seems to have a major chip on his shoulder. And now that Rush is no longer overweight, maybe we can dub Michael “the big fat idiot” of politics. Oops, sorry, no name-calling. 🙂
I met Michael Moore when I used to help run the lecture series at my old university. He’s a really cool guy in real life… he even picked up my copy of “Downsize This!” and wrote a message in it when I was off doing something else. (;
[bullshit bandwidth withdrawal]
Uh, Mr. Wheaton, change the contents of the topic.. filter out the email address.
Given that you’re not answering email currently, perchance Mr. Moore doesn’t want his posted as well?
Just a thought.
Regardless, good stuff from Mr. Moore in the past. Look forward to whatever he releases in the future.
CymJas
Posting via Internet Explorer under duress
Hey Wil
This is my first time posting, but when I saw the Michael Moore stuff, I couldn’t resist. I had the pleasure of seeing him speak back during the Lewinsky scandal. He did a priceless reading of “The Starr Report,” which was especially interesting since there was an interpreter trying her best to keep up with him.
I know he has a tendency to rub people the wrong way from time to time. Even friends of mine that are big fans of him were annoyed by some of his Sept 11 comments. But, I can appreciate the interesting persepctives he presents from time to time, although sometimes his timing isn’t the best.
By the way, I don’t remember if it was the first episode or not, but watch for the episode with the witch hunt. The mob scenes at the end were actually filmed in Madison, WI. I was in there somewhere, but I’m not onscreen at all. It was a fun time though. About a thousand people out on the library mall chanting “Legislators! Fornicators!” and a few other things. It’s a shame that more of it didn’t make it into the piece. But it was a blast to shoot!!!
We need more people like Michael Moore in the media. I don’t always agree with him, but he’s great at pointing out the outrageous excesses corporations get away with.
The weirdest part is that one quite believes me when I explain that the reason he wrote “Thanks for holding my hand on the way to the little boys’ room” was because I was the only one with a key to the dressing room…
As for his having a major chip on his shoulder or stepping over the line… yeah, but he usually has a point.
-somewhat in the dark- i am sure i know who Micheal Moore is but this cold is kicking my ass and my mind isn’t woring to good right now, one thing is for sure this is why i come here to learn about new things and hear about new web sites. As for the whole “Mr.Wheaton” not answering his own e-mail Dude! give the guy a break- he’s only human and he is busy with lots of projects and being a dad in case some of you are not keeping up. “Wil”,if your reading this keep up the great work!
“Roger & Me” was required viewing in my SOC 131 (Social Problems)class and I believe that our society needs more people like him.
Like him or hate him, he has the ability to force you to look outside the GroupThink mentality that governments and corporations try to ply on us.
Independent thought is a precious thing.
Kim
Oh man, I love Michael Moore. I have to get that dvd… NOW.
Molly
Michale Moore posts his email address right on his own website, so I figured it would be okay to post it here.
I think that’s why his inbox is full. One can only hope as many people spend energy hating him as they do me.
mmoore kickth ath.
i totally would have tried to help the “dead guy” had i been at lunch over that way the day they shot that. i’m kinda horrified that we (toronto) won by default.
jbay is the pickle guy.
Hating takes up too much energy. I wish more people would realize that.
I remember watching that “dead guy” episode and thinking, I can’t believe people just stepped over him! Even if they thought he was just some homeless drunk, would it have killed them to try and find out if he was OK?
yeah, when i saw it i thought, “shit. how did i not go to lunch by spadina that day?” (I was working a couple of blocks from Queen/Spadina at that point)
Bad representation, my friend. I at the very least call an ambulance when people are down and out cold.
Actually, I think the ambulance people & cops hate me at this point, but hell, I’m 5’4″, I’m not going to heft people back into their wheelchairs and the like without dropping them.
I love Michael Moore. I had to watch “Roger and Me” in a social science class and couldn’t believe how funny and sad it was (except for the rabbit lady, she was just scary). There is such impact on that film, it really shows how a corportation can control, and destroy a town.
Have you read “When Corporations Rule the World” by David C. Korten? It’s an excellent book, I think you’d really enjoy it.
Good for you, Gigi! It’s too bad that people try to sue “Good Samaratans” these days.
People who are not only funny, but have a social conscience.
Fear them.
Sorry, I don’t mean to get vitrolic here, folks — but BurntHombre, that’s bullshit.
Go over to Google! Groups and get the message he supposedly deleted from his website where he says what you claim he did. His stuff always gets reposted on newsgroups, and, using the Advanced Group Search, you can even narrow the search to every message posted between 9/11/01 and 10/07/01 (there’s a 10/8/01 post on his site) that has the words “Michael Moore” in it.
Shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes to find the message to backup your claim. Enough people hate him enough there that they would have jumped all over him in a second had he said that.
I’ll tell you what *I* found, and that was a 9/11/01 letter that said, “Many families have been devastated tonight. This just is not right. They
did not deserve to die.”
It said, “Let’s mourn, let’s grieve, and when it’s appropriate let’s examine our
contribution to the unsafe world we live in. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
So, tell me, where did he gleefully dance over the graves of Republicans and say it was okay that they all died?
I’m waiting … please. I’ll eat a nice big helping of crow if you can backup your words, I promise. Otherwise, said bird will be on YOUR plate.
I await what I imagine will be a vast, echoing silence on your part …
the awful truth is on dvd? ~salivates~ i haven’t seen it since i moved to indiana and got stuck with crappy cable…oh, i need…
I remember when we watched “Roger and Me” in AP US History. That movie was great.
My friend is making cock jokes at me. I must depart and show her the error of her ways…
by making worse ones.
I think Micheal Moore has some intelligent, political beliefs that are just downright common sense. I don’t know if anyone here ever read his open letter to George Bush, but it was very well written.
wil said:
>> One can only hope as many people spend energy hating him as they do me.
Oh, boo hoo.
Stop bitching about a 90% approval rating.
I freaking loved “Roger & Me” and idolized Moore, but then his myopic flailing on behalf of that shitheel Nader queered the deal for me.
ever spend a little while reading a bloggie about someone you know nothing about?
I’m so gonna get flamed.
I don’t know who Mr. Michael Moore is.
However, I want to thank, i think itwas mike harris? who put the link, i’m gonna visit it now and inform myself.
Later
Drax’n
The first episode? Man, can someone tell me what happened I missed this one where he saved a man’s life. Someone explain what happened to me please. Email me the details if its too much to post here. I’m not like HUGE fan of his but I’ve wathced a few episodes and enjoyed them very much.
the mosh pit episode is a classic.
Mike Harris,
I think BurntHombre was exaggerating a bit when he made his comment about what Moore said regarding the WTC attack.
I remember the link to the column/screed/rant was posted on fark.com, and although he didn’t outright say that the attacks really weren’t all that bad since mostly Republicans died, there did seem to be an underlying message that somehow we had it coming to us and that we deserved what we got.
I don’t remember which season it was in, but the episode where he tries to run a ficus for congress in NJ is so awesome.
The ficus becomes really popular and the people running the election cover it up! It’s both hilarious and creepy!
And then people start running ficuses (fici?) all over the country, and it smelt like revolution.
I would tell you all to check out the campaign’s site, http://www.ficus2000.com, but apparently it’s now become a porn portal.
ANTIWILENERCO, a subsidiary of FuzzyBunny Inc. , closed today up 5/8, now trading at 24 and 3/8.
I see Moore hasn’t scheduled Texas for his book tour. Yet. That would seem the natural place to go.
That’s fowl.
Michael Moore is one of the few people with the werewithal to challenge our media-controlled socio-political world as it stands right now.
Thankfully we have the internet to unite ourselves behind righteous causes and for all of us to start looking past what NBC/CBS/ABC/FOX/CNN have to blind us with…. since the Supreme Court gave the presidency to the Shrub we all need to impower ourselves with KNOWLEDGE. By having sites like WWDN and http://www.michaelmoore.com and start LEARNING and SHARING our INFORMATION so we will not be blinded by the latest mcnewsbyte!
I’ve seen so many horrible changes in the last 20 years in our corporate thinking – your parents (with your mom being a stay at home type with any luck) may well have worked for their company/business for their ENTIRE adult life — what about us?
I worked sooo many jobs before I landed at the state (and not through my inaction – I was LAID OFF in 1986) and yet like many people I also work a SECOND JOB (as does my husband). We not are not huge materialistic types, we have to work to keep our heads above water.
Do we have a living wage? NO!
Do we have affordable child care? NO!
DO we have proper living standards for the disabled? NO!
DO we have employers standing behind their employees? NO!
DO all employers support their employees with benefits and insurance? NO!
WE must rise up and make those changes.
The rich keep getting richer and richer as they crush the bones and lives of their workers under the heels!
ACT PEOPLE!
— Beverly Martin, Texas
PS: Mike may have picked the wrong horse, but he picked a new idea… which I may say was better than most of us (not that I’m a Nader lover) since we so calmly allow the homogenous two-party system run our lives… we need more options!
Don’t have a whole lot of timw to post right now, but I couldn’t let the Michael Moore reference go by. Although there have been a few (key word) few times where I think he got a little overenthusiastic, I love his work. Roger and Me is a wonderfully great film and if you haven’t already, pick up his book “Downsize This.” I’m eagerly awaiting his take on the Enron thing…you know it’s coming.
Dave, you said, “there did seem to be an underlying message that somehow we had it coming to us and that we deserved what we got.”
I don’t know as I’d agree that that tone is there, either.
But Mike was the first to point out to me that we certainly were funding the Taliban; witness the $43 million gift we gave to them in May 2001 for being a drug-free country.
Nothing validated the terrorists’ actions — nothing. I’ll give you that in a second, and I think Mr. Moore believes the same way. But were there behaviors and policies that the United States had and did that may have contributed?
The above ‘gift’ to the Taliban is only one example; the fact that the CIA trained Osama bin Laden back when we wanted the Ruskies out of Afghanistan is another. Neither is some conspiracy-theory postulate, they’re reported facts …
Anyway, that’s my last two cents on this whole issue, since I don’t want to get into further debate in Wil’s comment section.
i love micheal moore just for that major email chain that got sent around – that i assume he wrote – after the WTC about the US and it’s double standards… (_very_ simply put). i don’t know if it came off his site, but it really made me happy to know that there was something going around about the ‘behind the scenes’ shit.
wil – u rock. thanks for a great deal of entertainment and insight… mmm… ;]
I was always more of a fan of “TV Nation” than “The Awful Truth”, but that may just be because it was partially funded from over here – IIRC it was a BBC coproduction.
It also had Louis Theroux on it perfecting his patented “wide eyed and innocent seeming slightly posh Brit” act which has since led to “Weird Weekends” and “When Louis Met…” – the latter probably will never sell outside the UK, but I believe “Weird Weekends” is shown in the US. It’s a sort of comedy-documentary thing where he manages to get to the heart of things purely by being so nice and innocent (and British) that no one wants to say “no” to him.
Further proof, if any were needed, that you can get further with a nice attitude and smart questions than you can with bluster and yelling.
DV
Wil, in any good debate you need intelligent people on both sides and you seem to have that here. Enjoy the fact that you can get people talking and just ignore the obvious trolls (which fortunately here are few and far between). You gotta know that there will be people who come to the site just to diss you or try and get a rise out of you and/or your fans. Like Spudnuts says “90% approval is good”
Since there are probably already Wil fanclubs out there, I think we should make a Spudnuts fanclub. Maybe we could publish a book “The Wit and Wisdom of Spudnuts”. The comments section just wasn’t the same when he(?)was gone.