Book, Novel
Michael Moore
Since winning the EMMA Award
Michael Moore is an American Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter and Author who went on to direct the film Fahrenheit 9/11, which criticised then US President George W. Bush’s handling of the September 11 attacks and the administration’s decision to start the Iraq War. Although it was highly controversial, the film won the Golden Palm at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and earned more than $222 million worldwide. In 2005, Time named Michael one of the world’s 100 most influential people. In 2007, Michael released Sicko, an examination of the health care industry in the United States, and his 2009 documentary titled Capitalism: A Love Story, took a critical look at the U.S. economy, including the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007–08 and the subsequent bailout of banks.
Michael’s live stage performance about the 2016 presidential election, filmed before Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton, was the basis for the film Michael Moore in TrumpLand, released that same year. In 2017, Michael debuted on Broadway in the one-man show The Terms of My Surrender, which examined the Trump presidency. His 2018 documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 looked at the 2016 presidential election and Trump’s unexpected rise. The film also takes to task Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s policies, as Moore’s hometown was exposed to dangerous levels of lead during his tenure.
Michael was the executive producer of the 2019 documentary Planet of the Humans. Michael’s documentaries blend personal stories, humor, and social critique to make us rethink how we see the world as people, and his work frequently addresses various social, political, and economic topics.
Background (Before 2003)
Michael Moore was born in Flint, Michigan, to an automotive assembly-line worker father and a secretary mother. At 18, he was elected to the Davison school board. At the time, he was the youngest person elected to office in the US, as the minimum age to hold public office had just been lowered to 18. Michael attended the University of Michigan–Flint but dropped out during his second year. At age 22, Michael founded the alternative newspaper Free to Be…, which was renamed The Flint Voice from 1977 to 1982, and then The Michigan Voice from 1983 to 1986, as it expanded to cover the entire state.
In April 1986, the newspaper published its final issue as Michael moved to San Francisco. Sometime later, Michael filmed his first documentary, Roger & Me, in 1989, chronicling the effects of unemployment in Flint due to the closing of two General Motors factories and the company’s longer-term downsizing policy. Mixing humour and poignancy with indignation, it was a hit with critics and at the box office.
Michael subsequently moved to New York City and established “Dog Eat Dog Films”. He also created an organisation to finance social-action groups and other filmmakers. After producing three television series and other limited-release films, including the comedy film Canadian Bacon, in which a U.S. President starts a cold war with Canada to boost his approval ratings, Moore achieved major success with the 2002 film Bowling for Columbine, which profiles gun violence in the United States and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
