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Tuesday, February 3, 2015

The Scene

Michael Moore defends 'American Sniper,' bashes Sarah Palin

Posted By Lee DeVito on Tue, Feb 3, 2015 at 12:04 PM

click to enlarge

Michael Moore promoting his book Here Comes Trouble at New York City's Barnes & Noble Union Square. - DAVID SHANKBONE, FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

David Shankbone, Flickr Creative Commons
Michael Moore promoting his book Here Comes Trouble at New York City's Barnes & Noble Union Square.

As usual, filmmaker Michael Moore finds himself under the crosshairs (more on that later) of pundits on the right, this time stemming from from a pair of tweets Moore sent out shortly after the release of American Sniper. "My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse," he wrote in one, following up with "But if you're on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who've come 7K miles, you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor" in another.

A shitstorm of criticism followed, from the likes of John McCain to Kid Rock, with Sarah Palin even posing next to a sign that read "Fuc_ You, Michael Moore" (with the Os drawn as crosshairs — you got to love a morality in which foul language is censored but death threats are acceptable). Moore went quiet on social media after, but broke the silence on Monday to speak with Vice about the whole ordeal. The interview was filled with plenty of revelations:

On his remarks about snipers:

"... I just found it uncomfortable that something called American Sniper, a film about a sniper, would be released on (Martin Luther King Jr.) weekend where we're honoring a great American who was killed by a sniper."

On American Sniper's huge box office numbers:

"... this movie's audience is made up of people who go to see one movie a year or people who never go to the movies. It is the Passion of the Christ crowd that is in these movie theaters."

In defense of American Sniper as an anti-war film:

"... this isn't a crap movie, and in fact Clint Eastwood has even said there's a very strong anti-war sentiment in this film. You tell me ... when you came out of that film, did you think to yourself, This is a great recruiting film to get young boys to join the military?"

On the Sarah Palin "crosshairs" incident:

"The one that ended her political career on Saturday? ... Think about this — the vast majority of her base is made up of born-again Christians. Good Christian people. They were stunned to see her holding a sign that said 'fuck you.'"

Read the whole interview here, and read our film critic's review of American Sniper here.

Here's a tribute to you @MMFlint Michael Moore. Share it and make it trending #michaelmoore pic.twitter.com/1UN9KJfPPJ
— Dakota Meyer (@Dakota_Meyer) January 23, 2015

Tags: American Sniper, Michael Moore, Sarah Palin, Image

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