Moore 'tired' of shooting documentaries, snubs Obama+

TOKYO, Dec. 6 Kyodo -
Outspoken U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore expressed reluctance recently about
shooting new documentaries, saying he is ''tired'' and disappointed with
President Barack Obama's plan for a troop surge in Afghanistan.

Moore, speaking during an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo, also hinted that
he remains up for shooting films other than documentaries and will closely
watch any bid by authorities to use fear in the ''manipulation'' of people.
''I've spent the last 20 years doing this. Anybody who does anything for 20
years is tired,'' Moore said referring to his history as a documentary
filmmaker since the 1989 release of his first movie ''Roger & Me.''
But there have been signs suggesting that things are moving in Moore's
direction. His latest work, ''Capitalism: A Love Story,'' became the first
documentary to be nominated for the top award at the renowned Venice film
festival this year.
''I would've thought by now after 20 years that there'd be a lot more
interesting documentaries being made,'' the 55-year-old firebrand said after
being asked if he might change his mind and shoot another documentary.
Moore was visiting Japan for the first time to promote the film, which was
released in Tokyo and Osaka on Saturday.
''This is the first time I have broken with Obama,'' Moore said, expressing
disappointment at the president's plan to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan by
the summer of 2010. ''It's a sad day.''
Citing his Irish background, Moore signaled that the use of tongue-in-cheek
humor and satire in his documentaries is indispensable for him to deal with his
anger and to appeal to people.
Moore, who has made relatively positive comments about Japan, warned that more
people in the country appear to be less caring and more companies are getting
greedy. He also urged the Japanese to try hard to return to a society in which
it is deemed ''shameful'' for corporations to lay off people.
''You (Japanese) are at this crossroads,'' Moore said, adding it is
''important'' for Japanese people to watch the film that accuses a handful of
powerful people in the United States of making themselves richer at the expense
of everybody else.
Moore also said he was interested in visiting Hiroshima and possibly Okinawa,
the southernmost prefecture where his father was stationed as a U.S. Marine.
==Kyodo
2009-12-06 21:13:57