It was interesting to be in Canada for the Toronto International Film
Festival and see media coverage there of events happening here.
Both political conventions (and Hurricane Gustav) filled the news and
opinion pages of all the Canadian papers with the bulk of the coverage
tilted in favor of Obama, but with a spirited rebuttal from readers
and columnists alike.
The announcement of their own elections stole the spotlight from all
this, and shame on me for not caring enough to pay attention.
Back home, the relief I sought in the sports pages from the U.S.
media’s obsession with political minutiae and trivia was as short
lived as Milwaukee Brewer’s wild card hopes.
And now I find that escapism in film entertainment is also futile,
because the multiplex is as polarized as the rest of the country.
People turned to political films during the last election for
information that was often not reported anywhere else. And one of
those films – “Fahrenheit 9/11” by Michael Moore – became the highest
grossing documentary of all time.
It was written and directed by Shorewood native David Zucker, who
directed “The Naked Gun” and “Airplane!,” and stars Kevin Farley – the
late Chris Farley’s brother – as Moore.
“An American Carol” was funded by Beloit resident Diane Kendricks and
her late husband Ken Hendricks. In the film Farley’s character is
visited by several historical characters – ala Charles Dickens – when
he proposes banning July 4.
The Hendrickses are investors in the production firm founded by
Stephen McEveety, producer of Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart,” “The Passion
of the Christ” and “What Women Want.” A release said the firm
specializes in “high impact, socially relevant films.”
The Hendrickses are also major supporters of the Beloit Film Festival
and McEveety has been named honorary chair of the 2009 event.
Bill Maher, of course, comes from the polar opposite viewpoint, and
his new documentary is the anti-“The Passion of the Christ.”
The comic and HBO talk show host is a caustic and outspoken liberal
and his film – by “Borat” director Larry Charles – disputes the
notions of God and faith and ridicules the sorts of extreme elements
like ganja worshippers and Scientologists, that gather in his name.
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