Michael Moore: Reel or Reflection?

Take several large behemoths with differing agendas, marketing departments, legal teams and legions of investors and mix them together in the glare of the international media spotlight and you’re likely to see some sparks.

Sparks sometimes lead to fires, and while fires sometimes burn down reputations, if you’re lucky and clever, they can also help you sell a movie. Determining the real spark behind that fire is a hard thing to do and with so many competing interests behind every situation how can any of us tell the real from the reflection.

One such controversy is the current spat between the US Treasury Department and film director Michael Moore. As media friendly as these two are I’m sure we’ll have the whole summer to sort through the facts but Mr. Moore for one has come out swinging.

If you’ve read the various statements from the Moore camp recently you’d be forgiven for believing that this is a government attack of earth shattering proportions, however, as it now stands the controversy revolves around a single letter from the US Treasury Department requesting more information.

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By Toronto-based Christopher Stopa