"Fahrenheit" Frozen Out of WGA Noms
Is Michael Moore getting the cold shoulder in Hollywood?
His blockbuster Fahrenheit 9/11 failed to garner a Best Picture nod or anything else when Oscar nominations were unveiled on Tuesday. Now, the firebrand filmmaker has been sidelined as the Writers Guild of America announced the list of nominees for its inaugural Documentary Writing Award.
After Moore's Bowling for Columbine snared the WGA prize for Best Original Screenplay in 2003, guild members decided to create a new category covering nonfiction writing for feature films.
Moore, however, did not submit Fahrenheit 9/11 in the new category.
Without Moore's movie, the field opened up and a half-dozen nominees are in the running for the WGA prize: Super Size Me, director Morgan Spurlock's bloated journey through the fast food nation; The Hunting of the President, a hard-hitting chronicle of the right wing's efforts to oust President Clinton from office; Control Room, Jehane Noujaim's behind-the-scenes look at Arab satellite television network, Al Jazeera; Bright Leaves, a tale of Big Tobacco as told by the great-grandson of a tobacco baron; Home of the Brave, a reflection on murdered civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo and In the Realm of the Unreal, a biography of Henry Darger, a janitor by profession and famous outsider artist by reputation.
Each of the six filmmakers in the doc category had to join the WGA's Nonfiction Writer's Caucus. However, the documentary's producers were not required to be a guild signatory at any time during production.
While Moore did not give a reason for not submitting his film for WGA contention, the move might be chalked up to magnanimity. The provocateur/filmmaker decided not to submit Fahrenheit for the Best Feature Documentary category in the Oscars because he already had won that award for Columbine. Moore said he felt compelled to let others have a shot at the award. Having already received the WGA prize for Columbine, his motive might have been the same.
Moore did, however, submit Fahrenheit, which has become the top-grossing documentary of all time with about $225 million worldwide, for the Best Picture Oscar.
But that plan backfired. On Tuesday, when Oscar nominations were announced, Fahrenheit was MIA from all categories. The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray and Sideways made the cut for Best Picture, while Super Size Me, Born into Brothels, The Story of the Weeping Camel, Tupac: Resurrection and Twist of Faith were the contenders for Best Documentary Feature.
As for Moore, there's always next time. The muckraking documentarian is in the middle of shooting his next project, Sicko, which will examine HMOs and the state of America's health-care system. After that, he'll take on Bush again, firing up a sequel to Fahrenheit called Fahrenheit 9/11 1/2.
The WGA Documentary Screenplay Award will be handed out with the rest of the writers' prizes at a gala reception at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles on Feb. 15.
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