Strange bedfellows: Michael Moore and John Malone

He's been called a bully and a monopolist. Al Gore once labeled him "Darth Vader." The Wall Street Journal described him as "ruthless" and alleged "self-dealing" in a maze of complicated business transactions.He is a master of the tax-free deal, completely disdains government and most federal regulations, and has expressed a fondness for Rush Limbaugh. This summer he was slapped with a $1.4-million fine by the Justice Department for illegal stock purchases.

Sounds like the perfect target for a hard-hitting Michael Moore documentary, no? But no, we're talking about Moore's latest sugar daddy: cable mogul John Malone. 

That's right, Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" is being co-financed and distributed domestically by Overture Films, which is a unit of Malone's Liberty Media. Moore, who has been railing against Big Media during press junkets promoting the movie, is in bed with the Goldman Sachs of the media world. Liberty also owns satellite broadcaster DirecTV, a stake in satellite radio operator Sirius XM, a big chunk of Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Atlanta Braves and a piece of the Denver Nuggets. Malone, who is considered the father of the modern-day cable industry, himself has a piece of cable programming giant Discovery Communications, on whose board he sits.

Obviously there is a little something ironic about Moore's screed against capitalism being backed in part by one of the country's richest and most avowed capitalists. Then again, Moore is nothing if not a paradox. Although he still keeps close ties to his home state of Michigan and has positioned himself as the voice of the common man, Moore is also a shrewd negotiator when it comes to his own vested financial interests. On his last film, "Sicko," he received half of the documentary's gross profit, as detailed in this Los Angeles Times piece. He doesn't mind the perks that can come with being a big-shot moviemaker, such as the five-star hotel and the fancy car service.

Interestingly, while Moore likes the perks that come with fame almost as much as he loves being America's gadfly, Malone keeps a very low profile. Although he's amassed a huge fortune, he is not flashy. He's been known to go home for lunch with his wife and once told the New Yorker that although his children will not go wanting in this world, he plans to leave the bulk of his estate to charity.

Moore, through a spokesman, isn't making any apologies for having one of Malone's companies as a backer of his film. "The movie is about HOW people make their money, and specifically criticizes the beast, our out-of-control economic system. ...  And for those folks who make their money in ways that don't exploit or hurt others, then they should be giving a lot more back in tax dollars to help support a more just and fair society. People like John Malone, myself and others who have been blessed, we all ought to be in a 70% tax bracket with the money being used to provide such important services as a real universal and affordable single-payer healthcare system."

We're not sure how Malone would feel that he "should be giving a lot more back in tax dollars to help support a more just and fair society," but we're confident he's hoping Moore's movie will do well enough at the box office to make a decent return on Overture's investment.

-- Joe Flint

Photos: Top, Michael Moore. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press. Bottom, John Malone. Credit: Nati Harnik / Associated Press.

Comments

[J.D.]

If the idea that Michael Moore has teamed up with a media magnate weren't ironic enough, Malone's company Sirius XM was the subject of the documentary "Stock Shock-the Short Selling of the American Dream," which highlights the company as one of the most corrupted stocks in the market. Investors in Sirius XM lost over 95% of the value of their stock in the company when it nearly went bankrupt earlier this year due to illegal market manipulation, and some contend, internal corporate greed. John Malone turned out to be the satellite company's white knight saving it from ruin at the 11th hour with a loan of several hundred million dollars.

"Stock Shock" interviewed disgruntled investors like Michael Hartleib, founder of SaveSirius.org, who insist that Malone virtually swindled the company away from shareholders when he was awarded a 40% stake in the billion dollar company for the last minute loan.

Hartleib asks, "How was this management team able to steal forty percent of our company without we, the true owners of this company, having a vote or a seat at the table? How was Mr. Malone given forty percent of our company for free?"

"Stock Shock" filmmakers are making the movie available on DVD at Amazon.com and www.stockshockmovie.com. The movie was released on DVD this summer.

http://www.prlog.org/10345233-michael-moores-producer-john-malone-caught-in-ironic-corruption-twist.html

[Howard B. Golden]

Even more irony: The Moore/Malone storyline is lifted from Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead."

[Linda]

Intelligent folks have recognized that Moore is and always has been nothing more than an entertainer making a living, and we don't take him or anything he has to say seriously. Those who eagerly await his next film in order to receive wisdom about important issues, aren't in on Moore's joke -- rather, they are part of his schtick...just like Baron-Cohen's stooges.

[Dubious Brother]

I agree with Linda - Moore is good at exploiting his niche and shouldn't be taken seriously. What Moore could do is set an example and voluntarily pay 70% of his income to the feds and make public his tax return. Is anyone working on a documentary exposing Moore for what he is?

[mbs]

What a jerk. Here's an idea, Michael, you can bypass the government and give your money directly to the poor people. Guess what, the great thing about that is, without having to pay for the government bureacracy, the poor people get more of the money! I'm sure you are headed down to the local soup kitchen or Red Cross, or other charitable organization, to get right on that.