Barack Obama gave a speech to the American Medical Association yesterday in an attempt to get the organization’s members on board with his plans for healthcare reform. The president’s appearance alone may have been good for his cause, given that it was the first such address to the AMA in 26 years, but many doctors are apparently still skeptical of the government’s ideas and how they’ll actually work.
Meanwhile, the issue of healthcare reform continues to be a difficult topic in Congress, and the road to legislation is sure to be long and filled with much debate. So, to help Washington in the process, or at least to keep the politicians sane with a little entertainment, we’ve come up with a little healthcare movie marathon.
The ten films selected are admittedly more left-leaning in their potential influence, but that’s not necessarily a political move on our part. We simply chose titles we like, and maybe it just so happens that we like movies that show charity as good, greed as evil and healthcare as a right that all humans should be afforded.
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Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore spoke with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC yesterday, offering his take on the auto industry’s request for a bailout. At first, he seems to be defending the automakers, but that stance is just an excuse to be critical of Washington’s handling of the situation. He really has no sympathy for the big boys from Detroit at all, and he submits his own solution to Congress: give the Big Three their $38 billion, but tell them you own their ass and make them build hybrids and mass transit options instead of gas-guzzling SUVs.
As a onetime fan of Moore’s work, I have to admit this clip presents some of the smartest words to come out of the guy’s mouth in years. I’m not saying I agree with his proposal to Congress for basically nationalizing the automakers, but he definitely carries himself on Countdown quite intelligently. Obviously it’s a subject he’s very familiar with, having started his film career with the GM-criticizing Roger & Me. So, should Washington follow his advice?
Check out Moore’s appearance after the jump.
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***Guy Ritchie last film, 2005’s universally panned Revolver, has yet to open in the U.S., but according to the Hollywood Reporter, Mr. Madonna is already planning his comeback. RocknRolla (um, sic) will star Thandie Newton, Ludacris, and Gerard Butler; Borys Kit’s plot description makes it sound like the Ocean’s 11 of cut-rate British capers. Joel Silver’s picking up the tab.
***In other news of limited dimension, Fred Seibert (producer of Powerpuff Girls and Fairly Oddparents), Eric Gardner (head of the company behind Ren and Stimpy) and the guy who manages Elvira and the Sex Pistols (!) are teaming up to launch Frederator Films, a new venture aimed at producing 2-D animated features for young males. According to Variety, Frederator already has three projects in progress, including The Seven Deadly Sins, which is described as “a hip-hop project with Don King hired as the first voice actor.”
***Congress saluted Jack Valenti yesterday, passing a resolution (!!!) to honor the late MPAA chair “for his military and political service as well as his advocacy for Hollywood and later for reducing poverty and disease around the world.”
Bill and I talked with the director of the film When I Came Home. Dan Lohaus talked about the 300,000 plus homeless veterans that are left on the street without any assistance and how he hopes to use his film to address and correct this problem.
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Starz Denver Film Festival, Spout podcast, When I Came Home, Dan Lohaus
