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08/05/2007
Behind scenes of new filmBalance between humor, weight in 'Sicko'
Michael Moore laughs during a discussion on his most recent film at the 'Sicko': The Master Class panel with crew members from the movie Saturday at the City Opera House. TRAVERSE CITY — The overflowing City Opera House refrained from the laughter and spontaneous applause marking talks by the six panelists on the stage and replaced it with an eerie silence when Michael Moore spoke. "We all had a feeling that we couldn't believe that we could be this cruel to each other,” said Moore, in a response to a question regarding anything that surprised him during the production of "Sicko.” Several members of the Sicko production team joined Moore in Saturday's panel "Sicko: The Master's Class,” which drew one of the largest crowds of the three previous daily discussions. Rod Birleson, Jennifer Latham, Eric Weinrib, George Zornick and Natalie Rose shed light on the behind-the-scenes work that went into making the most recent Moore film and addressed the powerful message of that particular documentary on the American health care system. The captive crowd enjoyed the comical banter between the coworkers on stage and the serious undertones about the overall message of the film: to inspire people to act. "It was fascinating learning the background of a documentary,” said John Reeder of Great Falls, Va. "It was nice to see the passion they developed while making this movie. They got into it and became appalled about everything they found. Their goal became to solve the problem.” The panel began innocently enough with the members of the "Sicko” production team letting the crowd inside their jobs on the set. Latham and Moore talked about the struggles they had securing a reasonable insurance premium for their movie. Latham said most documentaries run about $8,000 for insurance while "Sicko” was quoted at $800,000 before production ever began. Latham finally found an insurer in Kansas, who Moore said labeled himself as the only Democrat who owned an insurance company. Discussion quickly moved away from the lighter moments of the film to the depressing medical situation Moore and his team found in America. It was because of their sadness that a pronounced sense of humor emerged in "Sicko.” "We know there are certain points where the audience is feeling so full of despair by what they're seeing,” Moore said. "I don't want to push you over the edge to the point where you become paralyzed.” The panelists conveyed their passion for their product, whether it was meticulous research Zornick did for information or Birleson traveling to Cuba with Moore, an action which Moore firmly believes will result in the U.S. government issuing him a subpoena. Rose, who spent most of her time wading through the roughly 25,000 letters they received, was just glad "Sicko” could tell the tales of those who have suffered. "A lot of people we talked to were wonderful,” Rose said. "It's embarrassing to ask for help, but these people wanted their story told.”
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