Catapulted into the public awareness by the sucess of his goofy yet socially conscious documentary, Roger & Me, Michael Moore became the grass-roots, down-to-earth, independent filmmaker that America either loves or hates. Continuing over the years to alert us to the evils of corporate America with TV Nation and The Big One, Michael is the everyman's hero and the CEO's nightmare. His latest television project, The Awful Truth debuted on the Bravo network in April. We attended Michael's press conference while he was in Chicago taping segments for the show.

What are your reflections on Roger & Me as the film reaches its tenth anniversary? What kind of an impact has it had?

It didn't have any impact whatsoever. Flint's still going down the drain and many, many more jobs have been lost. It's in really bad shape. I don't think it's had any impact.

How has the response to the new show been here in Chicago?

This is great. I'm really glad we came to Chicago. I knew it would be good because people who live in the Midwest have this kind of sense of humor. You almost have to develop this kind of sense of humor to live here.

Other than it being in front of a studio audience, in what ways is this show different from TV Nation?

The big difference is that the networks that we're on, Bravo here in the U.S. and Channel 4 in Great Britain, don't practice any censorship of ideas, whereas when we were on broadcast television, we had to deal with a lot of censors. There were things we couldn't put on the air because of the ideas that we were expressing or taking a look at. That's probably the biggest difference in terms of that kind of creative support from these two networks.

So the basic goal or objective of the show is still the same?

Yeah, I think so. It's to present nonfiction television with a point of view and a sense of humor. That's essentially what we try to do.

Do you think you're reaching who you want to reach on the Bravo network, or are you still trying to gain wider exposure?

What do you mean by that?

Are you looking to take this beyond Bravo and hopefully reach a wide distribution, or are you primarily sticking with no censorship and maybe reaching a more limited audience?

We have been trying to organize the ballet and opera lovers for some time. (laughs) I would rather be on a network like Bravo that respects independent filmmakers and supports the creative process like that than to be in the constant weekly battle we were in. The chances of the show surviving on Bravo for some time are very good. It does reach forty million homes; that's a lot of places. I hope that through that, the show will get around.

What motivates you to keep going in your work? There must be some days where you just don't want to face it...

I actually have a weird sort of optimism, which is based in a fair amount of cynicism about what's going on in the country right now. I have a weird Capra-esque belief that as long as we're still a democracy and there's one person, one vote, that we actually still do run the country. We can pass any damn law we want and make it the way that we want it to be. As more and more people drop out, like now where there's a majority of people in this country who don't vote, that only works in favor of the bad people, because they would prefer that we stay at home and not be involved. If you're living in a democracy, that means that you are a participant. You can't have a democracy of spectators; it has to be a democracy of participants. I'm weirdly optimistic that through what we do, we can get people to think and talk about the issues. I showed this apartheid piece the other night here, and I got this really great E-mail from a college student at Northwestern who said that he and his five friends who were here argued about that piece all night, and then the next morning they met in the cafeteria for breakfast and continued their discussion about it. What was really great about this is that in the four years he's been at Northwestern, they've not had a single discussion about race. Regardless of where you stand on that position, whether you agree or disagree with me, I frankly on some level don't care. I care that people are talking about it, and that they're doing something other than just sitting there and watching it happen.

To follow up on that, what words of advice do you have for the future Michael Moores out there?

I frankly believe that there are thousands and probably millions of people like me, and I'm just the lucky S.O.B. who's got the microphone right now. There's nothing special about me in terms of what I do. I run into lots of people who could do this. These kids with these cameras here right now could do this. I just got a lucky break. But I know I'm not the only one, because I see it. Some kid just gave me a tape out here called "Monica," produced by a group here in Chicago called TV Weirdos. I can't wait to put that in the VCR; that's got to be some pretty good stuff.

Have you ever been contacted by Roger Smith?

No. What an ingrate, too. You'd think after I made him a big star, he'd bother to call me.

Who's your favorite filmmaker?

Stanley Kubrick. I can't wait for the new movie.

Eyes Wide Shut?

Yeah. I'd say A Clockwork Orange is probably my favorite movie of all time, then it would be Taxi Driver and Wild Strawberries and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.

Will race relations in America be a new cause of yours, and how does that relate to your audience?

Okay--it's not a cause, it's just something I feel strongly about. I'm just an average citizen using these means to express myself. I think that when we talk of "causes" and "leaders," then nothing really happens, because it implies that we're going to let somebody else do it. Ralph Nader's gonna do it for us, or Jesse Jackson's gonna do it for us. It's only gonna work when you and I and all of us do our little bit, instead of waiting for somebody to do their big bit. We're glad to be here at IIT and in this part of town.

But you're obviously in one of the most segregated cities in America, and in one of the most segregated areas. Was that part of the thought in coming here, or was it strictly for our auditorium?

I don't know about the people who go to school here--is it mostly a white school?

Yeah, I would say so.

We live in a segregated country. I don't want to point the finger at any one particular school or city. I got to L.A.--talk about a segregated city. There are parts of that town where you can go and never encounter anyone that's white. It's an absolutely incredible thing to see. It's just the country we live in. I want to live in a different kind of place. I want to live in a place where everybody has a fair shot at things. It's not because I'm some bleeding-heart liberal; I just believe in a sense of fair play. There's something wrong with the way things are set up.

Do you see it as causing your audience to question themselves, since you do have a mostly white, middle-class audience?

I hope so. I hope it does. I wish my audience was more integrated; on another level, my African-American friends don't need to see that piece on apartheid. They live it every day. That should be seen by the people who live in Cicero, so I'm glad they're here.

Do you ever have second thoughts about your methods, about going into the office and attacking that small person?

Yes. Yes, I do. I try not to do that. I only talk to the chairman, or to somebody in charge. First of all, we always film the security guards doing their job, which is to get rid of us. It's not an issue of disparaging what they do; they're just doing their job. You'll never see me take it out on a security person. Now a public relations person is a different animal, because many of these P.R. people went to journalism school and worked at newspapers because they wanted to go into a profession where they could tell the truth. Then they realize they could make three times the money in public relations, not telling the truth. I have no sympathy for these people who spread lies and double-speak.

What's going through your mind as you're getting kicked out of these places?

Don't hurt me. Please, no physical violence.

Does it become routine?

I'm very self-critical about things like that. You will not see me carrying around a big-ass Ed McMahon check anymore, because I did that in The Big One, I did it in TV Nation, I don't know why the hell I'm doing it down in Mexico. I think the water was funny; I don't know what came over me.

Do you think that independent film has a future in the Hollywood system?

I don't know about the Hollywood system, but I think they definitely have a future. I just had dinner with Richard Linklatter, who made Slacker and Dazed and Confused, and we were talking about how back in 1989, when Roger & Me came out--that year really kicked off the recent trend of independent films. We were talking about how we probably made a huge mistake in telling people that they could make films for $5000 or whatever, because when we were at Sundance in 1989 and 1990, there were maybe 100 films submitted to the festival to be shown. This last year, I think there were over 1000 films submitted, because everyone thought that since the Slacker guy did it, or the Roger & Me guy did it, they could do it too. I don't know if that's really true; I don't know if anyone can actually do it. I've seen a lot of people who've spent their life's savings on making movies, and I do not recommend that anyone go crazy and do that.

Are there certain questions you ask where you're afraid to ask them, or you're afraid of what the reaction will be?

I'm not afraid of what the reaction will be; a congressman cannot punch you in the nose. What I hope is good about our show is that we ask the questions that no one else will ask.

Are you excited to be spreading what you're doing into England and Europe?

Absolutely. I'm very fortunate to have the support of a British network. Our stuff is a huge hit over there; the ratings are higher than they are here. I was on the London Times bestseller list. The British like this sort of thing because they're not ironically illiterate; they love satire. The darker, the better. Here, we're afraid of dark. That's just the difference in our cultures.

Internet: is it a lost cause, or a means of revolution?

Are you kidding? No way; not yet. It is a means of revolution, as long as we control it. Now the bad people are trying to control it. We have to stay in charge of it. The internet is the greatest invention. It's a means for all of us to communicate with each other. Before the internet, it's radio, television and newspapers. In the internet, we're all involved. All you need is a telephone line, and you can literally connect with millions of people. We have to try to make sure that the internet is kept in our hands and not in the wrong peoples' hands.