Hollywood meets Bellaire (Mich.) as Moore gives sneak peek of "Sicko"

[marmar]

from AP, via MichaelMoore.com:



Hollywood meets Bellaire as Moore gives sneak peek of "Sicko"

By John Flesher / Associated Press

BELLAIRE, Mich. — Kathleen Jacobsen had a personal reason for being among the first to see Michael Moore's new film, "Sicko." After 16 years as a registered nurse, she believes the health care system needs major surgery.

"It just makes me want to cry," Jacobsen said, lamenting the influence that insurance companies wield over patient treatment. "It's getting awful."

The nurse at Charlevoix Area Hospital was among the crowd that packed the downtown Bellaire Theater on Saturday for what was billed as the unofficial premiere of "Sicko," which opens Monday in New York and two nights later in Washington before hitting screens nationwide June 29.

Moore gave Bellaire, a tourist village about 250 miles north of Detroit, a sneak peek as a fundraiser for the Democratic Party in rural Antrim County, where he lives. His wife and the film's executive producer, Kathleen Glynn, is the local party's vice chairwoman.

About 880 people paid $40 per ticket to watch the two-hour documentary, a sardonic and sometimes heart-rending indictment of American health care. For an additional $60, they could attend a party with Moore at a restaurant across the street.

"You are the first paying audience for this film anywhere in the world!" Moore told viewers at the first of two showings.

The location, however unlikely, was appropriate, said Rose Bethke, clad in blue hospital "scrubs" like other volunteer ushers.

"We have the same concerns here that they do elsewhere in the country," said Bethke, 58 .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=9903

[Faygo Kid]

1. That part of Michigan is as beautiful as it gets

I saw Michael Moore in Traverse City last September and got to chat with him - I first met him when Roger & Me came out. He could live anywhere, but he chose northwest lower Michigan. Smart move. I hope to retire there.