More (Actually, 'Moore') Media Bias on Charlton Heston's Death

There are more examples of biased reporting in connection with Charlton Heston's death beyond what Tim Graham discussed earlier this morning.

AP movie writer David Germain devoted the second paragraph of his story chronicling reactions to Heston's passing to, of all people, Michael Moore:

Nancy Reagan was heartbroken over Charlton Heston's death. President Bush hailed him as a "strong advocate for liberty," while John McCain called Heston a devotee for civil and constitutional rights.

Even Michael Moore, who mocked Heston in his gun-control documentary "Bowling for Columbine," posted the actor's picture on his Web site to mark his passing.

Not that much later (paragraphs 13-16 of a 40-plus paragraph report), Germain gave the far-left documentarian four additional paragraphs:

In 2002, near the end of his five years as president of the NRA, Heston disclosed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.

The disclosure was soon followed by an unflattering appearance in Moore's 2003 best documentary winner "Bowling for Columbine," which took America to task for its gun laws.

Moore used a clip of Heston holding aloft a rifle at an NRA rally and proclaiming "from my cold, dead hands." The director flustered the actor in an interview later in the film by pressing him on his gun-control stance. Heston eventually walked out on Moore.

Moore's Web site, http://www.michaelmoore.com, on Sunday featured a photo of Heston, the date of his birth and death and a note from the actor's family requesting that donations be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund in lieu of flowers.

There was no other reaction on the site from Moore about Heston's death. Moore did not immediately respond to e-mail and phone requests seeking comment.

The link in the last excerpted paragraph is in Germain's original. That's right, in an obituary about Charlton Heston, David Germain provided not just Michael Moore's web site URL, but also a direct link.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times's Susan King, in hep "look at Heston's life in film, TV and theater," paid appropriate tribute to him in her introduction, even citing the "incredible bravery when he announced in 2002 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease."

But King seemed determined to find something critical to say about some aspect of many, if not most, of Heston's film. Here are a few examples:

"The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952)
Though it's hard to believe, this cornball Cecil B. DeMille melodrama -- featuring a cast of thousands, including Jimmy Stewart, Betty Hutton, Dorothy Lamour, Cornel Wilde and Gloria Grahame -- took home the Oscar for best film.

"Ruby Gentry" (1952)
..... It's all pretty goofy but additively watchable .....

"The Ten Commandments" (1956)
..... Heston received mostly positive reviews for his performance, but Time magazine stated that he was "ludicrously miscast."

"Ben-Hur" (1959)
.....The religious drama is Heston's greatest screen triumph, but when the lead actor Oscar nominations were announced, apparently many in Hollywood were surprised because they didn't think his earnest, noble turn was on par with other nominees such as Jack Lemmon from "Some Like It Hot" and James Stewart in "Anatomy of a Murder."

"Major Dundee" (1965)
(Sam) Peckinpah alienated everyone on the set, including Heston, who at one point even nearly ran the director down with his horse.

"The Omega Man" (1971)
Heston's version (of "I Am Legend") certainly isn't very good, but it's over-the-top fun.

"Soylent Green" (1973)
One of those so-bad-it's-great films ..... loony but popular thriller ....

King describes Moore's ambush of Heston in "Bowling for Columbine" as "his last major film appearance" -- as if it was supposed to be some kind of dramatic role. I would suggest that Moore was the only one acting in that case.

Cross-posted in shorter form as the first item at this BizzyBlog.com post.