Utahn aims 'Fahrenhype' at Moore

OREM — While debate continues to rage about filmmaker Michael Moore's upcoming visit to Utah Valley State College, one Utahn was in Washington, D.C., doing something about it.

Jeff Hays isn't trying to ban Moore from the Orem campus — but he is trying to expose what he believes is misleading footage in Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which is an indictment of the Bush administration's handling of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and the war in Iraq.

His solution? An 80-minute locally produced film called "Fahrenhype 9/11," which questions Moore's accuracy by taking the movie apart piece by piece.

"Michael Moore is the one who has always said that he wants to debate the issues," Hays said. "Yet I kept feeling in the media (that) he was having the debate by himself."

Hays spent Thursday morning meeting at the National Press Club with former Clinton adviser Dick Morris, who narrates the film, which features other well-known politicians, political commentators and filmmakers explaining what they consider to be the "entire truth" about President George W. Bush and his declaration of war on terrorism.

But Hays, former president of a production company, didn't set out to get high-profile testimonials when he decided in August to make a film to counter Moore's movie. He just wanted to find out if everything the Oscar winner presented the public was indeed true.

"He likes to change time. He likes to re-order time. And that changes the meaning," said Alan Peterson, director of "Fahrenhype 9/11."

"He never lies, but he will give you the facts in a way that twists the truth. Just because the facts are out there doesn't mean it's the truth."

Among the things looked at in "Fahrenhype 9/11" is a bold headline shown in Moore's movie that proclaims Al Gore the actual winner of the 2000 election.

However, the new film says Moore grabbed the headline from a letter to the editor, blew it up, changed the date and rearranged it to make one person's viewpoint look like national news.

Moore's claims that Bush is in cahoots with the Saudi royal family isn't entirely disputed, but the new film points out that every U.S. president since Franklin Roosevelt has had relationships with the Saudis due to American interest in oil.

"So many people have been deceived by Michael Moore," said Dave Kopel, an author gaining national attention for his "59 Deceits."

Although Kopel hadn't seen the new film, in which he appears, he said that "a good documentary can help undo some of the damage that Moore has done to rational political dialogue in this country."

"The public deserves a chance to hear these rebuttals," added Roy resident Mike Cawley, who was also interviewed for the new film.