Yesterday we told you about filmmaker Michael Moore's CNN appearance to discuss his film SICKO, in which he ended up blasting Wolf Blitzer on his previous film, Farenheit 911, and took particular umbrage with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who's report on the facts Moore presented in SICKO ended with an accusation that Moore "fudged the facts." Larry King, sensing a ratings bonanza (because seeing Moore all riled up is nothing if not entertaining), got Moore to come on Larry King Live to debate Gupta about the facts on the show.

The result, which you can see in three parts on YouTube, is just about as entertaining as the CNN segment; watching the rough-around-the edges Moore and slick-and-polished Gupta - -both clearly two very intelligent guys -- thrust and parry as they toss around world healthcare stats, is almost as good as seeing the film itself. In the first of the segments, you can see Moore waving around an email his staff sent to Gupta's senior producer the day before Gupta's report originally aired on June 29 giving them facts and figures that weren't used in Gupta's segment, and then Gupta (who must practice staying calm under pressure, because he gives the impression he never breaks a sweat) calmly replying that his staff wasn't going to just use stats Moore provided them -- that, like Moore, they used stats from a variety of sources in order to give viewers the most accurate information.

Oh, boy. This is the best thing I've woken up to in a long time. For the first time in three years, Michael Moore appeared on CNN, ostensibly to talk about his film SICKO. Unfortunately for Blitzer, someone at CNN decided to precede Blitzer's interview with a little piece titled "SICKO Reality Check" by Dr. Sanjay Gupta (who is, I expect, now at the top of Moore's "People I Hate" list), which didn't exactly get things off on a good note. After Gupta's "analysis" of Moore's facts, somebody took the leash off Moore, who was on standby -- and then, as they say, the deluge.

Poor Blitzer, he never stood a chance.

Movie marketing's a bit of a chess game for a lower-budget indie -- you want to always make tactical choices between advertising (which you pay for) and publicity (which you don't). For a great demonstration of this phenomenon, check out this press release from Newmarket films who picked up shock mock doc Death of a President at Toronto about how they are shocked, shocked that NPR and CNN won't run ads for the film.

Of course, this is the best of both worlds, as the Movie City News point out in their pithy headline -- now Newmarket doesn't have to pay money it probably doesn't have to run ads it can't afford ... and they'll benefit from some nice, juicy controversy. I think my favorite weasel-words in the press release come courtesy of Newmarket co-founder Chris Ball: "As everyone who has actually seen the movie agrees, Death of a President is the opposite of a call for violence – it's a powerfully cautionary tale about the pernicious effects of violence. ..." Take this the right way, Mr. Ball, but I don't think that a cautionary subtext about the pernicious effects of violence is what people go see DOAP for, anymore than they're watching porn for the safe sex message when the condoms come out. And also, let's not forget there's a fine distinction between censorship (which, to me, has always meant the government actively banning something) and the legitimate decision of a business to not accept an advertisement. Are NPR and CNN within their rights, in your eyes ... and will you go see Death of a President when it opens?

(Click here for Cinematical's Toronto Film Festival review of Death of a President.)

With the passing of Paul Clinton from his mortal coil, it's time to remember CNN's other film critic. "Wait," you may ask, "CNN has another film critic?" Yes indeedy - at least up until 2003, that is. Whereas Paul Clinton's editor claimed he constantly had to slice the world "perfect" out of Clinton's reviews, I can only imagine how many synonyms for the word "suck" the editor had to remove from the reviews of Paul Tatara. Tatara practically served as Clinton's id at CNN for several years; the two of them even posted dueling best/worst lists at year's end. While Clinton was known for being diplomatic in the face of schlock, Tatara was unsparing in his distaste for most of what Hollywood had to offer.

CNN film critic Paul Clinton died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in  Los Angeles. According to his family, Clinton, who was 53, died of natural causes, although he had suffered from respiratory ailments over the past several years. CNN's entertainment editor Todd Leopold has a moving tribute to Clinton; like any good website, it has abundant links to many of Clinton's reviews.