Errol Morris is deeply questioning the ideology and career of Steve Bannon, and at the same time making the important point that Bannon cannot be ignored, he shared on "Salon Talks." The prolific documentarian and Academy Award-winning film director'...
Errol Morris is deeply questioning the ideology and career of Steve Bannon, and at the same time making the important point that Bannon cannot be ignored, he shared on "Salon Talks."
The prolific documentarian and Academy Award-winning film director's latest film, "American Dharma," which is making it's U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival this week, Morris analyzes everything about Bannon, from his time at Breitbart, to advising Trump, to his favorite scenes in classic movies.
According to Morris, Bannon is an intriguing subject because it's hard to distinguish if Bannon is a true believer or an opportunist.
"One central question addressed in the film is how do you call yourself an economic populist and promote the tax bill, which is essentially giving money to the rich? How do you do that? How do you justify that?" Morris said.
In the making of the film, Moris spent 16 hours with Bannon, interviewing and even watching and talking about classic movies with Bannon to understand the roots of his ideology.
Despite criticism for giving Trump's former adviser a platform, Morris insists the exercise of sitting down with him is a fruitful one. "It goes to an issue of politics. What do you do when you're confronted by something like this? Do you take the ostrich option, the hole in the sand," Morris told SalonTV. Facing danger, square on, is usually the best course of action, or as Morris put it, "you go after it."
Watch the full interview above to hear more about the making of the film and a story from Morris about his one-time interview with Trump on King Kong.