Filmmaker Moore’s NBA Segment Shot Down

CBS Sports had this great idea for a halftime feature on Thursday night’s second game of the Portland-Detroit NBA Finals.

They were going to air a humorous segment featuring Michael Moore, creator of the documentary “Roger & Me,” and some unemployed Detroit auto workers trying to get front-row tickets for the playoff game with the help of Piston players--a spoof of the usual features that show big-name stars cheering on their favorites.

Moore’s “Roger & Me,” which has won several awards, detailed the losses of jobs in the auto industry in Flint, Mich., and Moore’s futile attempts to interview GM Chairman Roger Smith.

GM has charged Moore with a variety of inaccuracies in the film.

Moore said Thursday that he and halftime CBS Sports segment producer Eric Mann had been discussing the “lighthearted” piece for several days and that he was set to fly to Detroit on Tuesday to do the film during Game 1. But on Monday, “I got word that it was canceled.”

“GM is still smarting from the success of the film,” Moore said. “But the guys at CBS were very nice to me. I think they feel very bad about this.”

John Mueller, a spokesman for GM in Detroit, said the Thursday night game “was never discussed with General Motors. Programming decisions are the responsibility of the network.”