A look inside Hollywood and the movies incorporating Outtakes, Cinefile and Production Chart. : LOOK WHO WE FOUND : Do Not--<i> Repeat</i> --Do Not Try to Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around Michael Moore

Michael Moore, the journalist-turned-filmmaker whose $160,000 “Roger & Me” took in $20 million worldwide, has added yet another line of work to his resume. In addition to his new film project--a fictitious look at President Bush’s “new world order”--Moore has become a philanthropist.

With his profits from “Roger & Me,” a satirical look at the impact of General Motors plant shutdowns on his hometown of Flint, Mich., Moore has set up a foundation to fund independent filmmakers and political groups such as Earth First and the Nicaragua Network. The foundation divides up the $100,000 annual interest on $1 million, or half of his “Roger & Me” profits.

Dubbed “Idiot Grants,” in contrast to the prestigious MacArthur “genius” grants, the money is for projects that, in Moore’s opinion, expose the “idiocy” of our times. The first Moore-backed film to appear: “Take Over,” a documentary about the homeless, that will have its Los Angeles premiere at the AFI International Film Festival on Tuesday. Bruce Springsteen also donated $20,000 to the filmmakers.

“I’m all for giving awards to a bunch of eggheads who attend Yale and Princeton and are rewarded for sitting in labs all their life,” Moore says. “Occasionally, there’s even an Errol Morris (“The Thin Blue Line”) or a John Sayles (“Matewan”) singled out. But so many others are overlooked. I’ve backed a film about neo-Nazis and the Klan in the Midwest, another about mothers and children with AIDS. What I liked about ‘Take Over’ is that it isn’t just another ‘victim’ film done by liberals on PBS or the nightly news--shots of poor people with shopping carts. It’s a film showing organized action by the homeless last May, portraying them as aggressive participants in change.”

As for his own film career, Moore just felt the need to put a spin on the world after the Persian Gulf War. The movie is being developed with Warner Bros. having the deal for a first look. “Watching the (Persian Gulf) war, I felt the need to do something,” Moore explains. “Something other than watching CNN 18 hours a day and getting depressed. This country is badly in need of political comedy. We need an approach other than tying a yellow ribbon around everything.”