Oregon state troopers appear in Moore movie

FLORENCE, Ore. – Two Oregon State Police troopers have roles in this summer’s most talked about movie – and they didn’t even audition.

Troopers Andy Kenyon and Josh Brooks appear in “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Michael Moore’s documentary about President Bush and the war on terrorism.

Kenyon said he gave an interview to a production company in February and had no idea it was a Moore project. He said the company told him it was for a “documentary on homeland security.”

Kenyon said he would have done the interview even if Moore had asked him.

In the movie, the troopers explain how cutbacks have hurt the agency’s coverage of the coast: Brooks is shown in uniform with the ocean behind him, explaining that two troopers aren’t enough for 50 miles of coastline; Kenyon does paperwork while off duty, illustrating that police no longer have time for routine work while on the job.

Kenyon, 33, of Florence, said he couldn’t believe it when the production company told him – two days prior to the opening – that he was in a Moore film. His concern was how the state police are portrayed, and he was impressed with the result.

“Whether you’re against Bush or for Bush, it’s not a bad idea to go and see the movie,” Kenyon said.

The movie has grossed roughly $40 million since its release one week ago, a record amount for a documentary.

The troopers’ roles surprised many in the department, said Lt. Dale Rutledge.

He said if supervisors had known more about the context for the troopers’ interviews, they “would have wanted some oversight over what was going to happen. We try to be apolitical.”

Victoria Lessin, a supervising producer with the company hired to do the interviews, would not say whether she knew Moore planned to use the troopers’ interviews in his movie.

“We asked for permission to do an on-camera interview of troopers Kenyon and Brooks for a documentary looking at homeland security,” Lessin said in an e-mailed statement to the Eugene Register-Guard. “They each signed personal releases giving us permission to use their interviews in the motion picture.”