"MILLION DOLLAR BIGOT"   "Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" is a masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true." --Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times "The movie is one of Eastwood's best, but it fools you." ---Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune MOVIE CRITICS LIKE EBERT AND WILMINGTON HAVE BEEN FOOLED, BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN FOOLED! Disability Activists and our allies say: "This movie is a corny, melodramatic assault on people with disabilities. It plays out killing as a romantic fantasy and gives emotional life to the 'better dead than disabled' mindset lurking in the heart of the typical (read: nondisabled) audience member." --Stephen Drake, Not Dead Yet "Dirty Harry can scowl all he wants - we ain't going away." --Douglas Lathrop, New Mobility The biggest problem with Million Dollar Baby is that some of the audience will be newly disabled people, their family members and friends, swept along in the critically acclaimed emotion that the kindest response to someone struggling with the life changes brought on by a severe injury is, after all, to kill them. --Diane Coleman, Not Dead Yet Questions and Answers Q: Why are disability activists here? A: We're here to let the public know that they shouldn't be swayed by the media hype and virtual nomination sweep that this movie has received. Hollywood's reaction to this movie is best described as one of knee-jerk, ignorant, and bigoted adoration. Q: But this is a boxing movie. What's that got to do with disability? A: We have nothing against boxing movies. But if you think you're going into see "Rocky in a sports bra," you've been misled by a very clever marketing campaign.  Q: So, what is your beef exactly? A: Critics and other Hollywood professionals have overwhelmingly named "Million Dollar Baby" one of the top movies of 2004, back when it was showing in only a few cities in the country, long before most of the public could see it and react. The critics' acclaim helped put the film onto the fast-track for the Oscars and other awards. Most of them have hidden the fact that the "surprise" ending that moves them all so much involves the killing of a severely disabled woman. Q: Critics aren't supposed to like what you like. What's the big deal? A: Critics are supposed to look for things that don't make sense in a movie, like stupid and improbable plot points that serve to move the movie along. Among the absolutely absurd things shown in this movie are: a woman in top-notch physical condition with high-quality care suffering such severe pressure sores within a few months of injury that her leg must be amputated; a character simply walking in through the front door of a fancy nursing home in the middle of the night without confronting a locked door or a guard; a method of killing portrayed as "peaceful" that would result in a really horrible death if done in real life; and a brazen lie about the key legal issue. In real life, all Swank's character had to do was ask and the staff would have turned off her ventilator and killed her (after giving her a sedative). It's called "the right to refuse treatment," so she didn't need Eastwood's "help" to die. The euthanasia was a total contrivance. A real spinal cord injured person needs help to live.  Q: Isn't that just artistic license? Do you have other issues? A: Yes, we do. Eastwood's biggest political activity over the past 7 years has been to lead efforts to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act. He started on that campaign after he was sued - successfully - for accessibility violations at a resort he owns. Most critics keep an eye on the political activities of entertainment professionals when the movie projects they choose are related to their political passions. Do the names Oliver Stone, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, or Mel Gibson ring a bell? Why not Eastwood? Q: So what exactly do you want? A: We want these critics and the public to take notice that a growing number of people with disabilities - who are just now getting to see this movie as it is released nationwide - are outraged by the factual inaccuracies in the movie and the praise it's receiving. People who actually know something about Eastwood and about disability see this movie for what it is. It's Eastwood's revenge, and we will not sit by silently while ignorant reviewers further Eastwood's career on our collective backs.