Comments:  An interview roughly resembling the above featuring "Manchurian Candidate" stars Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, director Jonathan Demme and host Katie Couric did take place on "Dateline NBC" in July 2004, but a transcript of the segment reveals that the email's anonymous author freely embellished upon the facts.

Here are the major discrepancies:

1. Couric did not ask Denzel Washington if he had seen Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911," nor did Washington announce he has no intention of seeing the film. The actual exchange proceeded as follows:

Couric: "And how do you feel about the current political situation?"

Washington: "You know, I haven't seen ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ because I live in America. I grew up here. I'm an ex-slave. I'm a result of what this country can do. So it's nothing knew to me. I'm not surprised at all. It's just business as usual..."

At no point did Washington call Moore's film "nothing but propaganda and lies distorted to support a cynical democratic film director's views."

2. At no point was Washington "barraged with all kinds of anti-Bush, anti-Republican comments" by the others present. In fact, it was he who dominated the political discussion.

3. Couric never said, "You see, that's the problem I have with 'you people.'"

At no point did Denzel Washington respond by saying anything resembling, "Do you mean 'You People' as in me as a Christian, or do you mean 'You People' as in me as a REPUBLICAN?"

This part of the conversation actually began with Couric asking Washington how he felt about the oft-made statement that "Hollywood folks should stick to acting." He protested, saying, "I'm not a Hollywood folk. I don't know who they are."

Couric: "Okay, all right, well, let me rephrase the question. Are you one of those people that—"

Washington: "Ah, there you go. Am I one of those people? Hmmm, isn't that interesting?"

Couric: "Oh, stop, stop, stop."

Washington: "No, don't stop. I heard what you just said. "Am I one of those people?" No, I'm not."

Couric: "No, are you an actor who would rather not—"

Washington: "No, I'm not that either. I'm a human being. My job is acting."

Couric: "Okay, are you somebody who would rather not express his political views publicly? I mean how do you feel about that? Some people are more outspoken than others...

The interview ended with nonpartisan comments by "Manchurian Candidate director Jonathan Demme:

Demme: "It's fundamental to a democracy that you're not only permitted to speak out, you're supposed to have an opinion, you're supposed to speak out, you're supposed to engage in a discourse. And in this way, we arrive at ideas that can move us forward in a positive fashion. I wish everybody could get on TV and talk about how they feel. Maybe we'd learn something."

Sources and further reading:

'Manchurian Candidate' Cast Talks Politics
"Dateline NBC" transcript

Last updated: 08/21/04