He has penned two best-selling books and stolen the show at the Academy Awards.

Now, Michael Moore has an invitation to unleash his unconventional political beliefs at Kansas University.

The Center for Community Outreach has invited Moore to be a keynote speaker during Into the Streets Week, a springtime university event that promotes a grass-roots approach to politics.

“I’m hopeful that we can get something done,” said Michael D’Andrea, vice president of the Greater Talent Network Inc., which represents Moore.

Amanda Flott, an Omaha, Neb., senior and organizer of Into the Streets Week, said Moore’s approach to controversial issues made him the ideal candidate. Moore won an Oscar for Best Documentary in March for his film “Bowling for Columbine,” and he verbally assaulted President Bush in his acceptance speech. Recently, Moore has published “Stupid White Men” and “Dude, Where’s My Country,” both of which attack Bush’s policies.

“We decided to choose Michael because he embodies the things that we’re trying to achieve through Into the Streets Week,” Flott said. “He’s a person who went out into a community and riled them up and was nationally recognized for ‘Bowling for Columbine.'”

Money matters

While the invitation already has been extended, it’s not yet a done deal. Negotiations with Moore are ongoing, D’Andrea said, and nothing would be final for at least one week.

Moore’s asking price for his visit — a reported $30,000 — is already raising eyebrows.

¢ 6News video: Michael Moore may be keynote speaker

“Pricewise, he costs three times more than the rest of our candidates,” said Flott, who helped choose Moore to speak over candidates such as Newark, N.J., Councilman Cory Booker, and Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream fame.

To help pay for the Moore visit, Flott approached the KU Student Senate. According to student body president Andy Knopp, Student Senate pledged $15,000 for the visit, $5,000 of which was out of the Senate’s reserve fund.

Knopp defended the Senate’s spending, saying that nationally known figures didn’t come cheaply.

“A few years ago, we paid a ton of money for Danny Glover to speak during Black History Week,” Knopp said. “We’ve also had Ralph Nader come to town, who cost much more than (Moore).”

Flott is asking other campus organizations for the remainder of the appearance fee, and she said that the fund-raising efforts had been successful.

Politically charged

Money isn’t the only controversy surrounding Moore’s potential visit. KU’s College Republicans are upset with the selection of the liberal Moore, saying that conservative speakers rarely are invited to speak in Lawrence.

“It doesn’t sit well with any of us,” said Sam Arif, College Republican public relations chairman and Wichita senior. “I fully believe that we’re ignoring half the truth. It’s important to have both sides represented, especially at a public university. The fact of the matter is that we just don’t get the same amount of perks.”

Flott said Moore would be asked to stick to the topic of grass-roots politics during his speech, and his remarks wouldn’t be simply criticism of Bush.

“We’re going to steer clear of any type of political conversation,” Flott said. “Hopefully he’ll talk more about the process that he went through during his research (for “Bowling for Columbine”) as opposed to what’s going on politically right now.”

Controversy aside, the possibility of a Moore visit is again putting Into the Streets Week in the KU spotlight. Organizers say that in recent years the event did not attract much attention.

“Last year, Into the Streets Week kind of struggled,” said Community Outreach Center’s Jill Evans, a Colby senior. “We wanted to make it bigger, and we thought this was a great way to do that.”