Los Angeles, Jan. 29 (Reuters): Director Steven Spielberg, whose film Munich on the killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics has provoked controversy, says moviemakers have become much more politically vocal since the re-election of President George W. Bush.

In a roundtable discussion with editors of Newsweek along with other nominees for the Directors Guild award, Spielberg said: “Maybe I shouldn’t get into this ... I just feel that filmmakers are much more proactive since the second Bush administration.

“I think that everybody is trying to declare their independence and state their case for the things that we believe in. No one is really representing us, so we’re now representing our own feelings, and we’re trying to strike back.”