NY Times: Michael Moore??s Election-Year Freebie
Published: September 22, 2008
Michael Moore, the political provocateur behind the films ??Fahrenheit 9/11? and ??Sicko,? is releasing a new film Tuesday. But you will not be able to find ??Slacker Uprising? at any theater.
Instead he is placing the film on the Internet for free viewing, at SlackerUprising.com. Mr. Moore said the unorthodox rollout is a gift to his fans and a rallying cry for the coming election.
??At times there??s nothing wrong with preaching to the choir,? he said in a telephone interview from his office in Traverse City, Mich. Liberals have been ??pretty beaten down over the last 28 years.?
??The choir, especially on our side of the political fence, is often fairly dejected,? he observed, ??and could use a good song every now and then.?
The song in this analogy is a 100-minute look at Mr. Moore??s tour of college campuses during the fall of 2004. Cameras followed him to 62 cities as he urged young people to vote for John Kerry. The resulting footage sat on the shelf for a few years before Mr. Moore spliced together a version of the film, then titled ??Captain Mike Across America,? and showed it at the Toronto International Film Festival a year ago.
After the festival screening Mr. Moore returned to the editing room to give the film ??more heft and substance,? he said. It includes exchanges with Mr. Moore??s detractors and their attempts to interrupt his tour, raising free-speech issues and creating some comedic moments. Some critics (including those for The Michigan Daily, at the University of Michigan, and Inside Toronto) have said the film amounts to little more than a ??highlight reel? of Mr. Moore??s trip, suggesting that its theatrical prospects were dim. Mr. Moore disputes that, saying that his agent, Ari Emanuel, believed the film could net $20 million to $40 million. (??Sicko? brought in $24.5 million domestically.)
??I prohibited him from contacting any studios to ask them whether they were interested,? Mr. Moore said. ??I just said straight up, ??I want to give this away for free.?? He thought I should have my head examined.?
The Weinstein Company owned the distribution rights to the project, so Mr. Moore bought back the North American rights for an undisclosed amount. ??The irony is that I believe people should see movies in theaters,? Mr. Moore said, praising what he called the communal experience. ??You get so much more out of it, emotionally, cathartically.?
Perhaps for that reason Mr. Moore said he hoped fans would set up screenings and use the film to raise money for candidates. Visitors to the Web site will be able to stream and download it free, thanks to Mr. Moore??s partnership with Blip.tv, a company distributing online videos; additionally a $10 DVD will be distributed, and free copies can be requested for libraries.
Robert Greenwald ?? another member of the small fraternity of advocate filmmakers, whose production company specializes in tying video projects to off-line organizing ?? said a supporter in Alaska was already planning a screening. The film is ??quite an adrenaline boost, even though it??s got a sad ending,? he said.
The ending, of course, is the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. The film notes that voters under the age of 30 were the only demographic that Mr. Kerry won outright. ??Unfortunately,? reads a graphic at the end of the film, ??their parents voted for Bush.?
Mr. Moore suggested that the 2004 election results were a prelude to the Obama movement, which was ??ignited by young people.?
??The road to getting where we want to be has to be filled with a certain amount of failure,? he said, drawing a parallel to the United Auto Workers?? labor movement 70 years ago.
Mr. Moore remains coy about the subject of his next movie, although he said filming was well under way. He has denied rumors that it will be a sequel to ??Fahrenheit 9/11,? but he has not quashed reports that his next film will explore what he views as American imperialism. The recent turmoil of the financial markets may be giving him even more material.
??Some weeks, like this past week, I wonder if we??re going to have to credit others with the screenplay,? he said.
New York Times - Michael Moore??s Election-Year Freebie
-------------------------
getting more information (whether u agree with that information or not) should not hurt any1, especially when its free.
I'm no democrat and no crazy Moore fan, but i find his version of story a useful addition to the rest of the picture. no matter how distorted his facts or truth maybe-if some think that way, it still wont "hurt" hearing them, unless ofcourse there is something wrong with u and getting alternative view or perhaps freedom of speech, dont take no offense if u r not of this kind and dont mention this sentence in your replies if u dont have a problem with true freedom of speech-I thank your sincerity and respectfulness whichever group u belong to.
and i watched the whole thing: its nowhere near his Fahrenheit 9/11 in any way... it's a collection of some rallies and speeches and there are some funny things in it. there were some points in this movie i found useless and there were points in this movie that i found useful. to the least the part near the end with Roseanne Barr was kinda amusing.
here is the relevant thread on OUR very own forum:
Slacker Uprising
point of the movie:Get off ur butt and go vote, thats my understanding. dont sit around and bitch cuz shit aint gonna get fixed by itself.
i dont find this any more waste of time that would be watching those upcoming useless phony debates... those who have not decided about who they wanna vote for really have not done their part, since this thing has been on agenda since 2007.
Over n Out:smokin:
NY Times: Michael Moore??s Election-Year Freebie
I'm just not a huge michael moore fan. Especially after seeing what a bigger douche bag he is that I originally anticipated in 2000/2004.
In 2000 he and a number of other Celebrities backed green party candidate Ralph Nader. I have my issues with Nader, some good.. some bad.. some I blame the mentality of modern americans on him; however I wouldn't wish this on him.
He backed Nader in 2000, hyped him up and was pushing him hardcore onto the public and then on several shows/interviews he contradicts everything he said about Nader and starts making jokes about the guy. I mean how the hell can you be so gung ho about a guy and then just leave him because he didn't win the election. If you believe in someone then you just believe in someone. you don't necessarily have to support them for president in the next election but you have to acknowledge at least that you did support them and for probably reasons that you believe in.
Coupled with his HUGELY biased documentaries... I cannot stand this guy. He makes money off propaganda and making people fear the government. There is a difference between making a factual documentary that is informative and making a documentary with some fact, mostly speculation, and lots of tactics used in the film to try to instill paranoia into it's viewer.
I'll probably watch this documentary just to discuss it and because it's free, but I have no respect for this man what so ever.
NY Times: Michael Moore??s Election-Year Freebie
Michael Moore's a good man. Done a pretty good job of exercising his freedom of speech. I don't agree with him a lot of times but I like seeing a "real person" promote his viewpoints. It gets tiring listening to all these talking heads that were born with a silver spoon up there ass talking about shit they really know nothing about but there getting paid big bucks to say it.
Perversi difficile corriguntur,
et stultorum infinitus est numerus.
NY Times: Michael Moore??s Election-Year Freebie
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerweed420
Done a pretty good job of exercising his freedom of speech. I don't agree with him a lot of times but I like seeing a "real person" promote his viewpoints.
Perversi difficile corriguntur,
et stultorum infinitus est numerus.
I will have to agree with the first part of your post. what does the 2nd part mean?
