Film and Election Politics Cross in 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

Film and Election Politics Cross in 'Fahrenheit 9/11': "
By Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writer

There are movie campaigns and there are presidential campaigns, and usually you can tell the difference. One features a red carpet, the other a war room.

But 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' Michael Moore's scathing new documentary about President Bush, has both.

Moore also said he planned to use the film to register thousands of voters, and will stage screenings to benefit antiwar groups set up by families of U.S. troops in Iraq and victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Feeling motivated, to the extent you make that extra effort to vote on your way home from work — that matters," said Thomas Hollihan, a communications professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication.

That potential is not lost on Moore, who plans to offer ticket discounts and prizes to newly registered voters who see the film or visit his Web site. "If it can encourage the people who belong to the largest political party in America, the non-voter party, to leave that party behind and do the very minimum of what every citizen should do on Nov. 2, then I hope that will be seen as a significant contribution to this country," he said.