Reuters.com : 'Heart' Rates Low Now, But Director Optimistic

Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com: "LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - From the start, when he first began collecting footage in 1999, filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg envisioned making a documentary that would be 'an experience, timeless, an evergreen and not political. I wanted to make a film that is a visual look at the spirit of the country.'
But opening July 2 in 98 theaters nationwide, 'America's Heart and Soul,' his anecdotal documentary -- full of sweeping vistas and down-home Americans -- instead crashed into a buzz saw of controversy.
Suddenly, five years of work seemed to evaporate overnight as his film was drafted into the crossfire of the political wars. At the end of its first weekend, it had attracted just $134,939, and its per-screen average for its first three days stood at $1,376. "

By Gregg Kilday
Hollywood Reporter