Local kindling keeps "Fahrenheit 9/11" burning - The Daily Vidette - E-Zone

Local kindling keeps "Fahrenheit 9/11" burning"Months after GKC Theaters - one of the nation's largest cinema chains - refused to screen Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" at any of its Illinois venues, the polemic documentary continues to turn up the heat between Bloomington-Normal's media elite.

"GKC believes in Michael Moore's freedom to make his movie," GKC Theaters president Beth Kerasotes, who oversees the chain's 250-plus venues, explained in a statement issued to the press.

"We trust that our customers will recognize and respect our own freedom of choice not to play it," Kerasotes' statement continued. "During a time of conflict, our troops need and deserve our undivided support."

Because the Castle Theater - Bloomington's independently owned, single-screen art house cinema - was contractually obligated to play "The Terminal" on "Fahrenheit 9/11's"debut weekend, Moore's movie eventually opened at the Normal Theater.

The venue shift was unprecedented - the Normal Theater is town-owned and shows classic films and second-run art movies. Before "Fahrenheit 9/11," the Normal Theater hadn't shown a first-run film since its renovation and reopening in 1993.

Loved and hated, Moore's film challenges the legitimacy of George W. Bush's election to the presidency and the administration's War on Terror.

Locals went to see "Fahrenheit 9/11" in droves. The Normal Theater had to triple the number of screenings in order to meet the movie-going demand.

One Normal Theater patron discovered a split-second edit connecting the highest-grossing documentary of all-time to Bloomington-Normal's biggest print media outlet.

In the blink of an eye, Moore's movie cuts to a shot of a newspaper article dated Dec. 19, 2001.

The headline states "Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election." The dateline attributes the article to The Pantagraph newspaper.

The moviegoer who saw the attribution contacted Pantagraph columnist Bill Flick. Flick called The Normal Theater and asked if they would slow down the movie footage and take a look at the questionable clip."


By Anthony Zoubek
The Daily Vidette - E-Zone