U-Press Telegram - Politics and popcorn

U-Press Telegram - FILM: "Of course, 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' Michael Moore's blistering attack on George W. Bush's administration and the Iraq War, was the 800-pound phenomenon. Having grossed more than $117 million, nearly six times the amount of any previous nonconcert documentary, 'F 9/11' boosted a trickle of left-leaning nonfiction films ('Control Room,' 'Super Size Me') into a small theatrical flood ('Orwell Rolls in His Grave,' 'The Corporation,' 'The Hunting of the President,' 'Outfoxed,' 'Uncovered,' 'Bush's Brain').

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"It's always been the conventional wisdom - Samuel Goldwyn said it - that if you have a message, call Western Union," notes Peter Biskind, whose most recent book, "Down and Dirty Pictures," examined the corporate politics of the independent film movement. "Hollywood shies away from it for the same reason that Disney backed away from 'Fahrenheit 9/11': They think it's going to fragment the audience. Especially for big-budget movies that have to make $100 million in the first weekend or whatever, if they're going to antagonize half the audience, it just doesn't make any dollars-and-cents sense to them."

"Movies are a great way to enable people to access political information in a way that is very palatable, for lack of a better word," notes Exhibitor Relations' Dergarabedian. "The proverbial spoonful of sugar, the movies provide that. Even though 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is a documentary, it's an entertainment as well.""


By Bob Strauss
Film Writer