The Toronto Star.com - 9/11 film places real issues in spotlight

TheStar.com - 9/11 film places real issues in spotlight: "Michael Moore has been called a slimeball and an America-hater.
And earlier this month, with his anti-Bush documentary breaking box office records, a CNN anchorwoman implied that Moore is nothing but an egomaniac, dismissively noting that he's 'finally getting what he's wanted all along - attention.' (An odd charge coming from someone whose career is built around getting TV face time.)
But the lowest blow in the effort to discredit Michael Moore may be the attempt to compare his intriguing new film, Fahrenheit 9/11, to Mel Gibson's turgid, melodramatic The Passion of the Christ.
'Gibson and Moore - two sides of the same coin? Absolutely,' wrote Andrew Sullivan in a commentary in Time magazine. 'Both movies are ... deeply corrosive of the possibility of real debate and reason in our culture.'
Now, one can criticize Michael Moore's methods or challenge his facts, but it's just downright silly to accuse him of corroding the possibility of real debate.
Hell, the media shut down real debate long ago.

Gibson's film could be said to answer the question: What does a man look like after being beaten to a pulp for hours on end?

Moore's film, on the other hand, poses the more pressing question: What might the world look like after four more years of George Bush?"


LINDA MCQUAIG
The Toronto Star

Michael Moore : War Room: Fahrenheit 911 Facts -- Notes + Sources

Michael Moore.com : War Room: Fahrenheit 911 Facts -- Notes + Sources: "Factual Back-Up For Fahrenheit 9/11: Section One FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Fox was the first network to call Florida for Bush. Before that, some other networks had called Florida for Gore, and they changed after Fox called it for Bush.
With information provided from the Voter News Service, NBC was the first network to project Gore the winner in Florida at 7:48 pm. At 7:50 pm ,CNN and CBS project Gore the winner in Florida as well. By 8:02 pm , all five networks and the Associated Press had called Gore the winner in Florida. Even the VNS called Gore the winner at 7:52 pm.At 2:16 am, Fox calls Floridafor Bush, NBC follows at 2:16 am. ABC is the last network to call the Florida for Bush, at 2:20 am, while AP and VNS never call Florida for Bush. CNN"

More of Fahrenheit 911 Facts -- Notes + Sources

Factual Back-Up For Fahrenheit 9/11: Section One
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Two
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Three
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Four
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Five
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Six


Mike's Fahrenheit 911 Facts -- Notes + Sources Archive

Exclusive: The Rose Theatre, Port Townsend WA Interview

The Rose Theatre Movie Schedule On Thursday, I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 at the Rose Theatre in downtown Port Townsend, WA. Yesterday, I email Rose management a list of questions regarding the film. Today, the list of questions were answered:

F911 Blog: Last week, when I checked your web site Fahrenheit 9/11 was scheduled to open on July 9th. When
did it open and why did it open early?

Rose: Most films open in a limited number of theatres for their first week, then expand to additional screens as the weeks go by. We were originally told by our distributor that the we were not going to be able to play Fahrenheit 9/11 until the 9th or the 16th of July. However, they chose to open the movie for much wider release during the second week due to it's record attendance after it's opening on June 25th.


F911 Blog: On the poster in the window, there is a "Held Over"
banner. How long will it continue to play?

Rose: The commitment to the distributor is for four weeks at the minimum. If it continues to be busy, we will hold it longer.

F911 Blog: Yesterday was my first time at the Rose. Does
somebody usually give a little talk to the audience before each movie?

Rose: Yes, we always give an introduction to every movie we play, with information garnered from the movie's press kit, along with reviews and articles from various news and entertainment sources.

F911 Blog: How has the reaction been from the community to
Fahrenheit 9/11?

Rose: Our attendance has been extremely high, there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm in anticipation of the movie during our introductions and every audience has applauded once the credits begin to roll. None of our employees or managers have been approached after the film by anyone who was upset or angry with its content. We have received a few emails from community members voicing their disapproval of the film and our decision to screen it, but we have received an equal number of emails from people asking us to show it and thanking us for playing it.

F911 Blog: Has the Leader or Vigilance written a story or review about Fahrenheit 9/11?

Rose: As far as I know, there have not been any articles in either paper.

F911 Blog: Have there been any local groups registering voters
or passing out infomation to movergoers?

Rose: The Rose Theatre shareholders adopted a policy when it opened in 1992 of not endorsing a political candidate or opinion. In keeping with this policy, we have not allowed anyone to have a booth or table in front of the Rose but have welcomed folks to do so off-site, such as by the Haller Fountain.


The Rose Theatre screen.

The Globe and Mail: Pitching high and tight to Michael Moore

The Globe and Mail: "But spending time around Moore can be infectious. All that talk about my lazy American colleagues shirking their responsibility to put the tough questions to Bush made me feel guilty by association. I wanted to prove I couldn't be pushed around like them. So I put a question to Moore, referencing David Denby's New Yorker review of Fahrenheit 9/11, asking something that had bothered me when I saw it.
I appreciated the j'accuse nature of the film, but I wanted to know why it didn't address the dangers of armed Islamic fundamentalism, obsessive anti-Westernism, suicide terrorists, and what Moore thinks would be the proper approach for the U.S. government to legitimately conduct itself in a fight against terrorism. After all, if you're going to criticize measures like the Patriot Act, wouldn't you want to offer an alternative?
Moore took a moment to compose his answer. 'Night after night, we are hammered on our television networks and our cable news channels about the Islamic fundamentalists. We've seen it all, we've heard it all,' he began, speaking unusually slowly and deliberately. 'My job is to say: Maybe there's something else going on, maybe there's another piece of information you should have before making up your mind. Maybe you should see an opposing viewpoint once in a while in this country. The corporate media in this country, they've got control of it 24/7, 365 days of the year. My film is our humble plea: Can we have just two hours for our side?
'The second part of your question is: How do you fight a war against religious fundamentalists? Well, that's what we're doing in this country, and I hope we're successful on November 2.'
It was a funny quip, and many of the journalists laughed and applauded Moore's response. But the joke disappointed me, because he was using it to avoid answering the question. I wanted to push him on the issue, and on his avoidance of the issue. But a press assistant had taken away my microphone and handed it to another journalist, who threw Moore another softball."


By SIMON HOUPT
The Globe and Mail

The New York Times > 'FAHRENHEIT 9/11' Special Section

The New York Times: "MOVIE REVIEW | 'FAHRENHEIT 9/11'
Unruly Scorn Leaves Room for Restraint, but Not a Lot By A. O. SCOTT While Michael Moore's documentary about the Bush administration has been likened to an op-ed column, it might more accurately be said to resemble an editorial cartoon. (June 23, 2004)
Go to Movie Details | Trailers | Showtimes | Write a Review

FILMOGRAPHY
� Michael Moore

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FORUM SNAPSHOT
A Collection of Reader Views
Excerpts from Readers' Reviews and the Hollywood & Movie News Forum about 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'

READERS' OPINIONS
What role could a documentary like 'Fahrenheit 9/11' play in the presidential election?
� Forum: Discuss This Movie

EDITORIALS/OP-ED
All Hail Moore
By DAVID BROOKS
A beacon in the form of Michael Moore has appeared on the mountaintop, and tens of thousands have joined in the adulation. (June 26, 2004)

Disney's Craven Behavior
It is hard to say which of Disney's possible reasons for blocking distribution of the documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is the more depressing. (May 6, 2004) "

The New York Times > A. O. SCOTT >A New Market for Bravehearts?

The New York Times > Movies > A New Market for Bravehearts?: "S of this writing, 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' having won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, having landed its director on the covers of both Time and Entertainment Weekly, having dominated talk radio, the op-ed columns and the cable blusterfests for the last month, has just concluded its second weekend in theaters, where it has made more than $60 million so far. By the time you read this, that number will have grown, as the movie, which became the top-grossing documentary ever by the end of its first day of national release, ascends toward the $100 million mark.

But it is also proper, and healthy, for audiences to overrule our anxious, qualified judgments, and to respond to movies like these with more heat and more passion. The basic critical function of consumer advice, in any case, is overridden when movies become part of a larger debate, which may also be hard for critics to deal with, since it threatens our authority.

Which is, all in all, a very good thing. Movies are a democratic art form, and democracy, at its most vigorous, can ride roughshod over polite opinion, responsible judgment and cool appraisal. When that happens, we should relish our discomfort, and gratefully acknowledge that, sometimes, hotter heads prevail."


By A. O. SCOTT
The New York Times

Page Resources

Special Section: A collection of articles and commentary about Michael Moore's documentary.

Moore is never enough - Film - www.theage.com.au

Moore is never enough - Film - www.theage.com.au: "He claims to be a slob at heart but right now Michael Moore may just be the hardest-working man in showbusiness. He spoke with Stephanie Bunbury about why he just can't stop - until George W. Bush is gone, at any rate.
Michael Moore is trying to tell us, between long melancholic pauses punctuated with manic jabs at his yoghurt, that he's the world's laziest man. 'My nature,' he says in the familiar mid-western drawl we usually hear slinging off at George Bush, 'is to sit in a chair and watch four hours of TV a day, as much sports as I can and not think about anything.'
Weirdly, though, all this stuff has got between him and the Jason recliner. By his own calculation, he hasn't had a minute's time out in over two years. It started with Bowling for Columbine, his film about America's gun culture that went on to win the Oscar. Back home, he was promoting his book Stupid White Men, four million copies of which are now circulating; he followed it up with Dude, Where's My Country?, an anti-Bush tract that immediately topped the lists everywhere"

It is one thing to aim, as Moore frequently says he does, to make a documentary so entertaining that people will go to see it at the multiplex. At this, indeed, he is the undoubted maestro: audience surveys in the US showed that 70 per cent of the people who saw Bowling for Columbine had never seen a documentary in the cinema before, and last week, Fahrenheit 9/11 became the first doco ever to top the US box office. But there is no excuse for intruding on an ordinary person's grief in the style of tabloid TV, just because that sort of thing is lowestcommon- denominator popular.



Stephanie Bunbury
The Age

The New York Times > Frank Rich: Spidey Crushes 'Fahrenheit' in 2004

The New York Times > Frank Rich: Spidey Crushes 'Fahrenheit' in 2004: "HE Michael Moore explosion is now officially unbearable. It's not just that you can't pick up a Time Warner magazine without seeing his mug on the cover. Or turn on a TV news show without hearing another tedious debate about the accuracy of 'Fahrenheit 9/11' - conducted by the same press corps that never challenged the Bush administration's souped-up case for invading Iraq. What's most ridiculous is the central question driving the whole show: might a hit documentary swing the November election?
Both political camps seem to be convincing themselves that the answer is yes. Either that, or they are overstating the movie's power to overcompensate for their worst fears.

"It has the potential of actually affecting the election, and if it does, it will change the world," said Rob Reiner of "Fahrenheit 9/11," echoing Eli Pariser of MoveOn, who said his members regarded the film as "the `Star Wars' " of its genre."


Frank Rich
New York Times

Read Full Article - International Herald Tribune

BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Fahrenheit 9/11: Your reaction

BBC NEWS | Your reaction: "There is no way, no matter what you believe politically, to come out of this film and not want to be involved in the process. Whether you agree or disagree, this film should be a clarion call for participatory democracy. Wrest control away from the moneyed elites and put your money where your mouth is. I am glad that Moore has the guts to go up against both parties and expose the rampant stupidity and hypocrisy in today's government. Love it or hate it, all I ask is that you at least SEE IT before you make up your mind.
Ziad Daher, Khobar, Saudi Arabia

I have never really been a political person, never voted, never really concerned myself with all that...after the last election, the clear deceptive (to the American people and the world) goals of the Bush presidency, and this film, I am now going to vote and will be more concerned about who is leading this country.
Troy, Hatlfield, Pennsylvania"

BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Fahrenheit 9/11: Your reaction

BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Fahrenheit 9/11: Your reaction: "Controversial director Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 has opened in the UK.
The documentary links President George W Bush with powerful families in Saudi Arabia, including that of Osama Bin Laden, and attacks his actions before and after 11 September.
Fahrenheit 9/11 became the first documentary to top the United States box office charts and is said to have taken almost $22million during the first three days of its release last month.
The film also won the prestigious Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Have you seen Fahrenheit 9/11? Send us your comments. "

Having been panned by the US and UK media it had to be worth a look, and it was. Far more believable than the obvious nonsense churned out by the US and UK media, but as to whether it's all true, who knows?
Steve, UK

I wanted to see what the fuss was about and came out shocked. If the things Moore says are true then I cannot see how Americans can re-elect Bush.
James Moorhouse, UK

Unfair to 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (washingtonpost.com -letters to the editor)

Unfair to 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (washingtonpost.com): "Richard Cohen's July 1 column, 'Baloney, Moore or Less,' is on target in describing the unabashed biases that characterize Michael Moore's film 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' I agree that as effective journalism, the movie is unlikely to change many minds and has much of its impact muted by the fact that it will be preaching to the choir. But I found the film's entertainment value to be somewhat higher than Cohen allows. The audaciousness of his soliciting members of Congress to enlist their family members follows in the best tradition of theater of the absurd. "

Petetownshend.com - Pete's Diary - Fahrenheit Moore or Less

Petetownshend.com - Pete's Diary - 7 Jul 2004: "Michael Moore has been making some claims - mentioning me by name - which I believe distort the truth.
He says - among other things - that I refused to allow him to use my song WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN in his latest film, because I support the war, and that at the last minute I recanted, but he turned me down. I have never hidden the fact that at the beginning of the war in Iraq I was a supporter. But now, like millions of others, I am less sure we did the right thing.
When first approached I knew nothing about the content of his film FAHRENHEIT 911. My publisher informed me they had already refused the use of my song in principle because MIRAMAX the producers offered well below what the song normally commands for use in a movie. They asked me if I wanted to ask for more money, I told them no.
Nevertheless, as a result of my refusal to consider the use, Harvey Weinstein - a good friend of mine, and my manager Bill Curbishley - interceded personally, explained in more detail to Bill what the movie was about, and offered to raise the bid very substantially indeed. This brought the issue directly to me for the first time. Bill emailed me and told me how keen Harvey and Michael Moore were to use my song. "

IOL: Townshend fuming over Fahrenheit row

IOL: Townshend fuming over Fahrenheit row: "Rock legend Pete Townshend has launched a scathing attack at film-maker Michael Moore, saying he has been 'bullied and slurred' by the director.

Last year, the Stupid White Men author Moore approached the The Who guitarist to ask the star permission to use his song Won't Get Fooed Again in his controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which criticises George Bush's administration.

Townshend refused to let the Oscar-winning director use the song, because the rocker didn't enjoy Moore's previous films Bowling for Columbine and Roger and Me.

Townshend fumes: 'Michael Moore has been making some claims, using my name, which distort the truth."

DateLine MSNBC - Bin Laden half-brother breaks silence (Video/Transcript)

MSNBC - Bin Laden half-brother breaks silence: "Osama bin Laden is the most wanted terrorist in the world. To the man in the following interview, he is that and something else. He's his brother. For the first time in American media, a half-brother of Osama bin Laden is speaking out about his infamous relative, his life after Sept. 11 and about allegations made in Michael Moore's controversial film, 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' Yeslam bin Laden has been reluctant to speak to the American public, until now. He is breaking his silence, he says, to set the record straight, starting with the day that changed so many lives around the world."

Lauer: "I guess a question that most people would want me to ask you would be that if by some strange occurrence, you were to find out where Osama was now, would you turn him in?"

Bin Laden: "I never think of this."

Lauer: "How can you not think of it?"

Bin Laden: "What do you think? Would you turn in your brother? Or half-brother. Tell me. I put the question back to you."

Lauer: "I think-- I guess, if he were accused of murdering thousands of people, you'd have to let him have his day in court. Let me throw the question back at you."

Bin Laden: "I think he should have his day in court."
Lauer: "Would you turn him in?"

Bin Laden: "Which court? And we'll go in circles. We will go in circles if you want to continue the question."


By Matt Lauer
Dateline NBC

Rep. Mark Kennedy won't be back for Moore (Right Wing Propaganda?)

Rep. Mark Kennedy won't be back for Moore: "But Minnesotans, always eager to see a national spotlight on one of their own, can't be blamed if they're a little disappointed with U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy's brief film debut in Moore's latest project.
As the Watertown Republican has made clear, he shares any disappointment his constituents might feel.
Kennedy's is not the plaintive cry of a novice actor seeking more time on the big screen. Although Kennedy clearly feels his best lines were left on the editing-room floor, his differences with Moore go far beyond the artistic.
Rather, Kennedy has become a poster child for President Bush partisans who accuse the avowedly leftist filmmaker of demagoguery and dishonesty.
The tale of Kennedy's fateful encounter with Moore has been told in many ways on many channels -- from MSNBC to the Washington Post -- so that it has become part of the national conversation about the film."


Kevin Diaz
Star Tribune
Washington Bureau Correspondent


--------------------------
When the AP story appeared last month regarding Rep. Mark Kennedy being used in the Fahrenheit 911 online trailer, I immediately went to the Minnesota Congressmans website to see what he had to say about this issue.

Although the Congressman maintains an online journal (blog), there was nothing on the site about Fahrenheit 911, Michael Moore or the national media coverage.

Today, when Kevin Diaz of the Star Tribune published a re-write of the story, I again went to Rep. Mark Kennedy's website to see if he had published a statement.

His last online journal entry was June 15th. Nothing on Michael Moore or Fahrenheit 911.

Why would the Congressman use a third party media outlet to air his displeasure of being a poster child for President Bush partisans? It doesn't make sense. Is the story a Right Wing Propaganda piece?

> The tale of Kennedy's fateful encounter with Moore has been told in many ways on many channels -- from MSNBC to the Washington Post -- so that it has become part of the national conversation about the film.


Not true. The international media published the June 6th AP story. In fact, the story originated from the Star Tribune on June 5th.

> And that's at the heart of the bad feelings between the two.

Does Michael Moore have bad feelings towards the Minnesota Congressman? If he does, he hasn't made them public. In fact, the Congressman has not made one pubic comment regarding his bit part in the award-winning documentary. Not one. All the accusations are coming from the Star Tribune. Wonder why? Remember: The media doesn't tell you want to think; only want to think about.

Kennedy votes with Bush about 98 percent of the time.
Kennedy votes with Bush about 98 percent of the time.
Kennedy votes with Bush about 98 percent of the time.

The New Republic Online: Be Like Mike

The New Republic Online: Be Like Mike: "Reactions to Michael Moore's new movie have--predictably--been mixed. Most film reviewers were positive, but few excused its factual sloppiness or determination to ignore any evidence that undermined its message that George W. Bush is unfit to be President of the United States. But the oddest response has come from liberals who concede that the movie is dishonest, but still endorse it. Here's a column by William Raspberry from yesterday's Washington Post, which indicates, I think, the ethical bankruptcy of some of Moore's supporters. My comments are interspersed."


by Andrew Sullivan
Senior Editor TNR

Less is Moore

Less is Moore : "Michael Moore should know. He is a master of fiction, which extends to himself. He is the capitalist anti-capitalist who has used books, the internet, television, film and, above all, a brutal wit, to become a master propagandist, clown prince, and de facto leader of the American anti-war movement. He is also generating the fierce distaste that flows to all propagandists when their manipulation of the message is revealed.
Moore's moral universe is in large part an illusion. The bedrock of his public persona is the carefully nurtured image that he is a knockabout, blue-collar guy from a blue-collar family who grew up in a quintessentially blue-collar town, Flint, Michigan, an industrial city since screwed by the giant corporations he despises.

Problem: Moore is not from Flint. He is from Davison, Michigan. The two places are not far apart, but the social distance between them is considerable. It would be like Moore moving the postcode of his formative years a couple of kilometres from Woollahra to Redfern. Small distance, huge difference. Flint is working class, industrial, down-at-heel, where the majority of the population is black or Latino. It's where the factories are."


Paul Sheehan

The New Republic Online: STANLEY KAUFFMANN ON FILMS: Accusation

The New Republic Online: Accusation: "hat we see first are fireworks, celebrating Al Gore's victory over George W. Bush in the Florida vote, therefore in the presidential election of 2000. The television announcements of this result are soon followed by reversals, then by the maneuvers that confirmed Bush's election. Michael Moore thus launches his two-hour documentary attack on Bush with the new president's arguable right to the job. Moore then specifies presidential appointments that, though not corrupt, certainly drip with moneyed cronyism. In this atmosphere--of control by capitalist hegemony--Moore details how the administration heated up the public about terrorism.
Now the title of the film appears, along with Moore's authorial credit. Then comes, cinematically speaking, the film's most effective touch--a minute or so of black screen during which we hear distant crowd rumblings and sirens. We wonder. Suddenly we see agonized faces. These people are watching the World Trade Center disaster.
The positioning of this sequence, between the early propaganda for public jitters and the march to war, has a strong implication: Moore is saying that the disaster was of use to Bush. Something that was possibly not on Moore's mind, though he put it in my head: 9/11 was to Bush what the burning of the Reichstag in 1933 was to the newly installed Chancellor Hitler (F911 Editor: Reichstag Fire See sidebar David Rovics Featured Singer/Songwriter), a disaster contrived by an opponent (the fire was not, as was once thought, set by the Nazis themselves) that, in the government's view, was at once a proof of its policy and a means to advance it. Moore underscores this thought by calling his film FAHRENHEIT 9/11. His title caroms off the title of Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, which is the temperature at which books burn, by which burning a totalitarian regime progresses. Moore is telling us that, to Bush"


Stanley Kauffmann
TNR Film Critic

Yesterday I saw Fahrenheit 911 at the Rose Theater in Port Townsend WA

Yesterday, five of us drove to the Rose Theater in Port Townsend, WA to see Fahrenheit 911. The line of matinee moviegoers snaked around the corner. Most of those at the 4pm show were seniors although an 11 year old boy sat in the seat in front of me. He and his grandparents left when images of dead Iraq children appeared on the screen. (continued)

The Big One On DVD

Miramax Films will release "The Big One", Michael Moore's 1997 documentary about corporate America, onto DVD September 28 -- just around the same time Fahrenheit 911 is expected to hit stores.

Guardian Unlimited Film: 'I think he's a big jerk'

Guardian Unlimited Film | Features | 'I think he's a big jerk': "Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary has wowed liberals the world over - but how do Republicans feel about it? Suzanne Goldenberg takes a few to see Fahrenheit 9/11 in Texas and Washington.

It's a rare and brave Republican who ventures across the garishly lit lobby of a 16-screen multiplex and plonks his money down for Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 - and nowhere more so than in Texas. This stretch of west Houston suburb, a land of strip malls and unspooling freeways, is rock solid conservative terrain, the adopted home of the Bush family dynasty. The radio in the rental car, hired from the George Bush Intercontinental airport - named for the father, not the son - is tuned to a station playing Christian rock.

Michael Moore is definitely not to the average Texan's taste. At this cinema, the managers have not seen fit to remove the military recruitment ads from the previews. The theatre is less than half full, and it's difficult even to give away tickets.

Ordinarily, Fahrenheit 9/11 would not be on Larry Forrester's to-see list. No one he knows has seen it - or wants to. White, male, middle-aged professional, solid Republican supporter, regular church-goer, and proud father of three - all being raised with Christian values - his movie tastes run more to The Passion of the Christ, which he pronounces "excellent". Nor is Forrester likely to prove susceptible to Moore's broadside against Bush, or give way to weepy self-criticism of America's invasion of Iraq."


Suzanne Goldenberg
Guardian Unlimited

Upsize This! : Michael Moore/Mike Wilson on the Daily Show/Comedy Central BackinBack - The Disney F911 Report (Videos)

Upsize This! : Michael Moore/Mike Wilson on the Daily Show: "Did anybody catch last night's episode of The Daily Show? The correspondent segment with Samantha Bee featured Mike Wilson, director of 'Michael Moore Hates America.'

The segment absolutely savaged Wilson, portraying him as an cocky, opportunistic idiot who was attempting to use Moore's methods to turn the tables on him, yet Wilson could not get anyone to give him the time of day, could not find his way through the city, and could not get to Michael Moore for an interview for his movie. He tried various ways, including directory assistance, which led him to a Mailboxes Etc. for the address of Dog Eat Dog Films. After he was very exasperated, Bee remembered that she had MM's phone number and simply gave him a call.

In a hilarious bit, Bee made the point that Michael Moore was notoriously camera shy, and as the camera followed her down the street, who was standing there in the background? Michael Moore. The segment ended with her and MM sipping champagne. Throughout the whole segment, he didn't say a word. "


JoePez
UpsizeThis Forum Post

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Press Release: Thousands of Fahrenheit 911 Movie-Goers to Register Voters at Nearly 2,000 Phone Banking Parties this Weekend

"MoveOn PAC Call For Change Campaign Part of
Larger National Election Action Weekend

To Find Phone Parties Scheduled Near You, Visit: http://action.moveonpac.org/phone/

Fresh from seeing Fahrenheit 911 and participating in a conference call with director Michael Moore, over 6,000 MoveOn PAC volunteers will hold 2,000 "Call for Change" phone parties this Sunday to urge unregistered voters to become more politically involved and encourage new voters to register before the November elections.

The "Call for Change" plan was announced at the Fahrenheit 911 house parties last Monday, and over 1,300 of this weekend's expected participants joined MoveOn.org after seeing Michael Moore's documentary.

"Some people have questioned whether Fahrenheit 9/11 would have a discernable impact on the election," said Adam Ruben, Field Director of MoveOn PAC. "Now it's clear that this movie is prompting people to do the kind of on-the-ground organizing that can actually change the outcome in November."

MoveOn PAC's phone parties are part of a larger National Election Action Weekend in partnership with several other grassroots organizations. MoveOn PAC volunteers have already signed up to host 2,000 phone parties across America in closely contested states including North Carolina, the home state of Senator John Edwards, Democratic candidate for Vice President.

Ruben says the 'Call for Change" campaign is especially important because new voters could decide the national results.

“MoveOn members have already accomplished extraordinary things in this election cycle. We’ve registered thousands of voters and raised millions of dollars to air ads that tell the truth about the Bush Administration’s record,” said Ruben. “More and more voters are becoming engaged this year because the message is being reinforced that we need to replace this President. And, we’re going to continue to deliver that message, loud and clear.”

MoveOn PAC will provide a list of unregistered voters for volunteers to call, along with a script to explain the importance of voting. Volunteers will be able to print out voter registration forms and help people fill them out over the phone. Partially completed registration forms will be mailed to unregistered voters, who will then complete and send in the forms on their own.

BBC NEWS | Head to head: Fahrenheit 9/11

BBC NEWS |Head to head: Fahrenheit 9/11: "Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 has proved to be an explosive piece of film-making, dividing audiences across the United States and provoking controversy in the UK, where it opens on Friday.
BBC News Online asked two users with very different views of the film to review the documentary. "

Personal attack only refuge of too many angry but misguided critics

Personal attack only refuge of too many angry but misguided critics: "Weekend before last, when it opened, I sat in a crowded theater in Boston for a Saturday afternoon matinee showing of Michael Moore's latest film, 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' Like others in the crowd, I alternately chuckled and gasped, and overall enjoyed the show. But it was, in my book, a guilty pleasure.
Readers of this column know that I have been a critic, early and often, of the administration's handling of the war on terror and of the war in Iraq. Why, then, did I leave the theater after 'Fahrenheit 9/11' feeling ambivalent?
Not all, but much of what Moore does is what we long ago learned to call the ad hominem argument. Ad hominem literally means you go for the man, you attack the person or the people rather than debate and argue the issues. True, Moore raises issues and often eloquently so. But when all is said and done, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is a scorching personal attack on George W. Bush and others in his administration. Bush is presented as, alternately, a bumbling simpleton and the evil genius behind an international conspiracy of wealthy manipulators. One might wonder if one person can be both a simpleton and an arch conspirator?"


ANTHONY B. ROBINSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

Scotsman.com News: Oscar Winner's Controversial Film Released

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Oscar Winner's Controversial Film Released: "Michael Moore�s controversial film Fahrenheit 9/11 was going on general release in the UK today.

The movie has already broken box office records in the US.

Now British audiences have the opportunity to see the documentary, a scathing attack on the Bush administration."

The Lie That Killed My Son: The Lila Lipscomb Interview

Two years ago, if you had asked Lila Lipscomb what she stood for, she would have referred you to the flag in her garden and her four grown-up children. Her priorities were, in descending order of importance, family, faith, country and a place where all three met, what she might have called "service": two of her children were in the military and she worked in the public sector, at an employment agency designed to get people off welfare. She is, as she puts it, "an extremely strong woman. And I've raised my daughters to understand that they come from a long line of strong, independent women. So the men in our lives have to be very unique. Hence Pops."

Pops is her husband, Howard, a car-factory worker. He has accompanied Lipscomb to London today by way of moral support and sits across from her in the hotel suite, eyes brimming. What she is saying is not easy for either of them. Lipscomb describes an event that changed their lives and forced a seismic shift in their political perceptions; a shift that she hopes millions of her fellow Americans will be making between now and election time in November. To her surprise, and the surprise of all who know her, Lipscomb is becoming a figurehead in the fight to oust George Bush.

It is two weeks since Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore's polemic on the war in Iraq, was released in America, and in that time Lipscomb's voice has emerged as the film's most powerful. As with any project generated by Moore, the film will be loved and loathed in equal measure, but whatever one thinks of him, it is hard to resist the testimony of 50-year-old Lipscomb, a mother from Flint, Michigan, who still flies a flag in her garden, but is down to three children and a handful of ruptured assumptions where other certainties used to be.

The scenes in which she recounts the story of her son Michael's death have had cinema-goers sniffing into their sleeves. "For many years," says Lipscomb, "I thought I had to control everything. I had a real controlling spirit. But, boy, when the army stands in your house and tells you that your oldest son is killed, all that flies out the window. Over this last year and a half, I've been known to cry a bit."

By Emma Brockes
The Guardian U.K.

St. Paul Pioneer Press | Liberals have a lock on movie documentaries

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 07/08/2004 | Liberals have a lock on movie documentaries: "The documentary boom couldn't have come at better or worse time for the November presidential election, depending on your candidate of choice.
A number of documentaries, most of them politically left-of-center, are heading into theaters. And, just as conservative radio programs haven't generated much liberal radio response, liberal documentaries don't seem to have led to a cinematic response from conservatives.
Leading the charge is Michael Moore, with 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' the anti-war, anti-George W. Bush film he says he made to affect the November presidential election. 'Fahrenheit' earned $23.9 million to become the top-grossing doc of all time in just one weekend of release.
'These are mind-blowing numbers,' Moore told journalists Monday. An informal poll of opening-weekend viewers in the Twin Cities suggested that most of them were sympathetic to Moore. But the filmmaker cites the box office as proof his movie is influencing the national debate. 'All of the predictions that the movie would only speak to the choir, would only be for those who don't like Bush, I don't think have turned out to be true.'
'Fahrenheit' isn't the first documentary that takes issue with Dubya - 2002's 'Horns and Halos' was largely concerned with uncovering the truth about Bush's alleged drug usage. But it is the first movie specifically timed to, as Moore has said, change undecided voters to non-Bush voters. Moore, who supported Ralph Nader in the 2000 election, has apparently not picked a candidate this time, but his Web site includes a link to www.NotBush.com."

Control Room Director Jehane Noujaim
-------------------

BY CHRIS HEWITT
Pioneer Press

Agree or not, Fahrenheit 911 provokes a noisy response

Timberjay Newspapers Online: "Perhaps the biggest surprise about Michael Moore's controversial new movie, Fahrenheit 911, is that it contains little new information. Moore has been accused by critics of rewriting history, yet most of the key points in his two hour-long jab at President George W. Bush are matters of public record - albeit part of a record that has received remarkably little attention in the mainstream U.S. media.
What Moore does with devastating effectiveness is to connect the dots to create a historical picture that Americans should find deeply disturbing.
History is always subject to interpretation - historians piece together collections of sometimes disparate facts to paint a portrait of a time or event. Some historians do a better job than others, but in every case, the biases of the historian inevitably color their portrayal. Moore doesn't claim objectivity in his latest documentary. His biases are readily apparent, and he takes some liberties with the facts along the way. In other words, he has fit right in with the current level of political debate in the U.S. in the age of Bush.
For the most part, much of Moore's interpretation of the past four years is well within the mainstream, at least within Democratic circles. He's critical of the 2000 Florida election, he questions Bush's competence, and suggests that Bush owes virtually all of his success to his name, rather than his lackluster work ethic. As usual with the impish Moore, he has quite a bit of fun at the president's expense. "

By Marshall Helmberger
timberjay

Fahrenheit 9/11 is runaway success in France

Fahrenheit 9/11 is runaway success in France: "PARIS, July 8 (AFP) - 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is the hottest cinema ticket in France, its national distributor said Thursday, one day after the Michael Moore documentary bashing US President George W. Bush opened across the country.
Some 100,000 people went to see it Wednesday, putting it in line to become France's most-watched documentary ever, the company, Mars Distribution, said.
To meet the fierce demand, the film's distributor Mars Distribution said it plans to increase the number of copies shown in France to 270 from 230."

The mother of all anti-war forces

The Globe and Mail: "There is a remarkable scene in Fahrenheit 9/11 when Lila Lipscomb talks with an anti-war activist outside the White House about the death of her 26-year-old son in Iraq. A pro-war passerby doesn't like what she overhears and announces, ''This is all staged!''
Ms. Lipscomb turns to the woman, her voice shaking with rage, and says: 'My son is not a stage. He was killed in Karbala, April 2. It is not a stage. My son is dead.' Then she walks away and wails, 'I need my son.'
Watching Ms. Lipscomb doubled over in pain on the White House lawn, I was reminded of other mothers who have taken the loss of their children to the seat of power and changed the fate of wars. During Argentina's dirty war, a group of women whose children had been disappeared by the military regime gathered every Thursday in front of the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. At a time when all public protest was banned, they would walk silently in circles, wearing white headscarves and carrying photographs of their missing children."


By NAOMI KLEIN
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

I noticed the other day that Mr. Moore was soliciting reports from movie-goers about reactions

michaelmoore: [Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<: "I admit that when we first settled in for the show, I thought that I would have to restrain myself from
laughing for fear of offending the older patrons in the crowd. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was a Saturday matinee, and the theater was packed. The
majority of people sitting around my friend and I (we are in our 20s) were eligible for membership in AARP.

The lady in front of me spent the first part of the movie tsk-ing and snorting at each negative portrayal of Bush. Mid-way through the movie, however, I
noticed she was wiping her eyes. And then she full out started crying. The longer the movie went on, the laughter became louder as more voices joined in, and
the heads started shaking all the way to the front row. When the end credits began, the theater around me erupted in fierce applause, including the older
lady who had been so angry at the beginning of the movie."


weshouldplaygod

"This is how we liberate Iraq," David Rovics Featured Singer/Songwriter

antiwar: "This is how we liberate Iraq": "We'll get rid of the dictator, rebuild your country
Make sure all your kids go to school
We'll clean up the cities, get the sewage plants running
Institute parliamentary rule
We'll bring you autonomy, senators and judges
And a shiny new blue banner
We'll bring you pride and prosperity, food in your bellies
In every home a phone, fax and scanner
After we torture our prisoners. "


Song: After We Torture Our Prisoners, David Rovics

Click the title to listen to "After We Torture Our Prisoners" and read the lyrics.

How Michael Moore outsmarted Bush's hawks - Opinion - www.theage.com.au

How Michael Moore outsmarted Bush's hawks - Opinion - www.theage.com.au: "Critics of Michael Moore need to make a stronger case for fighting the war on terror, writes Matthew D'Ancona.
When you bear in mind that Michael Moore's book Stupid White Men has already sold more than 3 million copies worldwide and that his film Fahrenheit 9/11 took $US24 million ($A33 million) at the US box office last weekend - the first documentary to top the American film charts in its opening days - it becomes difficult to dismiss the fat man in the baseball cap as a marginal figure.
Indeed, it looks to me as though Michael Moore is pretty much at the centre of things these days. The subculture has invaded the mainstream: it is an army of occupation.
As I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 - a ferocious attack on George Bush's record since September 11 and a clarion call for 'regime change' in Washington - it struck me that Moore's critics are missing the point by directing their wrath at the dodgy detail of his work"

IMDb user comments for Fahrenheit 9/11: More heartfelt than sassy

IMDb user comments for Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004): "I have to admit that I've never been a fan of Michael Moore. But I have to give him credit for this film, he managed to make an emotional connection between the suffering of the war and all of us sitting safely back home. And that's no mean feat.

So this film turns out to be kind of woolly-headed. Either it's indulging in juvenile schoolyard mockery, or it's jerking tears for all it's worth. The funny thing is, though, that this works. One movie that can bring me to tears at the sight of the suffering of Iraqi children, or US casualties or their kin is worth 1000 articles in The Nation.

One thing I can't really share with Moore is his optimism. I fear that America, all Americans, have become so greedy, cold hearted and corrupt, that nothing can be done to reverse this trend of hateful military domination that has been developing, with respect to US foreign policy, since the Spanish-American War at the turn of the 20th century.

Does America have a heart? That's the real question. My answer is: no."

littlesiddie
Cambridge, MA
Date: 7 July 2004
Excerpts

IMDb User Review Numbers
SpiderMan 2 475
Fahrenheit 9/11 757

Movie Reviews: 'America's Heart & Soul'

News for Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004): "And although Disney would probably deny it -- it's documentary America's Heart & Soul could also be considered counterprogramming -- countering the documentary that it rejected, Fahrenheit 9/11. It's being snubbed by most critics, who are predicting that it will receive the same treatment from moviegoers. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times remarks that it 'may be the first feature-length documentary filmed entirely in the style of a television commercial.'

The Disney's red-white-and-blue documentary opened poorly with just $173,000 in 98 theaters over the four days, despite efforts by Fahrenheit foes to support it."

Las Vegas Mercury: Control Room

Las Vegas Mercury: Control Room: "Whatever your views on the Iraq conflict, Control Room offers eye-opening insights you won't want to miss.
Maybe you believe that Operation Iraqi Freedom was a just war, justified by its satisfying result--the liberation of 23 million oppressed people from a ruthless tyrant.
Or perhaps you consider it a disastrous, preemptive act of unprovoked aggression whose costs, in money and human lives, make it the most unforgivable atrocity since Vietnam.
Either way, Startup.com co-director Jehane Noujaim's (photo) new documentary, about how the satellite news channel Al Jazeera covered the war, raises troubling issues about how sophisticated our Orwellian Big Brother has become in manipulating modern media to control our world view. "


By Anthony Allison

San Luis Obispo Tribune | Display of 850 images speaks out about war

San Luis Obispo Tribune | 07/05/2004 | Display of 850 images speaks out about war: "SAN LUIS OBISPO - One picture shows an American soldier kissing his baby, while another depicts a man hugging his cat. In a third, a smiling woman poses at a graduation.
The images of American service personnel killed in Iraq composed a Sunday display organized by a group of local youth who oppose war and are trying to develop a history of conscientious objection.
Some 850 pictures appeared altogether, one for each military member who's died since the conflict began in the spring of 2003.
About eight youths from around the county formed the Young Objectors United to End War, which unveiled its Faces of War exhibit in San Luis Obispo's Mission Plaza. Its members range in age from 14 to 22 and spent close to 200 hours constructing the work.
'The fact is that there is legislation regarding reinstating the draft ... ' said project mentor Melinda Forbes, a mother of one of the teens. 'So we want to create a history of young activism against war.'
The Universal National Service Act of 2003, which would essentially reinstate the draft, is before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Total Force. If signed into law, it would require all 18-to-26-year-olds to perform two years of military or civil service. Conscientious objectors wouldn't have to perform war-related duties."


Nathan Welton
The Tribune

Exclusive Review: Madeleine: Fahrenheit 911 In France - Opening Day

THE OPENING FEEL: In France F911 opened today in 240 mainstream theatres. No particular rating. Many teenagers in the audience.

In Lyon, the film was shown in the three major theatres of the leading UGC chain. It headlined the ads.

Not so much of a queue outside as most people had been reserving.

It was 16. 30 PM and the theatre was crowded (though not quite full).

The audience didn't get as emotional as in American theatres, they didn't clap nor shouted. They mainly laughed at the funny moments and remained silent otherwise.

There were heavy discussions at the end when people got outside.

A majority of good reviews.

Acknowledged as a documentary even by the most reactionary right-wing paper.

-----------------
MY REVIEW

Solemn, sober, rigorous.
Very little humour. Very little entertainment.

Dignity.

Self-effacement and, yes, humility.

In many ways, F911 is not what I expected. I realize now that, from what I had read, I had somehow gotten the idea that Moore had chosen the easy way, preferred efficiency to beauty. He didn't. He deeply respected his audience and trusted people's intelligence. Beyond that, he fought the battle of evermore : not the activist's against an adversary viewpoint, but the artist's against the man-of-power. He's Emile Zola defending Dreyfus in "J'accuse", Charlin Chaplin smoking out "The Dictator", Victor Hugo debunking imposter Napoleon III in "Les Châtiments". Tarantino didn't lie when he said the Palme d'Or was artistic.

Greatness. The sheer power of a breathless hurricane of facts, a merciless web of proofs, a cross-fire of questions raised, an honest involvement, and, above all, the secret dominance of sincere vibrant sadness behind the powder and the fighting.

No, this time it's not showman Moore against buffoon Bush. It's Lila Lipscomb against the President of the United States. In America, Moore was criticized for limiting himself to personal attacks, in France it was more like, "oh don't give us that cheap emotion". But the heartbreaking dignity of the black screen replacing the WTC burning show how far Moore really is from any kind of sensationalism. And then there's an internal necessity to the choice of these two "standout" characters. The film opens with a brief reminder of how Bush stole the election : his illegitimacy is his original sin, the reason why he can't be trusted and the reason why he can only cheat on his people. On the other hand, Lila is the blind led by the blind, who eventually begins to see.

The sober way Moore parallels these destinies without interfering is deeply moving. And, just as scientific discoveries come from experience, thinking comes from emotion. At the end of the movie, essential, universal questions are born from the facts, then from the emotions : how much truth was hidden by the media from the people?

What makes the reign of greed possible?
Why were these youngsters sent to war?
Is there such a thing as a just war?
What is war's secret function in a society?
Is fear distilled by lying powers that be the essence of totalitarianism?
There are others...

O the unfathomable stupidity of moorewatch advertising to download THIS, and how I understand Mike's jubilation and laughter! Children under 17 will see the movie. The movie will shock many people. It will convince others. It will affect everybody. It's downright compelling.

It's strange how universal Moore can be just by speaking about what he knows best, even if it is a tiny part of the world. Flint is to his works what Manhattan is to Woody Allen. Both of them prove that when you are who you are, you can have an impact on nearly everyone. Moore is here and now, but, because he's a mighty artist, his movie is universal and timeless. In France, we're also losing our grip on democracy, we also have a greedy liar as a President, and we're also influenced by the constant use of fear by the government. But we have no Michael Moore. Or rather, we do have one, the same as you : he belongs to the world.

Madeleine

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Movies: French flock to anti-Bush 'Fahrenheit'

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Movies: French flock to anti-Bush 'Fahrenheit': "PARIS -- France's passion for cinema and the collective antipathy for President Bush made Wednesday's opening here of 'Fahrenheit 9/11' a headline event that quickly proved a boon at the box office. But, alas, even Michael Moore could not escape that critical Gallic eye.
The movie that won its cinematic stripes at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May, taking the Golden Palm, the highest award, wracked up 'extraordinary' ticket sales for its first afternoon showings in Paris, according to an official at the MK2 movie chain.
It stole the headlines in several French papers. Elevating the movie to an event, the left-leaning Liberation left the praiseful commentary to its nationally known executive editor.
'Michael Moore is a television show unto himself,' Serge July wrote, praising the director as the 'American Falstaff of documentaries.'

The cover of the Communist daily L'Humanite's portrayed Moore dressed up like the Statue of Liberty, wearing a smile and a baseball cap.

Figures compiled by Mars, the distributor, for movie theaters around Paris showed 4,372 entries for the first afternoon show - compared to entries ranging from 10 to 1,110 for other movies in town.

"It's really extraordinary. We consider a good debut for a French film to be around 2,500 seats sold," said an official at the MK2 chain."


By ELAINE GANLEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

'Fahrenheit 9/11' worth seeing - PittsburghLIVE.com

'Fahrenheit 9/11' worth seeing - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Lately, there's been a lot of flap about Michael Moore's film 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'
Having seen his two previous films 'Roger and Me,' which explores the collapse of the automobile industry in Michigan, and 'Bowling for Columbine,' an insightful look at Americans' fascination with guns, I decided to go see what all the fuss was about.
In the weeks leading up to its rocky release, the film was hailed by liberals and cursed by conservatives for its unflattering portrayal of President Bush. But as one writer said last week, most critics missed the forest for the trees, prickly as they were.
Moore used television footage, newspaper articles, interviews and direct evidence from the 9/11 commission report to make frightening connections between the Bush family and Saudi Arabian royals, including members of Osama bin Laden's family. "

By Alyson Walls
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Reuters: Sony Close to DVD Deal on Fahrenheit 9/11

Business News Article | Reuters.com: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp.'s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) home entertainment division is close to acquiring DVD and home video rights to Michael Moore's controversial documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety reported on Wednesday.
The report that a home entertainment deal is near comes as Moore's scathing critique of President Bush and the U.S.-led war in Iraq is headed for release in several overseas markets.
The film, which grossed a record $60 million during its first six days in the United States and Canada, the most ever for a political documentary, was slated to open in France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Middle East on Wednesday and in Britain on Thursday. It debuts in several Latin American nations next week. "



NOTE: Last week, there was a rumor in the press that a division of Disney would distribute the Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD. Stay tuned.

azad_slide: After you go to Fahrenheit 9/11, keep your ticket stub and mail it to:

azad_slide: After you go to Fahrenheit 9/11: "George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington DC 20500
With a note attached: 'I saw what you did last summer.'"

Press Release: Nearly Half of All Presidential Voters Have Seen or Plan to See Fahrenheit 911

Nearly half of the American electorate has seen or plans to see Fahrenheit 911, Michael Moore’s film critique of the Bush Administration, before the November elections, a new survey revealed today.

The film is the most viewed commercial documentary in American film history and held at a strong number #2 box office position this week after breaking records during its opening week.

Movie-goers and intended movie-goers represent a broad and diverse slice of the electorate and spread across the country, including the so-called battleground states. Fully 23% of voters who intend to see the film self-identify as Bush voters, while another 10% say they are supporting Nader or undecided. Forty one percent of potential movie viewers reside in battleground states, which mirrors the national average of 40% of voters residing in battleground states.

A survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research captured data from 1000 likely voters fielded between June 28 – July 1, with a margin of error of +/- 3 points. Six percent of voters surveyed had seen the movie and 38% say they plan to see it.

“Contrary to Republicans’ claims, it’s clear that voters across the political spectrum want to see what Michael Moore has to say. The film has stimulated a conversation in households across America about the Bush Administration’s decisions and actions,” said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn PAC.

Some theaters in the Midwest—like Fridley Theaters in Iowa and Nebraska and GKC Theaters in Michigan and Wisconsin—have refused to show Michael Moore’s film on their screens. MoveOn PAC has asked its membership to call these theaters’ owners and ask that they reevaluate their decision.

“As the movie expands to more screens, the reach of the movie and its message will grow,” said Pariser. “The astonishing and revealing footage in Fahrenheit 911 has the power to change the course of the 2004 election, and that’s why we’re committed to making sure all American voters have the opportunity to see the film and decide for themselves.”

indieWIRE BLOGS > Truth is Fiction: "Fahrenheit" is only as biased as CNN

indieWIRE BLOGS > Anthony Kaufman's Weblog: "One of my favorite moments in Jehane Noujaim's documentary Control Room occurs when an Al Jazeera editor is accused of not being 'objective' by a Western journalist, and responds, 'This word, 'objectivity,' is a mirage.'
With every film critic, journalist and moviegoer about to pass judgement on the 'factual accuracy' of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9-11, I felt compelled to say something about this 'mirage' we call objectivity. As Control Room so brilliantly conveys, everyone is biased, coming to the table with their own views of the 'truth.' Is the picture attached of a bombed out building in Baghdad the result of American airstrikes or insurgent mortar fire? Depends on who you ask. "

atom films: The Emperor's Apprentice

The Emperor's Apprentice: "Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is firing up audiences around the country. We thought we'd add a little fuel to the flame with The Emperor's Apprentice. 'The Dubya' pulls Condi Rice and Richard Clarke into the boardroom in this spoof. Which one will get 'fired?' "




This little diddy just appeared in my inbox.

Israel News : Fantasy and "Fahrenheit 9/11"

Israel News: "Michael Moore and his own fanatical worshipers, on the other hand, think it's all to do with Bush. Bush, Bush, Bush! Who's in the pay of the Saudis? Bush! Who's the top business partner of the Taliban? Bush! Who put the ram in the rama-lama-ding-dong? Bush - because he was paid to do so by a subsidiary of Halliburton run by a man who was at school with someone who has some stock in a company building a pipeline with someone who used to go bowling with the half-nephew-in-law of King Fahd.
Whatever the question, the answer is Bush. The message of Moore's film is: Get rid of Bush this November and all the bad stuff will go away. That's why its starting point is the 2000 election and the Florida recount. On the face of it, dimpled chads don't seem to have much to do with Afghanistan and Iraq. But, for Moore, this is where it all began, and this is where it will end: Topple Bush, and the world will once again be full of happy smiley people as it is in the slow-motion scenes of laughing children gaily flying their kites in idyllic Saddamite Iraq.
If I were the late Osama, I'd be insulted by Moore's picture. Al-Qaida's jihadi blew up plenty of stuff while Bill Clinton was president. He had the boys in America taking their flying lessons during the 2000 election, when Al Gore was ahead in the polls. The Islamists despise Bush, but they despise Clinton and Gore, and Carter and Kerry, too. "


MARK STEYN
Israel News

Scotsman.com News - Features - Review: Fahrenheit 9/11

Scotsman.com News - Features - Review: Fahrenheit 9/11: "Even if you are familiar with the sorry tale and the sordid details then Moore's film is still very entertaining.

It's even powerful in parts, with the harrowing events of 11 September, 2001, portrayed not with the familiar images of jets crashing into buildings but by a blank screen that then reveals the faces of horrified onlookers.

Despite the sobriety of its subject matter, it still manages to be funny - usually whenever Dubya's on screen. Moore's researchers must have spent hours, days and weeks combing through every speech the president has made to find those moments that make him look particularly stupid. At least, I hope this is the case because if they came across the featured clips on a casual sweep of his output the man's IQ must be lower than that of the average begonia.

The film is let down by Moore's self-indulgence. He still feels the need to reprise the pranks that made him famous in his TV Nation days. Driving round Washington, DC, reading out the Patriot Act from an ice-cream van probably sounded like a funny idea in the planning stage but in reality is just gratuitous."


Stewart Kirkpatrick
Scotsman News

BW Online | Will Fahrenheit 9/11 Singe Bush?

BW Online: Will Fahrenheit 9/11 Singe Bush?: " While a BusinessWeek-Ipsos poll of 1,002 adults during Fahrenheit's opening weekend found that an enormous share of respondents, 77%, had heard about the movie, only 17% of Republicans were inclined to see it, vs. 62% of Democrats and 40% of independents. Few said viewing the film would influence their vote. Still, says Ipsos pollster Janice Bell, "people tend to underestimate how much they are influenced by the media." One of the movie's biggest boosters is shock jock Howard Stern, formerly a rabid Bush supporter. Stern claims to have turned on the Prez after reading Moore's book, Dude, Where's My Country? -- an epiphany that closely coincided with the Federal Communications Commission crackdown on so-called airwaves smut. A poll conducted for the centrist New Democrat Network claims that 4% of the electorate are swing voters who regularly hear Stern's anti-Bush rants. MoveOn is targeting undecideds, too. Members are being asked to take fence-sitters to Fahrenheit or invite them over to watch the DVD. The release date? This fall -- just before the election."


Edited by Mike McNamee

Press Release: Australia Political Analyst Challenges Micheal Moore to Live Debate

Political Analyst Challenges Micheal Moore to Live Debate: "SYDNEY, Australia, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- In the aftermath of the release of his new anti-American film, Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore was today challenged to a live televised debate by internationally renowned political analyst, Ilya Osadchuk.

'The public has the right to know that Michael Moore is not telling the whole story,' says Osadchuk. 'Fahrenheit 9/11 is propaganda,' he says. 'It oversimplifies and distorts, and employs misleading editing to trick America into adopting Moore's own personal beliefs.'
Ilya Osadchuk is a Russian-born political analyst who now lives in Australia. Before emigrating to Australia, Osadchuk held a number of influential positions, including President of Russia's 'GORBY' club, and member of the Department of Information for the UN. He is known in political circles as the analyst who 'knows tomorrow's news today' as he has yet to make a false prediction."

For more information, visit http://www.AmericaLiberty.com.

United Press International: Analysis: Move over Michael Moore

United Press International: Analysis: Move over Michael Moore: "Move over Michael Moore, there's a new kid in town. Her name is Jehane Noujaim (photo) and she deserves far more attention that she's been getting.
If you liked Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' you will appreciate 'Control Room' even more. And if you are one of the many who hated it, or boycotted Moore just on principle, go see 'Control Room' anyway, it will open your eyes to a perspective not often seen on U.S. television.
While Moore's film received much attention, both good and bad, won the top prize in its category at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, 'Control Room' on the other hand, slipped in almost unnoticed by both the public and the critics. And that's a shame.
Unlike Moore's latest docudrama's, in-your-face style of reportage which relied on a mixture of editing and cleverly arranging film clips to tell the story, 'Control Room' adopts a far more subtle, serious news documentary approach to telling its story.
In this case the story is the inner workings of the highly controversial Arabic satellite television channel, al-Jazeera, which the film documents during the early days of the Iraq war.
The skillfully put together film is the work of Jehane Noujaim, a 29-year-old Egyptian-American filmmaker, and director of 'Control Room,' who might well have a few techniques to teach Moore. First of which is subtlety -- it works wonders, and gets the message across. "

Michael Moore urges Australian regime change - National - www.theage.com.au

Michael Moore urges Australian regime change - National - www.theage.com.au: "'I hope that Australians who see this film will say to themselves we need some regime change here, in our country,' Moore said.
Then, his mobile phone rang. Moore looked at its screen and said: 'Oh, its John Howard!'
Later he returned to the theme of regime change, saying: 'I think the Spanish started it. They threw out their prime minister who didn't listen to the will of the people and it's my sincere hope that the Australians, the Italians, the others who joined Mr Bush in this war will also be removed by the citizens of their countries. And I hope this film helps to do that.'
Fahrenheit 9/11 opens in Australia next week. In the US it has taken $US60 million ($A84 million), breaking all records for a documentary.
Moore is unlikely to visit Australia to promote the film. 'We have an election coming up here, and we decided that every day spent outside the US was a day away from our mission,' he said. 'I hope that people understand that our priority had to be focusing on what's happening here, so we can do our best to remove Mr Bush from the White House.'
Moore was asked about the Bush Administration's reaction to his film and whether he had received any threats. 'As far as threats, I don't know of any. So far, I seem to be OK. Actually, that will be a great soundbite for you when they find me floating in the river next week.'"


By Caroline Overington
New York correspondent

Michael Moore.com : Blog : Theater Hopping

Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Blog: "Drove around to a few theaters tonight while in NYC...Every show sold out, people sitting in the aisles. I have never seen that in a regular movie theater before. I love to stand in the back and watch people watch the movie.
Stopped in at the theater showing it across the street from Ground Zero. Chatted with people on the way out and answered some questions. Then the Spiderman crowd came out. A few of them weren't happy to see me. Some guy said, 'I hope they don't put a bomb in your theater.' Such a pleasant remark considering the neighborhood we were in. "

Fahrenheit starts roll-out

Fahrenheit starts roll-out: "Paris - Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore's film bashing US President George W Bush and the Iraq war, started its march around the world on Wednesday by opening in cinemas across France - where not surprisingly its box office success looks guaranteed.
The impact the film made when it was seen by the first audience outside North America could be judged by the splash it made in the media - most of France's national newspapers gave it front-page play, while radio and television broadcasts gave it significant airtime.
'Le film anti-Bush' was the epithet almost all outlets gave the award-winning documentary, which is already on track for blockbuster status in the United States, where it has been screened since June 25.
'Moore's Scud has hit the bull's-eye,' the left-leaning Le Parisien said.
Another left-wing paper, Liberation, put a big picture of Moore on its cover with his plea 'We have to get rid of Bush' and devoted two full inside pages to an interview with the US director and an editorial.
France's warm welcome for the movie was two-fold. "

Moore's Ax Falls on a Derelict Media Too

Moore's Ax Falls on a Derelict Media Too: "In the end, he isn't likely to affect the presidential race. But 'Fahrenheit 9/11' may have an altogether different effect: a change in the practice and the values of journalism. What Moore and the film have done is take dead aim on one of the most sacred of journalistic shibboleths: the idea that journalists are supposed to be fair and balanced. This isn't just a function of Moore having a point of view to push; there have always been provocateurs. Rather it is a function of the film revealing the harm that balance has done to our public discourse and the distortions it has promoted.

The words 'fair and balanced' have been largely discredited in recent years because of the Fox News Channel, which uses them to mean not that Fox takes an objective, evenhanded approach to the news but that the cable channel is redressing the purported liberal bias of the mainstream news media, balancing them. But Fox aside, the idea of 'fair and balanced' is still a mainstay of most journalistic practice, at least in theory. Reporters are not supposed to take sides. For every pro on one side of the scale there must be a con on the other. If the 9/11 commission declares that there is absolutely no credible evidence of any collaborative relationship between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, the press must also prominently post Vice President Dick Cheney's view that there was a relationship, whether he provides evidence or not. If the preponderance of scientific opinion says global warming threatens the environment, the press must still interview the handful of scientists who dismiss it. That's just the way it is."


Neal Gabler, a senior fellow at the Norman Lear Center at USC's Annenberg School for Communication, is author of "Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality."

Howard a 'disgrace': Moore - Film - www.smh.com.au

Howard a 'disgrace': Moore - Film - www.smh.com.au: "Film maker Michael Moore says it's disgraceful that Prime Minister John Howard - who he says 'appears to have at least half a brain' - sided with US President George W Bush over Iraq.
And he hopes his latest screen offering will help inspire a voter backlash against Howard.
Moore made the comment at a New York press conference on the global release of his film Fahrenheit 9/11.
The movie slams Bush's policy in Iraq and highlights what Moore sees as an erosion of civil rights as the war on terrorism goes on.
The combative director was especially scathing of Howard and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with the leaders of countries such as Japan and Italy, for aligning themselves with the Bush administration."

Digital Chosunilbo : Film Director Michael Moore Sends Message to Korean Citizens

Digital Chosunilbo: "According to Cinema People, the company in charge of the PR for the movie in Korea, Michael Moore was asked whether he wished to convey any messages through 'Fahrenheit 911' to the Korean viewers, who are mired in controversy as a result of the nation's decision to send troops. Moore answered, "I hope Korean viewers start a social campaign against the dispatch of additional troops to Iraq." Asked what he thought of the Korean government's decision to send troops to Korea, however, he simply answered, "I don't know." "




The unofficial photoshop poster of Fahrenheit 911 that appeared online a week before the official posters is used as the graphic in the article.

Bloomberg.com: U.K.: Michael Moore Calls for Blair Film, Saying `What's His Excuse?

Bloomberg.com: U.K.: "Moore's film, which opened two weeks ago in the U.S. and Canada as the top-grossing movie and best-ever documentary, may affect Bush's campaign for re-election, campaign officials told the Washington Post. The film opens in British cinemas this week.
``The relationship between Blair and Bush -- it's like if you have two kids and one's 12 and one's 7, and you leave them with the baby sitter and then all hell breaks loose,'' Moore said. ``You come back and you don't blame the 7-year-old, you blame the 12-year-old. You say, `Now you knew better.' What were you doing, Tony Blair, involving yourself in invading a sovereign country?''
Moore said he included pictures of Iraqi families and children in his film because the media have `dehumanized' Iraq with images of Saddam Hussein. Moore said he wants British viewers to see that civilians killed in U.S. and U.K. bombing raids were leading normal lives. ``It's those children that ended up dead and their blood is on our hands -- British and American hands. Someday, we're going to pay.'' "


Alexander Hanrath
London/Bloomberg