From The NY Times:
Michael Moore, the political provocateur behind the films “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Sicko,” is releasing a new film Tuesday. But you will not be able to find “Slacker Uprising” at any theater.
Instead he is placing the film on the Internet for free viewing, at SlackerUprising.com. Mr. Moore said the unorthodox rollout is a gift to his fans and a rallying cry for the coming election.
“At times there’s nothing wrong with preaching to the choir,” he said in a telephone interview from his office in Traverse City, Mich. Liberals have been “pretty beaten down over the last 28 years.”
“The choir, especially on our side of the political fence, is often fairly dejected,” he observed, “and could use a good song every now and then.”
The song in this analogy is a 100-minute look at Mr. Moore’s tour of college campuses during the fall of 2004. Cameras followed him to 62 cities as he urged young people to vote for John Kerry. The resulting footage sat on the shelf for a few years before Mr. Moore spliced together a version of the film, then titled “Captain Mike Across America,” and showed it at the Toronto International Film Festival a year ago.
After the festival screening Mr. Moore returned to the editing room to give the film “more heft and substance,” he said. It includes exchanges with Mr. Moore’s detractors and their attempts to interrupt his tour, raising free-speech issues and creating some comedic moments. Some critics (including those for The Michigan Daily, at the University of Michigan, and Inside Toronto) have said the film amounts to little more than a “highlight reel” of Mr. Moore’s trip, suggesting that its theatrical prospects were dim. Mr. Moore disputes that, saying that his agent, Ari Emanuel, believed the film could net $20 million to $40 million. (“Sicko” brought in $24.5 million domestically.)
“I prohibited him from contacting any studios to ask them whether they were interested,” Mr. Moore said. “I just said straight up, ‘I want to give this away for free.’ He thought I should have my head examined.”
The Weinstein Company owned the distribution rights to the project, so Mr. Moore bought back the North American rights for an undisclosed amount. “The irony is that I believe people should see movies in theaters,” Mr. Moore said, praising what he called the communal experience. “You get so much more out of it, emotionally, cathartically.”
Perhaps for that reason Mr. Moore said he hoped fans would set up screenings and use the film to raise money for candidates. Visitors to the Web site will be able to stream and download it free, thanks to Mr. Moore’s partnership with Blip.tv, a company distributing online videos; additionally a $10 DVD will be distributed, and free copies can be requested for libraries.
Robert Greenwald — another member of the small fraternity of advocate filmmakers, whose production company specializes in tying video projects to off-line organizing — said a supporter in Alaska was already planning a screening. The film is “quite an adrenaline boost, even though it’s got a sad ending,” he said.
The ending, of course, is the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. The film notes that voters under the age of 30 were the only demographic that Mr. Kerry won outright. “Unfortunately,” reads a graphic at the end of the film, “their parents voted for Bush.”
Mr. Moore suggested that the 2004 election results were a prelude to the Obama movement, which was “ignited by young people.”
“The road to getting where we want to be has to be filled with a certain amount of failure,” he said, drawing a parallel to the United Auto Workers’ labor movement 70 years ago.
Mr. Moore remains coy about the subject of his next movie, although he said filming was well under way. He has denied rumors that it will be a sequel to “Fahrenheit 9/11,” but he has not quashed reports that his next film will explore what he views as American imperialism. The recent turmoil of the financial markets may be giving him even more material.
“Some weeks, like this past week, I wonder if we’re going to have to credit others with the screenplay,” he said.
And Micheal -go one better
with ‘Sicko’ and drop about 200 pounds
-because obesity and its side-effects
are a major factor in system overload
and disfunction.
(And totally inexcusable anyway)
Then get back to us.
XTV. No images –just XX’s.
XTV…when you learn how to spell and write a coherent rant…get back to us.
thanks for the film michael, i really appreciate you giving your work for free. i can’t wait.
Yet another, self-promoting, American
“folksiness” mirage.
Americans and their cush-think –too much.
And REPEAT -if any of you SERIOUSLY
want to register a protest
–STOP driving your stupid cars
-and indulging in your sprawling,
fat-ass lifestyle.
-George Carlin had you pegged! –RIP
XTV. No images –just XX’s.
The reading of ” my pet goat”, by another farm animal?
I wonder how the parents of those kids felt when they were told that Bush endangered their lives?
What kind of story is that? How weird and creepy. Why wouldn’t you read something fun…I know, b/c fear and anger sell.
mr. moore makes some rather interesting points. why did it take 7 minutes for bush to react? he claims, he didn’t want to scare the children. well bush, that would have depended how good your “judgment” is and how well you function under pressure. you could have walked out after 1 minute without explaining SHIT to the kids. just another excuse.
last point: how strange it took bush 20 more minutes before leaving the school? right, and you’re concerned about the children? yeah, right.
This movie is terrible and I’m the biggest Obama supporter and anti Bush person there is. There is no cinematic validity to this what so ever. It’s just an annoying collection of diatribes as one sided and ignorant as the narrow minded Republican opposition. No wonder he didn’t release this in theaters, he would’ve been eviscerated by any real film critic. What Fahrenheit 9/11 did so well was move Michael into the sphere of being a filmmaker. This is steps backwards, enlighten me because this made me less intelligent. Oh, and nobody gives a shit about what celebrities think about politics. Get back to your roots, do your homework, and make that presentation in a compelling cinematically relevant way. We could’ve used a sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11 with examples of deregulation generated by the Bush administration that is causing are economy to crumble, or interviews with world leaders decrying the injustices caused by Americans and this administration, or the FBI witch hunt of Elliot Spitzer, or something exposing the absurdity of McCain’s lies and hypocrisy, or …
Oh and I agree with his agent Ari, he’s crazy for not releasing this in theaters, going to the theater is what makes a movie an event. Wait I take that back, he’d be crazy if he put this in theaters, if he had made a great film then he would’ve been crazy for not putting this in theaters.
Michael Moore should apologize for offering us so little in a time much more desperate than four years ago. Maybe he needs to work as an intern for the Daily Show so he can get back on top of his game, right now he’s a joke.
Anyone who’s read their history knows
history is full strange gaps -like the 9/11
7 hour gap.
One such was after the German surprise attack
on the Soviet Union -Stalin wasn’t heard from
for three days. Some say he couldn’t even be
located. Yet, he ended up a major victor in
that conflict.
Moore’s 9/11 doc. seems rather feeble and
ill-considered in this regard.
Also, it doesn’t chime in well with those
who believe the whole thing was a set-up
by the U.S. government itself.
Doesn’t add up.
Anyone who’s read their history knows
history is full strange gaps -like the 9/11
7 hour gap.
One such was after the German surprise attack
on the Soviet Union -Stalin wasn’t heard from
for three days. Some say he couldn’t even be
located. Yet, he ended up a major victor in
that conflict.
Moore’s 9/11 doc. seems rather feeble and
ill-considered in this regard.
Also, it doesn’t chime in well with those
who believe the whole thing was a set-up
by the U.S. government itself.
Doesn’t add up.
Movie is good, and Michael Moore is pointing out facts other people are affraid to talk about.
If it is as Bush&Co.$$$ say, why don’t they prove it? They can not, and they did all they could to hide what happened on 9/11.
This is modern age, and people are communicating so censored and controlled media are loosing ground, and more people are seeking information in their own way.
People of different religions are trusting each other, because people are basically same.
There has never been a bad nation, just bad leaders.
Bush is not bad, he is the worse that ever existed.
Hitler is an amateur compared to Bush.
Michael Moore has earned respect from many people all over the world regardless of nation, color or religion.
Why?
Because he is telling the truth.
People prefer unpleasent truth from well packed lies.
STILL MORE MICHAEL MOORE DREAM QUOTES:
“-Now we can all see the sleaze-works
of big oil -media, politics and Hollywood -right?”
“NOW look around, closer to home.
Have you noticed the growing fungal-mass
of comfort zone creep-outs? You know,
the kids from the ‘comfortable class’.”
“-Oh, they aren’t rich.
They don’t have a fleet
of Benz’s or anything like that.”
“I’m talking about the moosh-trolls
sitting there waiting for Daddy’s
hard-earned, real-deal legacy,
and Grandpa’s trust fund -you know.”
“Again,,not a lot, but just ‘enough’ -so nothin’
even remotely resembling learn and earn reality
will be coming anywhere near beloved junior
—EVER”.
“-See the fat-cats and money-pigs, you know
who I mean, they’re exposed. Yes indeedy.
They are X-posed -especially these days.”
“But the moosh-trolls, why, no one’s lookin’
-and for the most part no one cares”.
“And so we have a swelling class of unaccountable
crud-headed creeps all across America -and the world -who are beyond the ‘real’ of anything”.
“Look around you. Downtown, at the local pub,
in parking lots, milling around the strip malls, on the couch in Mom’s basement -maybe right here right now.”
“They’ll never leave the comfort zone -ever.
Never have to put out, sacrifice, or even contribute.”
“They’ll be managed, coddled, maintained
and taken care of –to the grave.
–And their ‘Moosh-trolls’ and ‘Scud-duds’
one and all.”
“Even worse -it’s what we all secretly want for
ourselves -isn’t it?”
“A society of quelled consumer monads
-ad infinitum.”
“Now stop, and think real carefully of where
that goes? -what thet turns into? over time.”
“Now take a long look in the mirror for real
-and try not to pewk.”
If only If only
xtv: Source?
Anonomous, whoever you are, nail hit on the head. There is a market for truth telling out there. Michael Moore supplies that market and that is why he is popular, because he is truthfull.
XTV, re: Michaels 9/11 doc
I find it very telling that no one has tried to take Moore to court over any of the accusations that he made in that his documentory. The only thing that they could argue on was that some guy didn’t give permission for his interview to be used – and he lost!
Did you know that Afganistan president Kharzai used to work in oil company owned by Bush?
Same goes for that fellow in Iraq.
USA should change name to Denmark, because there is something rotten in it.
(I hope somebody likes Shakespear :) )
Craig, I am just a normal guy, and I thank God for it.
Study film for a while
-and you’ll be able to
identify that kind of
‘brilliant polemic’ that’s
purely a matter of editing.
Meanwhile, as predicted,
AMerica’s financial sell-out,
denial and debtor issues
which no one wanted to hear about
from XTV -have come home to roost.
Mao is purring -so everybody smile.
Keep eating those donuts, driving them
cars, and building them thar’ strip malls.
–Smart!
—-yawn.
XTV. No one wants to hear of forieners being blamed for domestic problems. Not reasonable minded people anyway.
XTV is not ‘blaming’ Red China
(in fact -from their standpoint they’re doing
quite well) -but rather the quick-fix and
bottomless pig-think of our
American Trump-dump and strip-mall
notions of financial soundness
and value.
-SO -Leave the PC off your PC -and
take a good look for yourself.
“Anyone traveling America quickly
sees Americans never loved their
land the way Europeans loved theirs.”
-D.H. Lawrence 1924
Look it up -then next time your out
driving somehwere look out your window.
-Then pewk-
And for anyone imagining I ‘made up’
the incident of the Chinese killing
the South Korean Coast Guardsmen
during a routine policing of Korean
waters –check out Michael Breen’s
last Saturday Op-ed in The Korea Times
newspaper.
Seems a Chinese fishing boat was
violating South Korean territorial
waters.
Stopped by a SK Cruiser for inspection.
A call went out and within an hour
50 other Red Chinese fishing vessels
converged -siezed the Koreans -shot
one to death and beat others nearly to
death.
Amazingly, none of this was covered
by any of our western ‘free press’.
-Not a peep—
Even the Korean press buried the story
by Monday -like the cold-blooded shooting
of the South Korean woman tourist a couple
ofmonths ago.
I keep telling you Murdoch, Buchanan
and, of course, Turner et al -are ALL
in the Red China pocket. Every last one
of them. Hollywood too!
-NO! -The Red China lobby isn’t controlling
anything. Uhuh —right.
Keep an eye on the foreign press folks.
Don’t accept the minimizing, scoffing
and denials.
The U.S. ‘mainstream’ press is limited, compromised, bought-off -and totally set-up.
It’s 2009 —AND WE NOW LEARN –
the ‘typical’ UAW wage
in these ‘difficult’ times is
57 dollars —AN HOUR –
-and that those same
over-basted ‘workers’
are going to be bailed-out
with 17 billion in loans
underwritten by easy
Red Chinese creditors –
AS –
ANOTHER 2–3 million are about
to be ut to death in that same
‘fave’ creditor’s neighbor and
fellow commuist client state
of North Korea.
And there’s Michael Moore
bumping into Pat Buchanan
in the back alley –
-both carrying large bags of
Chinese take-out.
You know it’s TRUE.
xtv. there first