Michael Moore

Started by MacGuffin, January 08, 2003, 03:27:41 PM

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pete

boning four colonholes
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

72teeth

Doctor, Always Do the Right Thing.

Yowza Yowza Yowza

The Red Vine

The Big One

Seriously though, this is a worthy subject for a documentary. I hope he follows through with it.
"No, really. Just do it. You have some kind of weird reasons that are okay.">

MacGuffin

Moore: Docus need more exposure
Source: Hollywood Reporter

PARK CITY -- Michael Moore is mad as hell about documentaries and foreign films being crowded out of theaters, and he's not going to take it anymore.

"My new year's resolution is to sit down with the heads of exhibition chains and have them devote one screen in their multiplexes to nonfiction and foreign films," Moore said. He said he's spoken with fellow docu directors to join him in the initiative, including board members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' documentary branch, though it is unclear if AMPAS would be officially involved.

The director of four of the 12 top-grossing docus of all time -- "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Roger & Me," the Oscar-winning "Bowling for Columbine" and the just-announced Oscar nominee "Sicko" -- wants to use his influence with exhibitors to make this happen. "If not me, then who?" he said. "I'm the one who got through the door."

Moore's motivation is the declining boxoffice performance of indie films last year, in which many were taken out of theaters before they had a chance to grow word-of-mouth business. He said it's an extension of his work promoting fellow indie filmmakers at his annual Traverse City Film Festival.

"People want to see documentaries, but there's a disconnect between that desire and the exhibitors out there," added Moore, who has been planning the initiative for several months. "We're not asking for charity," he said.

"This could be on the 15th screen of a multiplex that would otherwise have the sixth showing of the new "Harry Potter" movie. Some of these films make $200 or $300 per screen."

Moore said he's also spoken with marketers and publicists around the country who have agreed to donate their time to publicizing the campaign. He hopes to break these films out of "the art house ghetto" by having them play in suburban theaters throughout Middle America where they aren't often shown.

The director said it's possible that the initiative may begin with exhibitors devoting one night a week (likely the traditionally weak Monday) to these films instead of one screen per multiplex. Moore plans to announce details of the initiative at a news conference timed around the Oscars, with at least one exhibitor involved.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Michael Moore making '9/11' sequel
Documentary to be released in 2009
Source: Variety

Michael Moore is making a sequel to "Fahrenheit 9/11" for Paramount Vantage and Overture Films, who will shop the project to international buyers when the Cannes Film Festival and market get under way today.

The two companies are co-financing and co-producing the untitled documentary, which will be released in 2009. Overture will distribute the film domestically, while Vantage will handle international.

Moore may be leaving the Weinstein Co. -- where he made his last two films, including "Fahrenheit" -- but Overture and Vantage are no strangers to the filmmaker. Overture CEO Chris McGurk and COO Danny Rosett were both at MGM and United Artists, home of Moore's "Bowling for Columbine."

Moore also knows Vantage topper Nick Meyer, former president of Lionsgate's international arm. Lionsgate teamed with Bob and Harvey Weinstein and distributed Fahrenheit after Disney refused to let Miramax to do so. Lionsgate again teamed with the Weinstein's to distribute Moore's last docu, "Sicko."

Also, Moore is no stranger to the Croisette. "Fahrenheit," a scathing indictment of George W. Bush's war on terrorism and a hit at the worldwide box office, won the coveted Palm d'Or in 2004. "Bowling for Columbine" also played at Cannes, while "Sicko" premed here last year.

It's possible that his new docu could play at Cannes next year, if it isn't released earlier in the Spring. He's already at work on the docu.

"Clearly, we have a movie of global appeal here. Michael Moore is a very talented filmmaker, and this is a branded property," Meyer said.

Sequel will pick up where "Fahrenheit" left off. In the time since, President Bush's popularity has plummeted, while the Iraq war continues and the economy falters.

"It's a vote of confidence on Michael's part, and a great partnership for all of us," Rosett said. "There is a voracious appetite for this kind of commentary."

All in all, Moore has made three of the top five grossing documentaries of all time. "Fahrenheit" is the highest grossing docu ever domestically, earning $119.1 million. It grossed another $100 million at the international box office.

Moore's decision not to make his next film with the Weinstein Co. comes after "Sicko" failed to ignite the box office. Film, which took on the U.S. health care system, grossed $24.5 million domestically and $11.2 million internationally. Topically, the film didn't resonate with overseas auds.

Landing the "Fahrenheit" sequel is a high-profile score for Overture and Vantage, and a likely blow for the Weinstein Co.

Deal strengthens the already established relationship between Vantage and Overture. Last year, the two entered into an exclusive international distribution deal that gives Overture access to Vantage's international sales division, as well as the distrib arm of Paramount Pictures Intl.

Vantage will likely keep distribution rights to certain overseas territories, after selling off the rest.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Kal

I thought that was way under way already and to be released before elections... weird


MacGuffin

Cannes '08: Michael Moore's new movie: 'Dangerous'
Source: Los Angeles Times

The tentative title for Michael Moore's next documentary is "While America Slept." It's not a movie about Ambien.

Returning to the Cannes Film Festival, where the riled-up filmmaker launched "Sicko" a year ago and won the festival's top honor for 2004's "Fahrenheit 9/11," Moore outlined on Friday the broad ideas for his next film, which he says should be released in 2009.

While short on specifics — "I can't obviously tell you what I'm really up to, because I want to be able to finish," Moore says, adding that early details about "Sicko" gave health care companies an advantage — the filmmaker promises that his next movie will be "dangerous."

Moore was quick to say that the film is not a sequel to "Fahrenheit," Moore's broadside against President Bush and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rather, the new movie will offer a withering look at America's global conduct and reputation. "We have a big, big mess, and I don't know if it can be cleaned up. The toxicity of the spill is just that great," Moore says. "Since I made 'Fahrenheit,' our standing in the world had depleted to an even worse state."

Even though he says the new film "isn't about Bush," the president is clearly a central target.

"He and his cronies and his supporters literally got away with murder," Moore says. But it is also obvious that the country's citizens share some of the blame, he says, which explains the proposed title being considered by distributors Paramount Vantage and Overture Films.

"I am going to take a look at the empire we've created and ask the question, 'How did we get here?'"

Moore says Hollywood's fictional Iraq films came out too late, and that is why most of them failed. Because "Fahrenheit" was early and debuted when the war still had support, he says, it was a hit. "I think the moviegoing public wants a sense of danger," Moore says. "They want something where they are on the edge of their seats."

He says his new film is intended to make people squirm, and will ask the question, "Are we at the points where the Romans were?" We'll have to wait a year to hear his answer.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Michael Moore to tackle economy
Next doc to have an end-of-the-empire tone, sources say
Source: Hollywood Reporter

When Paramount Vantage and Overture announced Michael Moore's long-gestating follow-up to "Fahrenheit 9/11" in May, executives stressed the film's foreign-policy scope. "This is going to tackle what's going on in the world and America's place in it," Paramount Vantage chief Nick Meyer said.

But as the political winds shifted in the months before the election -- and gusted after it -- Moore subtly began reorienting his movie. Instead of foreign policy, the film's focus now is more on the global financial crisis and the U.S. economy.

The untitled movie will contain an end-of-the-empire tone, say those familiar with the project, and Moore no doubt hopes that this will give it a more general feel that will untether it from a specific political moment.

But some political and entertainment experts wonder how much Moore's incredulousness and occasional pessimism about the state of U.S. policy, which served the filmmaker well during the George W. Bush years, will play in the current hopeful climate brought on President-elect Barack Obama.

"If Moore offers a prescription for how to improve things, he may indeed find an audience that at this moment is eager for change," said Craig Minassian, an entertainment consultant and former Bill Clinton aide. "But it's going to be hard for him. What this election shows is what's right with America, and sometimes what Michael Moore does is highlight what's wrong with America."

In the meantime, a focus on the collapsing markets brings its own risk, Minassian said. "The problem with the financial crisis is that it's changing so quickly. I'm not sure how relevant is going to be in six months, and I'm not sure if people want to hear it; my sense is they already have a pretty good idea of a lot of the people who are to blame for it."

A Democratic election would remove some of the factors that put Moore in vogue both in the U.S. and abroad during the Bush years -- and pushed his three theatrical movies during that time to more than $300 million in worldwide boxoffice.

It's worth noting that Moore famously shoots a lot of footage and makes many critical decisions later in the production process, so the tone could still shift; it's tricky to know what any Moore movie will ultimately look like before he completes the film.

Overture and Vantage declined comment.

Still, Moore is feverishly shooting, and the movie is expected to come out as early as this spring, with Vantage and Overture hoping to capitalize on the current high levels of political awareness.

Moore has also said that in some ways he sees the movie less as a sequel to the Middle East-themed "Fahrenheit 9/11" than as a bookend to "Roger & Me," the director's breakthrough nearly two decades ago. That movie featured the U.S. economy and the auto industry at its center, and that, if nothing else, could again prove a timely theme.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Michael Moore Wants Your Wall Street Horror Stories
by Peter Martin; Cinematical

Has the economy gotten you down? Are you subsisting on day-old bread and processed cheese slices? (Oh wait, we're supposed to be talking about you, not me.) Are you righteously angry about what Wall Street has done -- and do you have inside information to prove it? Well, America, Michael Moore feels your pain, and he'd like to share it -- by putting you on camera so you can help him expose "the greatest crime story ever told."

As we reported In November, Moore decided to change the focus of his next project from "what's going on in the world and America's place in it" to "the global financial crisis and the U.S. economy." Anne Thompson at Variety points to his web site, where Mike has posted a plea for "a few brave people who work on Wall Street or in the financial industry to come forward and share with me what they know."

Moore says that participants can decide to what extent they want to be involved. I'm assuming that means they can decide whether they wish to be on camera or not, and then whether they want to be identified on camera if they sit for an interview. Alternatively, I suppose they could provide Moore with 'inside information' without appearing in the film.

Moore is nothing if not a master of hyperbole, though it's interesting to observe how the tone changes in his message. At first he says: "I am humbly asking you for a moment of courage, to be a hero and help me expose the biggest swindle in American history."

Two paragraphs later, he is more strident: "The important thing here is for you to step up as an American and do your duty of shedding some light on this financial collapse. A few good people have already come forward, which leads me to believe there are many more of you out there who know what's going on."

In other words, 'I know you know what you know, and you better come forward or you're not doing your duty as an American.' Oh, boy, I bet that approach works. If you are so inclined, Moore provides an e-mail address where you can share as much confidential information as you wish.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=245
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Michael Moore Goes Off on Twitter About Osama bin Laden Being 'Executed'
He'll discuss his views on "Piers Morgan Tonight" Thursday.
Source: THR

Michael Moore thinks Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. Navy Seals is a conspiracy. In more than 40 Tweets over the past several days, the controversial filmmaker made his case in 140 characters or less. A few are excerpted below: "What's so wrong w/ just saying the truth? "We executed him." Fine. I'm guessing most would applaud u. So I like trials! Call me an American!" he wrote. "I'm not opposed 2 dumping him in the sea, I agree no monument 4 a mass murderer, I just don't need the added BS of "according 2 Mulism law." he wrote. "Yes, and to repeat, whenever I've gone 2 the funeral of a Muslim friend in Detroit, we all hop in a chopper & drop the body in Lake Erie." Added Moore, "OBL was said 2 have $30 mil net worth. But we didn't start profiling rich people. No, we gave them their own fast trak line at the airport! "OBL was about as true a Muslim as Timothy McVeigh was a Catholic. But no headline ever read "Catholic Blows Up Fed Bldg in Oklahoma City." "How come no headline ever read "Multi-Millionaire Murders 3,000"? It would have been correct. No, best to focus on OBL being a "Muslim,'" he added. "As long as he wasn't conducting terror, OBL alive served a purpose. Someone should just fess up: The war industry needs fear to make $$," said Moore. Moore will discuss his views in a live interview on Piers Morgan Tonight Thursday. Bin Laden was killed Sunday in a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Jeremy Blackman

Wow, we're setting the bar a little low to call something a conspiracy theory, aren't we? Saying Bin Laden was politically useful as a looming threat hardly qualifies... it's common sense...

pete

yeah I had no doubt that he was executed as well. they wouldn't only send two helicopters if they expected any type of resistance or firefight. they also couldn't possibly have arrested him; that would've been a diplomatic (and pre-election) headache for the obama admin as they sought to try him in American courts, trying to wrestle him out of the hands of the Afghans and the Pakastanis. He had to be put down there and then.

That was many of America's previous M.O., such as the execution of previous most wanted terrorist Pablo Escobar.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

Quote from: pete on May 05, 2011, 03:50:08 PM
That was many of America's previous M.O., such as the execution of previous most wanted terrorist Pablo Escobar.

That's a lazy and dull comparison that overlooks all sorts of moral complexities, and it's also an erroneous use of m.o.  The particulars of the two executions are vastly different, and the particulars are what establish the m.o.

Aside from semantics, the essence of what you're saying is true, but these problems are relative to their times.  The US was a lot sneakier and insidious with many Central America operations.  I appreciate Obama's attempts at transparency because as the world press likes to mention the only account of the scene comes from us (Americans), and Obama has stripped away some of the attempts to camouflage the ordeal.  If he doesn't use the word execution, at least he paints the picture.
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

Jeremy Blackman

Were it a more controversial target for execution, I'm sure there might be more camouflaging...

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

That's very true, good point, and why the essence of pete's post is true - America has someone they don't like, they find a way to kill the person, but also why this one is different.
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."