Posted on 06/29/2004 4:49:10 AM PDT by clyde asbury
'Fahrenheit 9/11' sets record
"Fahrenheit 9/11," a left-sided documentary that bashes the Bush administration's war on terrorism, wouldn't find much of an audience in a military town.
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Kathy Norris, left, and Natalie Sorton enter the Cameo Art House Theatre on Monday afternoon to see the documentary ‘Fahrenheit 9/11.’ |
Or so they thought.
"This has broken all of our past records," said Nasim Kuenzel, an owner of the Cameo Art House Theatre. "The movie that I thought would make us hardly any money - I never thought it would break all the records."
Both showings sold out Friday at the Cameo, the only theater in Fayetteville to carry the Michael Moore film. A midnight showing added at the last minute Friday brought in 60 more people.
Saturday and Sunday were just as busy, Kuenzel said, with nearly 1,000 tickets sold over the weekend. As many as 75 percent of moviegoers were soldiers or military families, Kuenzel said.
Many were like Natalie Sorton. She is 25 and married to an infantryman who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I want to see what my husband is fighting for," Sorton said Monday before going into the theater with a friend, Kathy Norris.
Another military spouse had recommended the movie. While Sorton described herself as a moderate Republican, she said she gained respect for Moore after seeing his last documentary, "Bowling for Columbine."
In that film, Moore pestered corporations and celebrities to take responsibility for gun violence. Sorton said she wanted to see Moore be equally pestering to politicians who make decisions about war.
"I'm going because from what I heard about ('Fahrenheit 9/11'), it fills in a lot of blanks, a lot of questions we've had about the Bush administration," Sorton said.
The documentary assails President Bush's decisions surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Moore attempts to link the Bush family with Saudi Arabia and blame business interests as the reason for invading Iraq. "Fahrenheit 9/11" includes frank comments from soldiers in Iraq and emotional interviews with families who lost children in the fighting.
Almost all the crowds at the Cameo have applauded the film at the end, with some people giving standing ovations, Kuenzel said. Many have tears in their eyes as they leave the theater.
"I think it's going to open my eyes a little, and that worries me," Sorton said before taking her seat.
Lea Barnes, a Republican, seemed giddy as she and a friend bought tickets Monday.
"I'm not pleased at all about the way things are going" with the war, Barnes said. "I trust Michael Moore. He can be out there a bit, but he's for the common man."
Negative reactions have been few, Kuenzel said. The theater received three calls and two letters in opposition of carrying the film, she said. No one has protested, though some people handed out anti-war fliers on the street Friday evening.
Nationwide ticket sales totaling $23.9 million launched the film to the No. 1 spot over the weekend, a record for a documentary. Twelve other theaters in North Carolina are carrying "Fahrenheit 9/11," according to the film's Web site.
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Natalie Sorton, who saw ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ on Monday at the Cameo Art House Theatre, said the movie convinced her that oil and corporate interests fueled the decision to go to war in Iraq. |
The Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill also sold out over the weekend, with some patrons from the Fayetteville area, said owner Mary Jo Stone. The publicity surrounding Disney's refusal to distribute the film because of its political content helped ignite sales.
"I think people are interested in perhaps getting a different perspective than what they see in the news all the time," Stone said.
Since the Cameo opened in 2000, the only other movies that approached the sales figures for "Fahrenheit 9/11" were "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Other theaters across the country are expected to start showing the film in the next few weeks.
After Monday's showing, Sorton emerged with a grim face. She said she plans to buy the film on DVD and give it to everyone she knows.
"I'm disgusted," she said. "Disgusted."
The film changed her opinions on the war in Iraq by convincing her that oil and corporate interests were behind decision-making, she said. Worries over whether Moore would vilify soldiers were unfounded.
"I don't think they portrayed them as bad," she said. "I don't think it portrayed them as not doing their jobs. It showed them doing what they're told.
"All this movie did was open my eyes a little more to what's really going on," she said. "I think this is definitely going to have an impact on the election. I'm glad I'm a voter."
Staff writer Matt Leclercq can be reached at leclercqm@fayettevillenc.com or 486-3551.
"Art House" = "Closet-sized masturbatorium."
This "great attendance" in a military town was easily debunked this weekend on FR when it was pointed out that the "Cameo" was the only theater with the movie in that market. Also, the Cameo is one of those little artsy-fartsy theaters that seats very few people so a sell out means little. This info comes not from me but from locals to posted here. Pure propaganda and marketing, nothing more.
The vast numbers are mind numbing. Hopefully, they are selling lots of Goobers and popcorn.
Yeah, I'm local, so I can vouch for the theater's small size. I don't doubt it's a big boost over their normal attendance, though. Every movie I've seen there has maybe a half-dozen seats sold.
It doesn't matter anymore. Once Spiderman 2 comes out this week, Fahrenheit 9/11 won't even be visible on the radar.
LOL !
Meanwhile, all sales records have been broken down at little Sally's lemonade stand.
Therefore, Global Warming must be a reality.
Surely this will quickly eclipse Mel Gibson's little movie.
NOT!
Does Natalie tell her husband now that he is stupidly fighting a war that is just about oil? That he is now a stupid mind numbed Bushman?
http://www.army.mil/tooursoldiers/messages/1166.html
To: D.CO3505PIR AT3
From: Natalie Sorton in North Carolina
Everyone is so proud of what you are doing over there,It may not seem like that to you but it is true.Be safe all of you,and remember you are the REAL HEROES in this world.Come home safe!
Many of the quotes are from people BEFORE they saw the movie. Nonetheless, this is really of little concern. There are lots of bored and insecure people who want to be hip and cool. Unfortunately this often means following the antics of movie and rock stars who all love Michael Moore right now. I think in reality it helps Bush for as many people as possible to see how low the Democrats who support Michael Moore's cartoon have sunk.
All you have to do is watch media opinion to get the same effect of Moore's movie anyway.
Adding another show that draws only 60 people does not reflect massive crowds.
Call me cynical, but this has the feel of disinformation, like the people who call C-SPAN claiming to be Republicans and then spouting nonsense only a Democrat would allow to pass his lips.
The Goobers are applauding this movie.
Propaganda--Michael Moore's legacy.
The Michael Moore/leftist media/America hater spin machine is operating at full capacity.
It sort of reminds you of callers to talk radio who start off, "I'm a Republican but..." then go off on the standard "Bush lied", "war for oil", "stolen election" crap.
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