I sent the following to a few theatre managers as per the e-mail list provided in a thread a few days ago. There was only one reply to the message (below the following).
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Subject: Do Not Show "Fahrenheit 9/11"
To: fred@carmike.com, philip@carmike.com, film@carmike.com, do07@carmike.com, do12@carmike.com, do14@carmike.com, Jacque_clark@centurytheatres.com, Chris_OKelley@CenturyTheatres.com, Nancy_Klasky@centurytheatres.com, David_shesgreen@centurytheatres.com, Victor_Castillo@centurytheatres.com, srodriguez@manntheatres.com, jhebert@manntheatres.com, info@manntheatres.com, comments@manntheatres.com, rjansson@manntheatres.com, Kconnor@amctheatres.com, Jbeynon@amctheatres.com, Psingleton@amctheatres.com, Jmcdonald@amctheatres.com, Mmcdonald@amctheatres.com, mcook@amctheatres.com, vdaniels@amctheatres.com, gthyer@amctheatres.com, gslayton@amctheatres.com, ddelaria@regalcinemas.com, kevink@regalcinemas.com, robbya@regalcinemas.com, rwinograd@regalcinemedia.com, barry.brown@regalcinemas.com, pbrandow@regalcinemas.com, gdunn@regalcinemas.com, amiles@regalcinemas.com, mcampbell@regalcinemas.com, dgurin@regalcinemas.com, film@savoytheater.com, info@rialtoarts.com, Cameranet@aol.com, webmaster@drexel.net, info@drexel.net, marketing@little-theatre.com, info@little-theatre.com, comments@landmarktheatres.com, magnolia@landmarktheatres.com, hughw@landmarktheatres.com, dianea@landmarktheatres.com, MattL@landmarktheatres.com, lorim@landmarktheatres.com, maura_Campbell@loewscpx.com, john_walker@loewscpx.com, John_mccauley@loewscpx.com, kerry_moots@loewscpx.com, michael_norris@loewscpx.com, brian_blatchley@loewscpx.com, bmcmannis@gqti.com, mjohnson@gqti.com, Goodrich@gqti.com, dkerasotes@kerasotes.com, tjohnson@kerasotes.com, kjohnson@kerasotes.com, joanvoelzke@marcuscorp.com, stevemarcus@marcuscorp.com, bruceolson@marcuscorp.com, ghill@wallacetheaters.com, marketing@wallacetheaters.com, service@wallacetheaters.com, astone@consolidatedth.com, customerservice@consolidatedth.com, ctortolano@pacifictheatres.com, cdougher@clearcin.com, wsalisch@clearcin.com, dlewis1@clearcin.com, jhanson@national-amusements.com, mdixon@national-amusements.com, operations@national-amusements.com, jwelman@crowntheatres.com, hcleveland@crowntheatres.com, cdugger@crowntheatres.com, zcole@crowntheatres.com
Dear Theatre Managers:
Do not show that disgusting pig's (Michael Moore's) "Fahrenheit
9/11" film. It's propaganda against our USA, our soldiers and the
lives of our loved ones. Neither I nor my readers will ever visit
any theatre that shows it.
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I also mentioned to him that perhaps he should tell the theater manager and owner that he will take his business elsewhere if the theater is going to persist in demonizing conservatives.
CFR prohibits free speech. A boycott is a protected form of protest.
OK, so it is bit iffy quoting a Frenchman in these times - but one of my favourite quotes of all time is from Voltaire:
"Sir, I do not agree with a single word you say. But I will defend unto death your right to say it.".
Let Moore stick his Baloney in the greatest Market Place of all: "The Market Place of Ideas". Better ideas are out there. So Answer it. Win it. Move on Proud.
"Over 800 of our most patriotic men and women have died for an illegal war in Iraq," said Karen Trietsch, one of the three women wearing pink wigs and clothing outside a Boulder movie theater. "People will come out of the theater wanting to do something."
......"Today the theater is a gathering point for people upset with the Bush administration," Clark said. "He's the worst president in U.S. history."
Dani Rickel, a manager at the theater, asked protesters standing in front of the theater doors to move off the property. She said the theater had received death threats and didn't want to cause any more controversy.
"Everybody on staff is here and we're just keeping our eyes open," Rickel said.
She said the theater decided to show "Fahrenheit 9/11" because it's an independent art house and shows films that challenge people intellectually.
The theater had called the police earlier in the day because voter registration volunteers had been stopping traffic in the parking lot, Rickel said. She said the police told her that she could kick them off the property.
The members of CodePink and others were asked to stand on nearby sidewalks.
Jonathan Singer, a volunteer coordinator with the Boulder County Democrats, said people come out of the theater charged up, and Democrats want them to take charge of the nation and the election.
"It's difficult, because being pushed off the property has muted us," he said.
The AMC 24 theater in Westminster did not have any protesters, but it did receive an upset phone call. Theater Manager McKensey Orten said a man called her and said he was a patriot, Christian and Republican who was upset that they were showing Michael Moore's film. .....***
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[Somehow I doubt this - it sounds more like a Chris Lehane ploy]
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9/11 film stirs up Sarasota***"It made me think and broadened my horizon," Fogo said.
Jan Schneider, a congressional candidate who lost to U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Sarasota, came to see the film in which Harris makes a cameo. Schneider's supporters surrounded the theater and passed out fliers and buttons. Schneider said she didn't know if the film would directly affect the 2004 presidential election but said that a combination of factors, including the fallout in Iraq, should disillusion the American citizenry on the Bush administration.
"We can't get used to a government that lies to us," Schneider said. "We want truth and integrity."
Conservative groups such as Move America Forward tried to stop theaters from showing the film, and Citizens United filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, asserting that the film was in violation of campaign finance rules created by the McCain-Feingold legislation. And radio pundits such as Bill O'Reilly have blasted the film and its "unpatriotic" director Moore.***
Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,....
That was very cute on the theater's part.
However, you can point out to them that the First Amendment only applies to the Government's actions.
While the First Amendment prohibits the the Government from arresting the theater owner for showing the film, the First Amendment does not take away the freedom of speech rights from those who want to point out that 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is nothing but propaganda designed to undermine the U.S. war effort.
Freedom of Speech works both ways.
The First Amendment also does not prohibit movie-goers outraged by such propaganda from taking their entrainment dollars elsewhere.
May I suggest a mail campaign to like-minded movie-goers urging a boycott of the theaters in question.
Free Markets also work both ways.