Posted on 06/27/2004 9:43:34 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Title says it all....Blech....Let's hope the film dies a quick death.
(Excerpt) Read more at boxofficemojo.com ...
Ignore the film. Do not discuss it or refute it. Talk about Iraqi handover. 9/11 will be off the radar screen in a few days and no one saw it that wasn't already going to vote communist.
Oh, and btw folks, box office quotes are gross. The theaters keep at least half. If he made 22 million so far, he may make another 6 million. There will be NO international money made on this as time passes. This film will not have legs.
Reported expenses are 19 million and you can presume they are much higher. He will get 15 million after the theaters take their cut. We'll see if he actually makes much money on this in a few weeks.
I think it's dangerous to just ignore the film and hope that it won't influence votes. I think it's better to practice a little political jujitsu, and turn Moore's extremism to our advantage against the Dems. The Bush/Cheney "Coalition of the Wild-Eyed" ad is a good step in that direction.
The 21 million it's already made makes it a success. I still won't see Bowling For Columbine because I don't want to pay Moore any money. Nonetheless, let's acknowledge the facts and continue from there.
(Not to engate in false appearances myself, I would never vote for Bush. He's taken the first Rep. House and Senate majorities in 50 yrs. and hugely increased Clinton's budgets for farming and for the "Arts"...which have nothing to do with security. I was against Iraq and also against wars not voted as such by Congress, but I don't particularly blame Bush for the way it's going.)
Dude, have you been in a cave? Lisa Myers massacred the movie on NBC nightly news. In fact she destroyed it so thoroughly that I doubt Rove and Bush could do any better. Just relax and read Hitchens' review on MSNBC.
First, get a fork from the drawer and stick it in any outlet in your home.
Now that you have been shocked back into REALITY, see reply #28 and take ACTION.
This was the liberal's church service. I wonder how many people who went to see it were disgusted and thought that it undermined their cause, but said how "great" and "important" it was just to be liked by their friends.
OMG they were actually crying, screaming and yelling at the screen? I'm laughing so hard reading your description. It does sound like they're infected with the rage.
I agree. The best answer to the propaganda of the Left would be a full-length documentary on the wonderful things our soldiers have achieved in Iraq to help the ordinary people, such as building roads, water systems, schools, hospitals, even providing tons and tons of school supplies. They have transformed 2,358 schools nationwide. Our troops even put together and delivered over 1 million school supply kits to eager Iraqi children. Personally, I would love to see a film about this.
You wouldn't even have to mention Bush's name, thereby getting around the McCain-Feingold campaign restrictions.
Send your ideas to Mr. Philip Anschutz at:
The Anschutz Film Group
555 17th St., Ste. 2400
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 298-1000
Fax: 303-298-8881
This movie mogul doesn't live in Hollywood. A Denver billionaire, Anschutz owns 78% of Regal Entertainment Group, which in turn controls the largest theater chain in the U.S., including United Artists Theatres and Regal Cinemas. He says he got into the entertainment business in order to make family films, so that gives you an idea of his core values.
Among other things, this company acquired the rights to make films of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles, and their most recent production was "Around the World in 80 Days," the Jackie Chan movie which just reached the theatres.
Sorry I couldn't find his email on the Internet. Maybe some of you techno-whizzes can do that for us.
'Fahrenheit 9/11' Earns $21.8 Million in Three Days
Controversial Film Hits No. 1 at Box Office
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP
LOS ANGELES (June 27) - Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11'' took in a whopping $21.8 million in its first three days, becoming the first documentary ever to debut as Hollywood's top weekend film.
AP
Michael Moore arrives for the preview of "Fahrenheit 9/11," in Washington, D.C.
If Sunday's estimates hold when final numbers are released Monday, "Fahrenheit 9/11'' would set a record in a single weekend as the top-grossing documentary ever outside of concert films and movies made for huge-screen IMAX theaters.
Adding the film's haul at two New York City theaters where it opened Wednesday, two days earlier than the rest of the country, boosted "Fahrenheit 9/11'' to $21.96 million.
"Bowling for Columbine,'' Moore's 2002 Academy Award-winning documentary, previously held the documentary record with $21.6 million.
"Fahrenheit 9/11,'' Moore's assault on President Bush's actions after the 2001 terrorist attacks, won the top honor at last month's Cannes Film Festival and has attracted attention from both sides in the presidential campaign.
The movie has been embraced by left-wing groups, which mobilized members to see it during the opening weekend. Conservative groups sought to discourage theaters from showing it and asked the Federal Election Commission to examine its ads for potential violations of campaign-finance law regulating when commercials may feature a presidential candidate.
"I want to thank all the right-wing organizations out there who tried to stop the film, either from their harassment campaign that didn't work on the theater owners, or going to the FEC to get our ads removed from television, to all the things that have been said on television,'' Moore said. "It's only encouraged more people to go and see it.''
The Wayans brothers' comedy "White Chicks,'' about two black FBI agents who go undercover as white debutantes, opened in second place with $19.6 million for the weekend. That pushed the total for "White Chicks'' to $27.1 million since opening Wednesday.
· Watch a Clip & Trailer
· Moore's Biography & Films
· Post Your Thoughts | Chat
The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,'' slipped to third place, taking in $18.5 million and pushing its 10-day total to $67.2 million. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' "The Terminal'' fell from second to fourth place with $13.9 million, raising its 10-day gross to $41.8 million.
Premiering in fifth place with $13 million was the tearjerker romance "The Notebook,'' featuring Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner and Gena Rowlands.
Despite good reviews, the family film "Two Brothers,'' about tiger siblings separated in youth and reunited as opponents in the ring as grown cats, opened weakly at No. 9 with $6.2 million.
"Fahrenheit 9/11'' opened in 868 theaters, a wide release for a documentary but narrow compared to big Hollywood flicks. The film averaged $25,115 a theater, compared to $7,190 in 2,726 cinemas for "White Chicks.''
Distributors Lions Gate and IFC Films plan to put "Fahrenheit 9/11'' into a couple of hundred more theaters this Wednesday, when competition heats up with the release of "Spider-Man 2,'' summer's most-anticipated movie.
Lions Gate and IFC came on board after Disney refused to let subsidiary Miramax release "Fahrenheit 9/11'' because of its political content. Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein bought back the film and went looking for independent distributors.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Fahrenheit 9/11,'' $21.8 million.
2. "White Chicks,'' $19.6 million.
3. "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,'' $18.5 million.
4. "The Terminal,'' $13.9 million.
5. "The Notebook,'' $13 million.
6. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,'' $11.4 million.
7. "Shrek 2,'' $10.5 million.
8. "Garfield: The Movie,'' $7 million.
9. "Two Brothers,'' $6.2 million.
10. "The Stepford Wives,'' $5.2 million.
06/27/04 17:34 EDT
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
About 40,000 twinkies.
Or in short, it was a case of cooking the books by Democratic operatives buying large blocks of tickets to inflate the viewership numbers. It will be VERY interesting to see how it fares against Spiderman 2 when it comes out Wednesday in over 3,500 screens. Given that Spiderman 2 will have from June 30 to July 5 for a full holiday weekend count, I expect Spiderman 2 to make around US$145 million by the end of July 5th, while Fahrenheit 9/11 will probably add another US$10 million to its total by the same date.
"Kerry will be Elected and America is doomed."
I've seen this claim stated elsewhere on this board, and I've got to say that I don't know where it's coming from. Let's try to be just a teensy bit objective here. Doomed? Electoral results in the United States, whatever their outcome, don't doom the country to anything. Sure, politics swing a little bit, and executive and legislative priorities may change, but DOOM? Please. This sounds like the sort of pablum I'd hear out of a left-wingnut concerning Bush's re-election.
Cheers!
Everett Volk
"Or in short, it was a case of cooking the books by Democratic operatives buying large blocks of tickets to inflate the viewership numbers."
I've seen this claim asserted in a number of places in this discussion, and I've got to wonder why people think this is an important fact. When POC came out, churches were buying blocks of tickets so parishioners could see and discuss the movie. This seemed like a good thing to me then, and seems like an equally reasonable thing now. Regardless of the political bent of the movie or its viewers, I wouldn't be surprised if people wanted to see it in groups and discuss it with their friends. If, as Christopher Hitchens suggests, it is a transparent piece of crap, then discussion might be a good thing.
Cheers!
Everett Volk
i have read the posts about this movie with great interest. can we start a conversation about the points that people say are lies?
The whole movie.
Here is a good article by Joe Scarborough.
"Fahrenheit 9/11" distorts the truth Deceit and deception is breathtaking
And one here by David Brooks, the token conservative at the NYT.
Were there any other theaters in your area showing Moore's film? In some cities, only one theater was showing this film, so the lines tended to be long due to this fact. In Fayettville, North Carolina, a single art house theater, seating only 150 people, was the only theater in that city showing Moore's film. Because of this, the film's showings were sold out at that theater.
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