The Inquisitr » michael moore

Michael Moore screening Capitalism: A Love Story free tonight in ten cities

Kim LaCapria — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:59:59 +0000

Are you one of the many people affected by the economic downturn?

Michael Moore, who you may know for his films Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling For Columbine or current film Capitalism: A Love Story, wants to take you out tonight. Moore is screening Capitalism: A Love Story tonight in ten cities with the highest unemployment rates and highest foreclosure rates nationally, free for people who have been affected by the crisis. There’s no proof required (Moore says it’s the honor system) so you can just go on and show up if you’re interested.

You can find a list of the participating venues here, and below is the e-mail invite sent by Moore:

Free Screenings Tonight of “Capitalism” for the Jobless and Homeless in America’s Hardest Hit Cities (plus local benefit premieres all across the country)

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Friends,

We’re just one day away from the widest opening I’ve ever had for any of my movies. Tomorrow, Friday, October 2nd, “Capitalism: A Love Story” opens on over a thousand screens across the United States, a record for an independent documentary.

This follows last weekend’s limited opening in New York and L.A. where “Capitalism” set the box office record for the highest per screen average of ANY movie released so far this year. Not just any documentary — any MOVIE! It was, as the studio said, a good indicator of just how well the movie may do when it goes wide this weekend. I sincerely hope they’re right because I believe deeply in this film.

To kick off the national release of “Capitalism: A Love Story,” I’ve asked the studio to offer a number of screenings in the nation’s hardest hit cities — the ones with the highest unemployment rates and highest foreclosure rates — where those who’ve lost their jobs or who are in foreclosure (or have already been evicted) may attend my film free of charge. They’ve agreed, and so tonight (Thursday), the night before our opening day, ten cities will grant you free admission if you have fallen on hard times. The list of theaters and cities is below. You don’t need to bring any “proof” of your situation — just show up — it’s the honor system, no questions asked.

Of course, a free movie ain’t much when what you really need is a job or a place to live. And that’s not going to change until the party that controls both the Congress and the White House wakes up and realizes the American people put them in charge to fix the mess created by the previous administration. For that to happen requires the active involvement of each of us. And, as I show in this movie, it’s going to also require us to challenge some fundamental assumptions about an economic system that currently allows the wealthiest ONE PERCENT in this country to have more financial wealth than the bottom 95% combined. That concentration of money and power in the hands of so few people is, I believe, at the core of so many of our problems.

So, if you’re going through tough times and you live in one of the areas below, please be my guest tonight, on the eve of my new film’s opening. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

Also, in another five cities tonight, I have made the film available to local groups to hold benefit screenings to raise money for their local organizations — organizations which are working toward a day when a filmmaker doesn’t have to offer free screenings to people who’ve been put through the wringer. If you live in any of these areas (see below for the list of benefit premieres tonight), please come out and support the good work of these grassroots groups.

So, until tomorrow, thanks for your support, and I’ll see ya at the movies!

Yours,
Michael Moore

MichaelMoore.com
Twitter.com/MMFlint
Facebook.com/MMFlint
MySpace.com/MMFlint

Irony alert: Esquire throws hedonistic bash to celebrate release of new Moore anti-Capitalism film

Kim LaCapria — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:38:06 +0000

Esquire hosted a swanky party last night, with models and free flowing booze in a pricey Soho penthouse.

The occasion? Michael Moore taking down those jerks who live in excess while the rest of the country suffers under the worst recession since like, time immemorial. Was the exclusive event supposed to be an ironic nod to the themes of the film? Interesting factoid: the party was held in the Soho Mews, an overpriced downtown building wherein only 13 of 68 multi-million dollar apartments have sold.

An attendee summed the party up pretty well on his Tumblr:

This happened last night…

Esquire sponsors the premiere of ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’. Michael Moore’s new shocking and inspirational doc about hard times in America and the evils of capitalism.

Following the Premiere, Esquire shuttles many of the attendees straight down to SoHo to the opening of The Esquire Apartment – a fully decadent penthouse where every square inch is paid for by a luxury sponsor. Hot tub, $120k pool table, $60k home theater, fine food. The only thing lacking was a doormat saying “Welcome To Capitalism.”

I had fun….But ooooh the irony. Everyone I talked to was like, “man, this is the most bizarre combination. I bet Michael Moore would freak out if he saw that this was happening.”….And then he showed up. And was eating it up. And then one of the families from the film came.

Alas- the tale ends there. No word on their reactions, but still a pretty amusing story overall. Wish you were there? You can get the dirt on Esquire’s “Ultimate Bachelor Pad” on its very own website.

Michael Moore: In 1 to 2 years we will not have daily newspapers [Video]

Steven Hodson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:05:41 +0000

You may not agree with Michael Moore regarding a lot of the things he makes films about but at a press event in Toronto for a film festival he said something that most people involved social media and Web 2.0 would be hard-pressed to disagree with.

During the conference that was primarily about his new film, Capitalism, Moore went off on a four minute tangent where he said that the Internet is what is responsible for the killing of newspapers. Moore suggests that it is greed, pure and simple, that has brought the newspaper industry to this point in time.

“These newspapers have slit their own throats,” he said. “Good riddance.”

Moore said that newspapers, bought up by corporations in the last generation, have pursued profits at the expense of news gathering. By basing their businesses on advertising over circulation, newspaper owners have neglected their true economic base and core constituency, he said.

Source: The Wrap – Michael Moore Says U.S. Newspapers ‘Slit Their Own Throats’

Michael Moore asking for donations for bailout companies?

Steven Hodson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:47:17 +0000

You mention the name Michael Moore in any mixed company and you will probably get equally mixed comments. More than once he has proven to be a lightening rod over the issues he has made documentaries about. It seems that lightening will be striking again with his upcoming, and yet to be named, documentary about our current economic situation if a recent stunt he has pulled is any indication.

According to Alex Billington over at FirstShowing.net some of the theaters showing the new Taking of Pelham 123 were to be treated to a trailer of Moore’s documentary. Other theaters though were treated to Michael Moore appearing on the screen asking them to donate money to “needy banks and corporations” at which point the ushers would enter the theater with buckets to collect the money.

This apparently is no joke as Alex has the exact text of what Michael said

"Hi, I’m Michael Moore. Instead of using this time to tell you about my new movie I’d like to take a moment and ask you to join me in helping our fellow Americans. The downturn in the economy has hurt many people, people who have had no choice but to go on government assistance. Yet our welfare agencies can only do so much. That’s why I’m asking you to reach into your pockets right now and lend a hand. Ushers will be coming down the aisles to collect your donations for Citibank, Bank of America, AIG, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and a host of other needy banks and corporations. Won’t you please give generously? Now, I know what you’re thinking – I already gave at the bailout. And I know you did, but even if you’ve given in the past, give some more. It will make you feel… good."

You can hear the full audio portion of his “appeal” over at Slashfilm. This isn’t something that will be happening at all the showings of the Pelham but rather in selected theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C.

Trust Michael to pull a stunt like this.

Online Movie Premiere: Will It Work?

JR — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:59:16 +0000

Hollywood is following the path of television networks with plans for an Internet-based movie premiere. Michael Moore has announced he’ll release his new project, an election-focused film called Slacker Uprising, exclusively on the Web — and for free, too. Downloads will be offered at no charge via Blip.tv for the first three weeks of release.

Moore’s movie takes viewers along his journey through 62 cities in the 20 U.S. “swing states” that could heavily influence the November vote. Moore speaks to crowds to try to encourage young “slackers” to register to vote — and, not surprisingly, stirs up some controversy along the way.

It’s a risky move for Moore, whose last two documentaries were two of the three most profitable in movie-making history. So will it pay off? Well, financially, probably not. There doesn’t seem to be any major monetization or ad profit plan in place. While Moore does intend to eventually sell DVDs of the project, that certainly can’t compare to the box office cash it would have brought in.

Still, for a guy who probably doesn’t need the money, it may just be worthwhile in the end. As with Radiohead’s pay-what-you-want online album release experiment, the exposure and publicity may outshine any lack of direct income. That, of course, more than pays off down the road. With people already flocking to watch television online, the idea of a free Web movie release undoubtedly plays to a demographic’s video-centric habits — and love him or hate him, the outspoken jolly king of the documentary world may have stumbled onto a smart strategy. I suspect it won’t be the last semi-mainstream Internet movie premiere, but rather the first in a trend that’ll only move upward.