Fahrenheit 9/11 is an award-winning documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore, which had a general release in the United States and Canada on June 25 2004. Because of its harsh critique of the Bush Administration, it generated much controversy around the time of its release.
| Fahrenheit 9/11 | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Fahrenheit 9/11 | |
| Directed by | Michael Moore |
| Written by | Michael Moore |
| Produced by | Michael Moore Jim Czarnecki Kathleen Glynn |
| Starring | Michael Moore George W. Bush |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Films IFC Films (theatrical) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (DVD) |
Release date | June 25 2004 |
Running time | 122 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6,000,000 US |
The film has since been released in 42 more countries and holds the record for highest box office receipts by a general release documentary. The title derives from Ray Bradbury's dystopian science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 (and the film of the same name) and the September 11, 2001 attacks. The film debuted at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival in the documentary film category and was awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the festival's highest award, by an international jury (four North Americans, four Europeans, and one Asian).
It presents a critical look at George W. Bush, his presidency and the War on Terrorism. The documentary has another theme of criticizing the American corporate media for being "cheerleaders" for the war in Iraq, and not providing an accurate and objective analysis of what led to the Iraq invasion and the resulting casualties there.
As of January 2005, the film had grossed nearly US$120 million in U.S. box office, and over US$220 million worldwide,[1] an unprecedented amount for a political documentary; Sony reported first-day DVD sales of two million copies, again a new record for the genre. [2]
Cannes Film Festival
In April 2004 the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 57th Cannes Film Festival. After its first showing in Cannes in May 2004, the film reportedly received a 20-minute standing ovation, which Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux declared "the longest standing ovation in the history of the festival". According to French news the standing ovation was over 23 minutes long. Other media reports dispute this claim.[citation needed]
On May 22 2004, the film was awarded the Palme d'Or. It was the first documentary to win that award since Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle's The Silent World in 1956. Just as his much-publicized Oscar acceptance speech, Moore's speech in Cannes included some political statements:
- I can't begin to express my appreciation and my gratitude to the jury, the Festival, to Gilles Jacob, Frémaux, Bob and Harvey at Miramax, to all of the crew who worked on the film. [...] I have a sneaking suspicion that what you have done here and the response from everyone at the festival, you will assure that the American people will see this film. I can't thank you enough for that. You've put a huge light on this and many people want the truth and many want to put it in the closet, just walk away. There was a great Republican president who once said, if you just give the people the truth, the Republicans, the Americans will be saved. [...] I dedicate this Palme d'Or to my daughter, to the children of Americans and to Iraq and to all those in the world who suffer from our actions.
Some conservatives in the United States, such as Jon Alvarez of Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood (PABAAH), commented [3] that such an award could be expected from the French (see Anti-Americanism, Anti-French sentiment in the United States); Moore responded: "There was only one French citizen on the jury. Four out of nine were American. [...] This is not a French award, it was given by an international jury dominated by Americans."
He also responded to arguments that the award was political: "Quentin [Tarantino] whispered in my ear, 'we want you to know that it was not the politics of your film that won you this award. We are not here to give a political award. Some of us have no politics. We awarded the art of cinema, that is what won you this award and we wanted you to know that as a fellow filmmaker.'"
In comments to the prize-winning jury in 2005, however, Cannes director Jacob said they should make their decision based on film-making rather than politics—a clear reference to Fahrenheit 9/11. He also said that, despite the fact that Moore's talent was "not in doubt", he had won the award "for political rather than cinematographic reasons, no matter what the jury said".[4]
Distribution and pre-release
Originally planned for distribution by Mel Gibson's Icon Productions, Fahrenheit 9/11 was later picked up by Miramax after Icon released claims to the movie in May 2003, citing image conflicts while claiming the decision to be apolitical. Miramax had earlier distributed another film for Moore, The Big One, in 1997.
In May 2004, Moore announced that Disney (the parent company of Miramax) was blocking the distribution of Fahrenheit 9/11 in North America, citing a contractual clause expressly permitting it to do so in such cases as a prohibitive budget or explicit movie rating. However, Miramax executives indicated this was not the case. Disney stated that both Moore's agent, Ari Emanuel, and Miramax were advised in May 2003 that Miramax would not be permitted to distribute the film. Disney representatives claim that Disney has the right to veto any Miramax film if it appears that their distribution would be counterproductive to the interests of the company.
An unnamed Disney executive said that the film was against Disney's interests not because of government business dealings, but because releasing it would risk being "dragged into a highly charged partisan political battle" and alienating customers. Emanuel stated that Disney chief executive Michael Eisner requested he back out of the Miramax deal, expressing concerns about political fallout from conservative politicians, especially regarding tax breaks given to Disney properties in Florida (e.g., Walt Disney World), where Jeb Bush is governor. Disney also has financial ties to members of the Saudi royal family, who were represented unfavorably in the film. Moore admitted later in a CNN interview that Disney had told him they did not want the film a year earlier, however, he had been advised by representatives that Miramax would continue to fund filming. Seemingly in approval, Disney continued to fund Fahrenheit 9/11 via Miramax throughout the remaining year of production.
Due to these difficulties, distribution for the film was first secured in numerous countries outside the U.S. On May 28, 2004, after more than a week of talks, Disney announced that Miramax film studio founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein had personally acquired the rights to the documentary from Walt Disney Co., after Disney declined to distribute it.
One month later, the major rights to the film reverted completely to Lions Gate Films, which in partnership with the Weinstein's newly-formed company Fellowship Adventure Group (which handled its home video distribution via Columbia/Tri-Star Home Entertainment) and IFC Films acquired the film for domestic theatrical distribution, beating out other studios such as Fox Searchlight and United Artists. Furthermore, a settlement was reached so that any profits from the film's distribution that went to Miramax or Disney would be donated to charity. The Weinsteins repaid their parent company for all costs of the film to that point, estimated at around $6 million. They also agreed to be responsible for all costs to finish the film and all marketing costs not paid by any third-party film distributors. Moore called the deal a "fair and equitable solution" and added that he was "grateful to them now that everyone who wants to see it will now have the chance to do so."
After being informed that the film had been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America, Moore appealed the decision, hoping to obtain a PG-13 rating for the movie instead (the R rating requires anyone under the age of 17 to be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian, otherwise they will not be admitted). Moore's lawyer, former Governor of New York Mario Cuomo, was not allowed to attend the hearing. The appeal was denied on June 22, 2004, and Gov. Cuomo contended that it was because he had been banned from the hearing. Some theaters chose to defy the MPAA and allow unchaperoned teenagers to attend screenings. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office For Film And Broadcasting gave the film an A-III rating, meaning that it was, in their judgment, "morally unobjectionable for adults" (this is the mildest rating typically given by the organization to motion pictures that are rated R by the MPAA). Moore commented that he was willing to "sneak anyone in."
Film release and box office
The film was released theatrically by The Fellowship Adventure Group through a distribution arrangement with Lions Gate Films. The Fellowship Adventure Group was formed by Bob and Harvey Weinstein specifically for the release of "Fahrenheit 9/11". On its opening weekend of June 25–June 27, this film generated box-office revenue of $23.9 million in the U.S. and Canada, making it the weekend's top-grossing film, despite having been screened in only 868 theaters (many of the weekend's other top movies played on over 2,500 screens). Its opening weekend earned more than the entire U.S. theatrical run of any other feature-length documentary (including Moore's previous film, Bowling for Columbine). But the record of opening weekend for a movie with under 1,000 theatres would later be beaten out by Borat in 2006. The film was released in France on July 7, 2004 and in the UK on July 9, 2004.
During the weekend of July 24, 2004, the film passed the $100 million mark in box-office receipts, again an unprecedented amount for any documentary.
Moore credited part of this success to the efforts of conservative groups to pressure theaters not to run the film, conjecturing that these efforts backfired by creating publicity. There were also efforts by liberal groups such as MoveOn.org to encourage attendance in order to defy their political opponents' contrary efforts.
Partly because of the success of the film, it was widely debated what effect it would have on Bush's chances of re-election. Despite Moore's film, Bush was re-elected to a second term on November 2, 2004, albeit with a narrower margin of votes than any sitting US president in American history. Nonetheless, Bush's critics hoped that the success of the film was an indication of wide public support for more open debate on the Bush administration's policies. Furthermore, it was hoped that it would give heart to people who disagreed with Bush's policies, but felt their views were being marginalized.
On November 12, 2004, Moore announced his intention to produce a sequel to the film, to be entitled Fahrenheit 9/11½. In an interview with Daily Variety, he stated, "We want to get cameras rolling now and have it ready in two, three years. We want to document it. Fifty-one percent of the American people lacked information [in this election] and we want to educate and enlighten them. They weren't told the truth. We're communicators and it's up to us to start doing it now. The official mourning period is over today and there is a silver lining — George W. Bush is prohibited by law from running [for presidency] again."
The film was a major success in most European countries. Critics found the film effective because it had managed to cause controversy in the US.
The film has been banned in Kuwait.
The film was shown in Iran, an anomaly in a nation where American films had been banned since the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979. Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi of the conservative American FrontPage magazine communicated by phone, fax, and email with people in Iran who had seen the film, and found that it generated an unexpectedly pro-American response. The viewers were struck by the way with which Moore was free to attack his own government, in contrast to the government repression and censorship they saw in Iran. One Iranian said of Michael Moore, "He ought to thank his lucky stars he lives in a country where he's allowed and even encouraged to be this obnoxious." Another told Zand-Bonazzi, "They are showing this film to erase from our minds the idea of America being the great liberator; maybe Americans themselves don't appreciate what they have but we sure do!"[5]
In Cuba, bootlegged versions of the film were shown in 120 theaters, followed by a prime-time television broadcast by the leading state-run network. It had been widely reported that this might affect its Oscar eligibility. However, soon after that story had been published, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement denying this, saying, "If it was pirated or stolen or unauthorized we would not blame the producer or distributor for that."[6] In addition, Wild Bunch, the film's overseas distributor for Cuba, issued a statement denying a television deal had been struck with Cuban Television. The issue became moot, however, when Moore decided to forego Oscar eligibility in favor of a pay-per-view televising of the film on November 1 2004.
DVD release
Fahrenheit 9/11 was released to DVD and VHS on October 5, 2004, an unusually short turnaround time after theatrical release. In the first days of the release, the documentary broke records for the best-sold documentary ever. About 2 million copies were sold on the first day.[7]
A companion book, The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader, was released at the same time. It contains the complete screenplay, documentation of Moore's sources, audience e-mails about the film, film reviews, articles and political cartoons pertaining to the film. The DVD also contained some additional footage.[8]
Initial television presentations
The two-hour film was planned to be shown as part of the three-hour "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" on iN DEMAND, but iN DEMAND backed out in mid-October. Moore later arranged for simultaneous broadcasts on November 1st at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on DISH Network, TVN and the Cinema Now website and material prepared for "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" was incorporated into "Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movement in Time" which aired that same week on The Independent Film Channel.
The movie was also shown on basic cable television in Germany and Austria on November 1, 2004 and November 2, 2004. In the UK, the film was shown on Channel 4 on January 27, 2005. In Hungary, it was shown on RTL Klub, a commercial channel, on September 10, 2005, on m1, one of the national channels, on 13 August, 2006, on m2, the other national channel, on 1 September, 2006. In Denmark, it was shown on Danmarks Radio (normally referred to as just DR), which is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation, on April 11, 2006. In Norway, it was shown on NRK, the national broadcasting corporation, on August 27, 2006. The film was screened in New Zealand on September 9 2006 on TV One, a channel of TVNZ, a state supported network. The day after New Zealand, 10 September 2006, the Dutch state supported network Nederland 3 aired the film. In Belgium, it was shown on Kanaal 2, October 12, 2006.
Awards
The film won additional awards after its release, such as the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture, an unprecedented honor for a documentary.
The film also won four Razzies, not for its lack of quality but rather as a "joke" about the "actors". George W. Bush won Worst Actor, Bush with either Rice or "his pet goat" won Worst Screen Couple, Donald Rumsfeld won Worst Supporting Actor, and Rice and Britney Spears were both nominated for Worst Supporting Actress, with Spears winning the award.[9]
Controversy
The film generated substantial controversy and criticism after its release shortly before the U.S. presidential election, 2004.
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Jon Alvarez (May 28, 2004). "The French, Michael Moore, and Fahrenheit 9/11". ChronWatch.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ David Gritten (May 12, 2005). "Cannes jury told to vote for the film, not politics". Telegraph newspaper online.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi (September 29, 2004). "Iranian Citizens Trash Fahrenheit 9/11". FrontPage Magazine.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Josh Grossberg (August 3 2004). "Moore's Cuban Oscar Crisis?". E Online.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ John Wilson (2005). "Halle's Feline Fiasco Catwoman and President's Fahrenheit Blunders Tie for 25th Razzie Dis-Honors". Golden Raspberry Award Foundation.
See also
