Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Fahrenheit 911

This is topic Fahrenheit 911 in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 10-03-2004, 11:15 AM:

**Let's keep this non political so the thread survives**
(although we know how well this warning worked in the past)

Moore's epic melodrama is set to hit DVD this Tuesday, but I was hard pressed to find any info on it in terms of alterations. I know between the Cannes and theatrical release, there were some changes made here and there (like the number of casualties, etc.) and was wondering if there was any LUCASING going on before the DVD release. Anyone hear anything? (I think Moore's baseball cap will be entirely CGI now.)

Michael Moore is currently on his "Slacker Uprising" tour to get college students out to vote in this election, as well as promote his DVD. However, when he came to the University of Central Florida, they had a stack of DVDs (both Columbine and Fahranheit) on a table next to him on stage. He never mentioned the film, and never gave out any copies. Perhaps in fear of being accused of more self-promotion. That didn't stop at least one soul from trying to get their hands on an early copy:

=TMP=

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 10-03-2004, 11:22 AM:

maybe they were just empty DVD cases....you know, if he wants to "uprise the slackers" in the US, maybe he could shave, cut his hair and maybe wear something decent for places that are giving him up to 40k a pop for a speach.....

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 10-04-2004, 12:15 PM:

He doesn't charge schools to come speak. I don't know who George Mason University was giving their money to, but he came to our school for free. As well as Gainsville and Tallahassee.

Our university tried to book him in 2002 and his agency was going to charge $20,000 assuming it was a commercial appearance. (Dunno who they talked to) Moore heard of the mix-up, but had to cancel outright since Bowling for Columbine was coming out that week anyway.

I think what GMU was paying for was the stage, audio, staff, security, food, location, etc. But as for Moore's appearance, that's free.

=TMP=

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 10-06-2004, 09:25 AM:

um...at FSU he wanted $40,000 to speak but waived it b/c our school wouldn't pay him and the college Democrats didn't have the money. Of course they paid for his food, room, travel expenses, etc.

At the University of FL, they are paying him $50,000. UF's Speakers Bureau is paying for him, and it ends up costins each student $1.04 out of their fees for it.

Maybe UCF and FSU got him for free, but UF was willing to pay over full price.

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 10-06-2004, 09:41 AM:

I'm not renting or buying this thing, but anyone know what the "special features" are?

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 10-06-2004, 07:52 PM:

Special Features include:
A blooper reel where we can actually see Mike without his hat.
The secret alternate ending where there actually were WMD in Iraq
Footage of multiple senators actually signing their kids up for military service.
Commentary by George W. Bush and friends.

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 10-06-2004, 10:18 PM:

From: DVD Talk - Fahrenheit 9/11

quote:
Extras:

The Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD has a lot of 'supplemental' material. More content which seems produced for the DVD than cut from the film itself:

The Release of Fahrenheit 9/11 - A pretty self congratulatory look at the release of the film, this featurette follows the film from Cannes through its national release. There are a number of interviews with Senators and other public personalities talking about how important the film is. While I agree the film IS an important one I didn't particularly find this feature to be very engaging. It would have been more interesting to see the road to getting the film actually made than the wurlwind surrounding its release. The most amusing part of this featurette is to hear people condemn the film without seeing it. (Runs about 11 mins)

Eyewitness Account from Samara, Iraq - a chilling look at the raids which American military go on in Iraq captured by an embedded Swedish journalist. The footage isn't pretty and it shows how harsh the raids can be. A powerful extra, definitely worth watching. (Runs about 18 mins)

Lila Lipscomb at Washington DC Premiere - a speech by Lila Lipscomb, a mother who list her son in the war in Iraq. She was featured in the film and her speech here is in a similar vein. I found the scenes with her in the film itself to be stronger than hearing her speak. (Runs about 4 1/2 mins)

The People of Iraq on The Eve of Invasion - a significant expansion to the section of the film that looks at Iraq before the invasion. This area was one of the more criticized areas of the film as it didn't address directly Saddam Hussein and his impact, but the footage is definite food for thought. Many of the Iraqis interviewed in the film talk about their wishes for peace and the human toll the war could have. Absolutely worth watching (Runs about 8 mins)

Outside Abu Ghraib Prison - another extremely unflattering look at the treatment of Iraqis by American Soldiers. This section looks at the famlies waiting for prisoners to be released and it's pretty gut wrenching. It ends with US servicemen escorting the cameraman off the grounds. (Runs about 7 mins)

More from Corporal Abdul Henderson - an extended interview with one of the soldiers interviewed for the film. He goes into a lot more detail about his tour with some pretty gory stories and anecdotes about protecting the oil fields. (Runs about 7 1/2 mins)

Condoleeza Rice: "I Asked You What The Title Was" - Testimony by Condoleeza Rice in front of the 9/11 commission. It's not a flattering clip and shows her tip toeing around a report on Bin Laden. (Runs about 8 mins)

Bush after his 'Visit' with the 9/11 Commission - Bush talks about how he 'enjoyed' speaking with the 9/11 commission. Another very unflattering look at Bush. He comes off very poorly and evasive. (Runs about 5 mins).

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 10-06-2004, 10:48 PM:

quote: Dean Kollet
maybe he could shave, cut his hair

uh...

I don't know if you are familiar with this term, but that's a classical example of what in football ("soccer") we call an own goal.

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 10-06-2004, 11:30 PM:

touche, although I'm not getting paid 50k a speech to motivate people. If I shave and cut my hair I look like I'm 14 anyways.

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 10-08-2004, 02:58 PM:

quote: Dean Kollet
maybe he could shave, cut his hair

I agree. Someone should tell Michael Moore that he's no Peter Jackson.

[Razz]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 10-08-2004, 04:19 PM:

Oh my... talk about NOT in it for the $$$$... HA!
From Variety

Anyone else think he's an un-washed fat slob that probably has BO (NOT Box Office!) big time? YUK!

>>> Phil

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Posted: Thurs., Oct. 7, 2004, 10:00pm PT

Moore to come

'Fahrenheit' pay event irks DVD distrib

By JOHN DEMPSEY, GABRIEL SNYDER

Michael Moore's dream of getting "Fahrenheit 9/11" onto television the night before the presidential election is close to fruition.
Documaker is producing a three-hour pay-per-view event that will run Nov. 1, the night before Election Day.

"The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" will consist of a screening of "Fahrenheit 9/11" bookended by interviews with politically committed celebrities who'll talk about the charges leveled in the movie and the importance of voting in the presidential election of 2004.

TV sources said In Demand, the largest pay-per-view distributor in the U.S., will transmit the special between 8 and 11 p.m. EST (5 and 8 p.m. PST) and charge a fee of $9.95.

But a rep for the "Fahrenheit" camp said a deal was not in place: "This is not true. There are no signed contracts. DVD sales are going through the roof."

When Moore first said last month he hoped to air "Fahrenheit" on TV the night before the election (Daily Variety, Sept. 6), he noted that its homevid home, Columbia TriStar, has the right to block any small-screen broadcast so close to the Oct. 5 DVD release.

Homevid distribs don't like the idea of competing against pay TV while they are trying to sell units, naturally.

So the deal with In Demand contains several points meant to assuage Sony's fears.

For instance, In Demand will be restricted from doing any marketing and promotion of the special until Oct. 24. Calling it "the Michael Moore Pre-election Special" instead of "Fahrenheit 9/11" is another way to differentiate it from the DVD.

(The usual exclusive videostore window for a movie with the sales potential of the $120-million-grossing "Farenheit 9/11" would run from 45 to 60 days, or longer.)

Sony would not comment about shipments or first-day sales of "Fahrenheit 9/11" on Tuesday. Typically, studios ship between 1.3 million and 1.75 million DVD copies of major theatrical releases to retailers.

Sources believe the company shipped on the high side of that range to rental stores and roughly the same or a slightly higher number -- about 1.5 million to 2 million copies -- to the sell-through outlets.

Based on those shipments, industry sources estimate that somewhere between 500,000 and 750,000 copies were purchased by consumers the first day, with that number likely doubling through the first week. If that's so, DVD sales revenue would be about $19 million to $30 million for the first week.

In its deal with Fellowship Adventure Group, Bob and Harvey Weinstein's company which owns "Fahrenheit" rights, In Demand also has bought the usual PPV window of the special, which will run multiple times during December and January.

Moore bowed out of the best doc Oscar race to allow the possibility of a television run despite Sony's reluctance. Acad rules render docs ineligible if they appear on TV within nine months of their theatrical release.

In a counter example, Robert Greenwald, the TV-movie producer, pulled his feature docu "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War" from a scheduled PPV run this month precisely because he had submitted the movie to the Academy and realized that a PPV showing was verboten (Daily Variety, Sept. 12).

Of course, not being eligible for the docu Oscar also allows Moore and the Weinsteins to focus instead on pushing "Fahrenheit" for Oscar's top prize: best picture.

(Scott Hettrick contributed to this report.)

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Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 10-09-2004, 02:33 AM:

he is laughing all the way to the bank...