Equal time and Fahrenheit 9/11

That's an excellent reason -- and it follows along with the drive to get people to register to vote in conjunction with the showing of the film. Maybe after this film takes its ride at the box office we'll have fewer politically dumb Americans. I always thought the silent majority was more like the moot majority. If Moore gets people to register to vote that is great no matter who they vote for. I'm not enthralled with Kerry but then I haven't been that supportive of any candidate since perhaps Kennedy and that was as much a distaste for Nixon as it was a positive for Kennedy. One of my closest friends in Laguna Beach in the 70's was high up in the Nixon administration and quit because of what was going on. He told me an earful so at least I know I wasn't off base in not liking Nixon from the start.

Fahrenheit 9-11 Censored In PA Republican Voter Stronghold?
By Tom Flocco

For full story see..
http://tomflocco.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=67


PHILADELPHIA -- June 26, 2004 8:30 pm -- Tom Flocco.com -- Michael
Moore's controversial new movie Fahrenheit 9-11 was completely
blacked out in densely Republican vote-heavy Delaware county
and faced near total censorship in the fifth largest U.S. market
-- Philadelphia and its Delaware Valley suburbs -- as the film
opened yesterday on just 12 screens out of 377 total ( 3 % )
in 43 Philadelphia area theaters. Moore wrote, produced and directed
the movie documentary critical of President Bush's war policy
and actions during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The film is appearing on only 4 screens out of 197 ( 2 % ) in
the heavily Republican voter strongholds of suburban Delaware
( 0 screens ), Bucks ( 3 ) and Chester ( 1 ) counties. This,
as political cognoscenti in the Keystone State are fully aware
that sell-outs and public awareness of the explosive picture
could ultimately affect the size of the suburban GOP voter turnout
this Fall in southeastern Pennsylvania--and ultimately the electoral
college.

The Regal Entertainment Group maintains a strong movie theater
presence in the suburban marketplace surrounding Philadelphia;
but it also keeps close financial ties to President Bush. This,
as Regal is showing Moore's Fahrenheit on just 4 of its 108 movie
screens in Philadelphia and its suburbs.

Given Regal's opening the film on only 4 % of its available screens
in the top-5 Philly market, questions may be raised as to whether
Regal's money links to the president might have something to
do with the controlled exposure of a movie potentially capable
of drawing a busy Pennsylvania citizenry back into the thick
of war issues and 9/11 negligence.

Suzy, I saw the film at a Regal theater. It was playing on one of 18 screens and it may have been 1/3 full (and come to think of it, that's only counting the good seats. No one sat in the first 10 or so rows). Always be careful with statistics. The author of that rag says it's only being shown on 3% of the screens as if that matters. It is being shown at 27% of the theaters in that same area and I'd say that is a bit more telling.

LW, do you know if there are a limited number of copies, or are some theaters deliberately choosing not to show it at all?

The scuttlebutt going around is that Moore is on record as intending this film as a Bush attack and intends to keep it going throughout the fall up to election time. That means it will be released here and there at intervals to make sure it stays in the news. That is from a local editor friend - I don't have anything other than his knowledge to go on here.

Well, Bill, the article is only about PA, anyway.
I don't know the answers to your questions and am too lazy just now to look them up! Later, maybe, unless someone else wants to. 'kay?

I saw it tonight and the theater was packed. We got to the theater with our tickets about twenty minutes before it started and the line was enormous. We had to sit in semi-crappy seats, but luckily it was a very big theater. Let's see . . . a tuesday night show, sold out. Bill, I don't know what you're trying to intimate, but this movie is very popular right now. We'll see in a couple weeks though.

I thought the overall point was well-made, although comparatively, I liked Bowling For Columbine much more. That might be because I have seen the arguments and the counter-arguments for a lot of this stuff on A2K! This site is kickass!

There were a few times where I thought Moore let his Bush-hatred get in the way of his message, but he did make some great points, the main one being the rationale that we've been given for going into Iraq is a big stinky load of ****.

Well, Bill does live in FLA, it's a different world down there.

I wondered if it might be a slightly different population in O'Bill's area. Of course, all I know about Florida is what I've seen on Seinfeld, so my view may be a bit biased.

When i briefly lived in Winter Park, my strongest recollection was the weather--it was usually drunk out. I didn't like drivin' around there after dark.

But Jerry's parents were ex-NY Jews, a largely Democratic subculture. (They and their whole condo were spot-on; reminded me SSSOOOO much of my grandma and her condo friends. And they were all kinds of ex-communist, Russian artist, professor of history, intellectual raging liberals. Who nonetheless would take it very seriously if they gave you a pen.)

This could not be more spot-on...

The pen. Exactly. My perception of that whole world is that it's very inward focussed - not too aware of what's going on outside the condo gates. Not saying that's what it's like - but it's my view of it - The pen.

Nah, it's both (in my experience.) They know what's going on, they're mad as heck and activist, but meanwhile, you like my pen, take my pen.

(I cannot tell you how many times I had variations of that conversation. I'd say something vaguely complimentary. You want it? No, of course not! Take it! No! Take it!! ... Oy.)

In Winter Park, we lived in a "gated community." Hell, the whole of Winter Park is a gated community. It's a suburb of Winter Springs, which is suburb of Orlando, which is a suburb of Disney world. That place was so weird. Everyone has high fences around the house, because everyone has a pool, and a pool constitutes an "attractive nuisance" if a neighbor kid drowns in it and you don't have a fence. In six months, i did not see a single neighbor. Hell, if i saw the couple we shared the house with, it would startle me.

Florida creeps me out.

Like these "elderly Jewish activists" in Florida:

http://www.zipple.com/newsandpolitics/usnews/20001108_florida_jews_key.shtml

Gawd, remember this?



<shaking head>

Anyway, I think equus' original question is a very interesting one, sorry for sidetracking.

You guys's descriptions of Florida is spot on. Seinfeld's live in Boca Raton just a couple miles from here. My condo property is gated and guarded so there are no surprises. My unit is on the end and I only share an elevator with 3 other units. I've seen my neighbors about 6 times each in 4 years. To be fair; they are wealthy snowbirds so they're really not here that much. Of 145 units, we have a death once every month or 2.

I wouldn't be surprised if Florida made a poor sampling of the country because it's made up of 45% Gypsies from around the county, 40% people waiting to die and 15% people who probably aren't even in the country legally. The illegals stick out like sore thumbs too! (Hard working, usually married, just plain weird I tell ya).

Another reason my experience would be different from Kickycan's; he lives in New York, New York. I wouldn't guess that's the most unbiased area either.

Sozobe, believe me... anyone too stupid to handle the voting machines hear in Palm Beach is too stupid to vote, period. The machines have never been complicated enough to even need to read the clearly posted instructions.

I remember that neighborhood. Altamonte Springs was like that too. Come to think of it, yeah, there were a lot of high fences all over a lot of Orlando. Downtown was pretty nice to live in though. I went to a party once in Winter Park. It was a good place for a party, I'll tell you that much.

Bill, you are definitely right (pun intended) about New York. This place seems to tilt pretty far to the left, in my opinion. But the beauty of New York is that you hear all points of view, and usually pretty loud. I remember when I first moved here I worked on the 31st floor of this building overlooking Times Square, and I used to hear these black muslim guys down on the street everyday at five o'clock, yelling with a bullhorn about the white devil. An amazing place. When I lived in Orlando, I don't remember anything like that happening.

I did see a large crazy lady walking, totally naked, down Colonial Road during rush hour once though. That was just weird.

Don't be criticizing them senior folks too much; we're all gonna be there real quick - and some of us are already there! LOL

I mean no offense to seniors c.i.. It's no mistake or coincidence that I chose to live surrounded by them. :wink:

Cute pun Kicky. The first time I saw Time Square was before the Disney remodel when 42nd St was still a nuthouse. It was hell night (Oct 30th) and man was it nuts. Never before or since have I seen that many people in one place (without any cheese on there heads). Actually, I don't think Football games see that much traffic. Too Big for this hick. I didn't like it. I'm sure I'll visit again but I wouldn't want to live there.

The reason I thought NY, NY would be biased wasn't a left/right thing. I thought it would be a proximity to the disaster thing.

No limited number of prints to my knowledge and invidual theaters of course have the right to what they book, but the demography is suspicious. With the Carlyle Group buying Loew's theater chain, we might see more of this. It's been reported in Variety that the screens will be expanded. I'm sure this is not too much different than Eisner's double-speak about refusing to distribute the film but not for political reasons. If it wasn't for political reasons, he's got some 'spainin'
to do to the stockhoders after announcing a 4,000 layoff, a cut-back in the number of films being made and a miserable showing for "Around the World in 80 Days" which looks like it will represent a loss of gigantic proportions. It cost 100M and the latest projections based on its horrible opening is that it will bearly make 30M. Take out the cost the theater's profit and the cost to distribute (although Buena Vista, a Disney company, could juggle those figures nicely), the film could cost the company 85M to 95M before a DVD release (which is likely to come very soon).