"Fahrenheit 9/11"

[Seth Sandronsky <ssandron@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi PEN-L:

We went to see Moore's new film on June 25 in Sacramento.  All of the
400-plus seats were filled for the 12:15 p.m. showing at the Tower Theater,
the first for the public here.  Moore's latest work is a powerful critique
of the Bush White House, top Democrats and American journalism.  "60
Minutes" is supposed to profile Moore on Sun., June 27.

Cheers,
Seth Sandronsky

Published on Saturday, June 26, 2004 by the Associated Press
'Fahrenheit 9/11' Has Huge Opening Day
by David Germain

LOS ANGELES - "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's assault on President Bush,
took in $8.2 million to $8.4 million in its first day, positioning it as the
weekend's No. 1 film, its distributors said Saturday.

Based on Friday's numbers, "Fahrenheit 9/11" was on track for an opening
weekend that would surpass the $21.6 million total gross of Moore's "Bowling
for Columbine," his 2002 film that earned him an Academy Award for best
documentary.

"Bowling for Columbine" holds the record for highest domestic gross among
documentaries, excluding concert films and movies made for huge-screen IMAX
theaters.

Friday grosses for "Fahrenheit 9/11" ran about $1.5 million ahead of its
closest competitor, the Wayans brothers comedy "White Chicks." The
performance of "Fahrenheit 9/11" was even more remarkable considering it
played in just 868 theaters, fewer than a third the number for "White
Chicks."

"Fahrenheit 9/11" benefited from a flurry of praise and condemnation.
Supporters mobilized liberal-minded audiences to see it over opening weekend
to counter efforts by some right-wing groups to discredit the film.

"It always helps when there's a group out there that says, 'Don't go see
this movie. It's bad for you,'" said Jonathan Sehring, president of IFC
Films, one of the film's distributors.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" paints Bush as a neglectful president who ignored
terrorism warnings before Sept. 11, then stirred up fear of more attacks to
win public support for the Iraq war. The movie won the top honor at the
Cannes Film Festival in May.

The film has ridden a wave of publicity since just before Cannes, when Moore
began assailing Disney for refusing to let subsidiary Miramax release
"Fahrenheit 9/11" because of its political content.

Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein bought back the film and hooked up
with Lions Gate Films and IFC to distribute it.

The fury over "Fahrenheit 9/11" resembled the firestorm created by Mel
Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which rose to blockbuster status amid
debate over whether it was anti-Semitic.

"It's like how 'The Passion of the Christ' redefined what a certain genre of
movie could do at the box office, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is doing the same
thing," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor
Relations. "This blows away any conceivable record for box office of a
documentary."

© 2004 Associated Press

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