Exclusive: Charles Dance-narrated doc feature Savage Waters will be available to watch in the UK following a deal struck with distribution and exhibition outfit Tull Stories.
Tull Stories will release Savage Waters theatrically as part of its Adventure Club strand before releasing on VoD after completing a deal with the movie’s distributor Abacus Media Rights, which boarded two years ago.
Narrated by The Crown star Dance, Savage Waters follows renowned skipper Matt Knight, sailing to unpredictable and uncharted regions to adventure into the most dangerous waters of the Atlantic and find a spectacular big wave with surfer Andrew Cotton. Their journey is inspired by a passage in a 19th century treasure hunter’s journal.
Savage Waters comes from Mikey Corker (Lord of War), is produced by Ghislaine Couvillat (Girls Can’t Surf) and executive produced by Kathleen Glynn (Fahrenheit 9/11), Peggy Cafferty (Ladder 49), Lorcan Kavanagh (The Midnight Man) and Maia Norman.
Tull Stories will release Savage Waters theatrically as part of its Adventure Club strand before releasing on VoD after completing a deal with the movie’s distributor Abacus Media Rights, which boarded two years ago.
Narrated by The Crown star Dance, Savage Waters follows renowned skipper Matt Knight, sailing to unpredictable and uncharted regions to adventure into the most dangerous waters of the Atlantic and find a spectacular big wave with surfer Andrew Cotton. Their journey is inspired by a passage in a 19th century treasure hunter’s journal.
Savage Waters comes from Mikey Corker (Lord of War), is produced by Ghislaine Couvillat (Girls Can’t Surf) and executive produced by Kathleen Glynn (Fahrenheit 9/11), Peggy Cafferty (Ladder 49), Lorcan Kavanagh (The Midnight Man) and Maia Norman.
- 6/5/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Abacus Media Rights has boarded international distribution on Savage Waters, the feature documentary about a mission to find and surf a spectacular big wave in the Atlantic Ocean.
The pic follows renowned skipper Matt Knight, who teams up with world-class big wave surfer Andrew Cotton to adventure into the most dangerous waters of the Atlantic. Their journey is inspired by a passage in a 19th century treasure hunter’s journal. Joined by family and friends, the pair are faced with life-threatening challenges on their quest.
Doc is directed by Mikey Corker (Beneath The Surface), produced by Ghislaine Couvillat (Girls Can’t Surf) of Whipped Sea and edited by Emmy winner Jordan Montminy (The 8th), with story consultation from BAFTA-winning Nic Guttridge (The Spy Who Fell To Earth).
The project will have its post-production at Dublin-based Play House Studios, with Kathleen Glynn (Bowling For Columbine), Peggy Cafferty and Lorcan Kavanagh from...
The pic follows renowned skipper Matt Knight, who teams up with world-class big wave surfer Andrew Cotton to adventure into the most dangerous waters of the Atlantic. Their journey is inspired by a passage in a 19th century treasure hunter’s journal. Joined by family and friends, the pair are faced with life-threatening challenges on their quest.
Doc is directed by Mikey Corker (Beneath The Surface), produced by Ghislaine Couvillat (Girls Can’t Surf) of Whipped Sea and edited by Emmy winner Jordan Montminy (The 8th), with story consultation from BAFTA-winning Nic Guttridge (The Spy Who Fell To Earth).
The project will have its post-production at Dublin-based Play House Studios, with Kathleen Glynn (Bowling For Columbine), Peggy Cafferty and Lorcan Kavanagh from...
- 6/23/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
As Michael Moore premieres Fahrenheit 11/9 in Toronto this month, the famed documentarian is caught up in an increasingly heated dispute with his ex-wife that even has a bizarre Harvey Weinstein cameo.
For 23 years, Moore was married to Kathleen Glynn, but the relationship was more than husband and wife. She was also his business partner and a producer on such films as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. According to new court papers, when they settled with each other in 2014 upon their separation, Glynn agreed to surrender her 50 percent interest in their joint company in return for four ...
For 23 years, Moore was married to Kathleen Glynn, but the relationship was more than husband and wife. She was also his business partner and a producer on such films as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. According to new court papers, when they settled with each other in 2014 upon their separation, Glynn agreed to surrender her 50 percent interest in their joint company in return for four ...
As Michael Moore premieres Fahrenheit 11/9 in Toronto this month, the famed documentarian is caught up in an increasingly heated dispute with his ex-wife that even has a bizarre Harvey Weinstein cameo.
For 23 years, Moore was married to Kathleen Glynn, but the relationship was more than husband and wife. She was also his business partner and a producer on such films as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. According to new court papers, when they settled with each other in 2014 upon their separation, Glynn agreed to surrender her 50 percent interest in their joint company in return for four ...
For 23 years, Moore was married to Kathleen Glynn, but the relationship was more than husband and wife. She was also his business partner and a producer on such films as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. According to new court papers, when they settled with each other in 2014 upon their separation, Glynn agreed to surrender her 50 percent interest in their joint company in return for four ...
Imagine Dragons front man Dan Reynolds stars in Believer.
Sales outfit Kew Media Group has added two documentaries to its slate at this week’s European Film Market (Efm) in Berlin.
The company has picked up Believer, which features Dan Reynolds, front man of Us rock group Imagine Dragons and a former Mormon missionary. The project delves into the struggle to reconcile differences between the religious Mormon community and the Lgbtq community. The film, directed by Don Argott and produced by Live Nation Productions, premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January. HBO has taken Us rights.
Kew has also bought international rights to Soufra, about an entrepreneurial woman, Mariam Shaar, striving to start a business while stuck in a refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. Susan Sarandon is an executive producer on the project. Thomas Morgan directed and produced with Trevor Hall, Kathleen Glynn and Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Media Group.
Kew Media’s Evp of...
Sales outfit Kew Media Group has added two documentaries to its slate at this week’s European Film Market (Efm) in Berlin.
The company has picked up Believer, which features Dan Reynolds, front man of Us rock group Imagine Dragons and a former Mormon missionary. The project delves into the struggle to reconcile differences between the religious Mormon community and the Lgbtq community. The film, directed by Don Argott and produced by Live Nation Productions, premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January. HBO has taken Us rights.
Kew has also bought international rights to Soufra, about an entrepreneurial woman, Mariam Shaar, striving to start a business while stuck in a refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. Susan Sarandon is an executive producer on the project. Thomas Morgan directed and produced with Trevor Hall, Kathleen Glynn and Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Media Group.
Kew Media’s Evp of...
- 2/17/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Pilgrim Media Group is making its first foray into the feature documentary space, teaming with Rebelhouse Group on Soufra, a documentary feature from director Thomas Morgan (Waiting For Mamu). Kathleen Glynn (Bowling For Columbine) is producing, with Morgan, Trevor Hall and Craig Piligian serving as producers and Susan Sarandon executive producer. The docu chronicles the story of Mariam Shaar who, along with a diverse group of equally driven women, transcended the…...
- 6/6/2017
- Deadline
Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival is a welcome reminder of the power of film. Since 2005, he has slowly turned a conservative small town in Northwest Michigan — a four-hour drive away from any major city — into a community of ardent film enthusiasts. Not only that, but they are no longer quite as narrow-minded. Now there are decent restaurants on the main drag. Tourists flock in for the five-day summer festival (which this year ran July 26-31), which sells 130,000 tickets and generates more than $5 million dollars in commerce every year.
Over time, Moore has won over the residents of Traverse City, building their involvement in running his year-round arthouse The State, plus mainstream The Bijou (built in an old Wpa building) and the annual festival, all of which are staffed by volunteers led by resident Deb Lake. They feed Traverse City audiences a steady diet of films foreign and domestic,...
Over time, Moore has won over the residents of Traverse City, building their involvement in running his year-round arthouse The State, plus mainstream The Bijou (built in an old Wpa building) and the annual festival, all of which are staffed by volunteers led by resident Deb Lake. They feed Traverse City audiences a steady diet of films foreign and domestic,...
- 8/4/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival is a welcome reminder of the power of film. Since 2005, he has slowly turned a conservative small town in Northwest Michigan — a four-hour drive away from any major city — into a community of ardent film enthusiasts. Not only that, but they are no longer quite as narrow-minded. Now there are decent restaurants on the main drag. Tourists flock in for the five-day summer festival (which this year ran July 26-31), which sells 130,000 tickets and generates more than $5 million dollars in commerce every year.
Over time, Moore has won over the residents of Traverse City, building their involvement in running his year-round arthouse The State, plus mainstream The Bijou (built in an old Wpa building) and the annual festival, all of which are staffed by volunteers led by resident Deb Lake. They feed Traverse City audiences a steady diet of films foreign and domestic,...
Over time, Moore has won over the residents of Traverse City, building their involvement in running his year-round arthouse The State, plus mainstream The Bijou (built in an old Wpa building) and the annual festival, all of which are staffed by volunteers led by resident Deb Lake. They feed Traverse City audiences a steady diet of films foreign and domestic,...
- 8/4/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Filmmaker Michael Moore has filed for divorce from producer Kathleen Glynn, his wife of 21 years and his collaborator on various projects that include "Bowling for Columbine," "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Capitalism: A Love Story."
The AP reports that Moore filed a divorce complaint over a month ago in Michigan's Antrim County, which is where the couple has a lakeside home. The complaint says "there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved."
Glynn has not filed a response. A final hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10, when the divorce should be finalized. The couple married in October 1991 and have no children together. Kathleen has a daughter, Natalie, from a previous relationship who is Moore's stepdaughter.
The AP reports that Moore filed a divorce complaint over a month ago in Michigan's Antrim County, which is where the couple has a lakeside home. The complaint says "there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved."
Glynn has not filed a response. A final hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10, when the divorce should be finalized. The couple married in October 1991 and have no children together. Kathleen has a daughter, Natalie, from a previous relationship who is Moore's stepdaughter.
- 7/23/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
The awful truth about Michael Moore's marriage is that it's not working. The firebrand filmmaker has filed a petition to divorce from his producer-wife Kathleen Glynn seeking to end their 21-year union. According to Michigan's Mlive.com, which obtained a copy of the June 17 complaint filed in Antrim County, Mich., the 59-year-old Moore said "there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved" after a "breakdown" in the relationship. The famed documentarian revealed that the couple separated sometime prior to the filing and have no children. He's asking a court for a restraining order barring his estranged missus from selling any of their joint...
- 7/19/2013
- E! Online
They’ve been married for 21 years, and sadly Michael Moore and his wife Kathleen Glynn have announced they’re getting divorced.
The “Sicko” documentarian filed the paperwork at Antrium County Circuit Court, noting that he no longer lives with his wife in Torch Lake, Michigan.
Moore also declared that there is “no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved,” therefore he sought divorce.
Michael and Kathleen will appear at a divorce hearing on September 10th, whereupon the judge will decide how much of Moore’s $50 million net worth he’ll have to give up.
The “Sicko” documentarian filed the paperwork at Antrium County Circuit Court, noting that he no longer lives with his wife in Torch Lake, Michigan.
Moore also declared that there is “no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved,” therefore he sought divorce.
Michael and Kathleen will appear at a divorce hearing on September 10th, whereupon the judge will decide how much of Moore’s $50 million net worth he’ll have to give up.
- 7/19/2013
- GossipCenter
‘Fahrenheit 9/11′ director and his film producer wife are reportedly calling it a day after two decades of marriage. So sad.
Michael Moore, 59, filed from divorce from his wife, Kathleen Glynn, on June 21. In the filing, he stated that he and wife no longer lived together in their Michigan home. Read on for all the details.
Michael Moore & Kathleen Glynn Are Getting Divorced
Michael, the Oscar-winning documentarian, and Kathleen have been married for 21 years, but he has decided to end the marriage, reports Us Weekly.
In the complaint filed in Antrium County Circuit, Michael stated that he and Kathleen no longer lived together in their home in Michigan’s Torch Lake. The filing also said there was “no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.”
How sad. The couple have no children, but they have a long standing working relationship.
Kathleen was a producer on Michael’s documentaries Bowling for Columbine,...
Michael Moore, 59, filed from divorce from his wife, Kathleen Glynn, on June 21. In the filing, he stated that he and wife no longer lived together in their Michigan home. Read on for all the details.
Michael Moore & Kathleen Glynn Are Getting Divorced
Michael, the Oscar-winning documentarian, and Kathleen have been married for 21 years, but he has decided to end the marriage, reports Us Weekly.
In the complaint filed in Antrium County Circuit, Michael stated that he and Kathleen no longer lived together in their home in Michigan’s Torch Lake. The filing also said there was “no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.”
How sad. The couple have no children, but they have a long standing working relationship.
Kathleen was a producer on Michael’s documentaries Bowling for Columbine,...
- 7/19/2013
- by Eleanore Hutch
- HollywoodLife
Director Michael Moore and his wife of 21 years are divorcing. Moore, 59, filed a divorce petition against wife Kathleen Glynn, 55, in an Antrim County, Mich., court on June 21, noting that there was "no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved," Michigan's Mlive.com reported Friday. Glynn worked with her husband as producer on several of his films, including Bowling for Columbine, Sicko and Fahrenheit 9/11. The couple owned a home, valued at $1.2 million, on the state's scenic Torch Lake. They married in 1991 in Flint, Moore's hometown. He chronicled the automotive city's woes in his 1989 documentary Roger & Me, the first of of nine films.
- 7/19/2013
- by Andrea Billups
- PEOPLE.com
Michael Moore and wife Kathleen Glynn are going in different directions. The Oscar-winning documentarian has filed for divorce from his wife of 21 years, according to court documents obtained by Michigan-based news site M Live. In the complaint filed in Antrium County Circuit on June 21, Moore, 59, said he and Glynn no longer lived together in their home in Michigan's Torch Lake. He also stated that there is "no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved." The couple, who are both natives of Flint, Mich., have [...]...
- 7/19/2013
- Us Weekly
Filmmaker Michael Moore has filed for divorce from his producer wife, Kathleen Glynn, according to Michigan-based news site MLive. Moore and his wife, who have a home near Michigan's Torch Lake, have been married for 21 years. According to MLive, he filed the complaint in Antrim County Circuit Court on June 21, saying the couple no longer lives together and that there is "no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved." Q&A: Michael Moore on Sandy Hook: No Photos Without Parents' Permission The couple, both natives of Flint, Mich., have no children together. MLive reported that its
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- 7/19/2013
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After guns and the Iraq war, Michael Moore is now taking on an entire political and economic system in his latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. So what message does the man who once planned to become a priest have?
Michael Moore has been accused of many things. Mendacity. Manipulation. Rampant egotism. Bullying a frail old man with Alzheimer's. And that is by people who generally agree with his views. His latest film Capitalism: A Love Story is already out in the Us when we meet. He comes storming down the hotel corridor, predictably unkempt in ragged jeans that have the unusual quality of appearing both too large and too small at the same time.
I wasn't sure what to expect. Arrogance, perhaps. Cynicism. But he begins to schmooze while he's still some distance away, shouting he feels he knows me. A few months ago one of Moore's producers interviewed me for the film.
Michael Moore has been accused of many things. Mendacity. Manipulation. Rampant egotism. Bullying a frail old man with Alzheimer's. And that is by people who generally agree with his views. His latest film Capitalism: A Love Story is already out in the Us when we meet. He comes storming down the hotel corridor, predictably unkempt in ragged jeans that have the unusual quality of appearing both too large and too small at the same time.
I wasn't sure what to expect. Arrogance, perhaps. Cynicism. But he begins to schmooze while he's still some distance away, shouting he feels he knows me. A few months ago one of Moore's producers interviewed me for the film.
- 1/30/2010
- by Chris McGreal
- The Guardian - Film News
Filmmaker Michael Moore gave residents of his adopted Michigan community an early showing of his new documentary on Saturday and urged them to help overthrow an economic system he said was beyond redemption.More than 500 people crowded into a theater in Bellaire to see "Capitalism: A Love Story," a film based on the premise that greed and corruption have subverted U.S. democracy."I know what's in front of me these next weeks and months," Moore told one audience, anticipating withering criticism from conservative politicians and commentators, then added with a laugh: "That's why I wanted to watch this with you guys before I'm thrown to the lions."Moore keeps a lakeside home near Bellaire, a rural village about 240 miles northwest of Detroit in Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula, and produced the film in a nearby town. The two showings along with three parties raised...
- 9/19/2009
- Filmicafe
- #99. Untitled Michael Moore Project Director/Writer/Producer: Michael Moore Producers: Newbie producer Matthew Brown (Freakonomics) and longtime Moore-producer Kathleen Glynn (Fahrenheit 9/11)Distributor: Overture Films The Gist: This is a look at the global financial crisis and the U.S. economy during the transition between the incoming Obama Administration and the outgoing Bush Administration.Fact: This was originally conceived as a follow-up to Fahrenheit 9/11. Why is it on the list?: You can disagree with his viewpoint, his editing practices and how he positions his docs as first person accounts, but Moore’s commentary on American politics almost always, -- provides for good debate and laughs. Release Date/Status?: Currently being filmed and edited, Moore should have this ready for a Cannes release. Expect the doc to circulate into theaters rather quickly - as the "facts" might be outdated. ...
- 1/5/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
CANNES -- In "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore drops any pretense that he is a documentarian to pull together from many sources an angry polemic against the president, the Bush family and the administration's foreign policy. Where "Roger & Me" and "Bowling for Columbine" were personal quests for truth, looking at a subject from different angles and talking to people polls apart in their points of view, Moore stays "on message" here from first shot to last. There is no debate, no analysis of facts or search for historical context. Moore simply wants to blame one man and his family for the situation in Iraq the United States now finds itself in.
The film arrives, of course, amid recent revelations of Bush insiders Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill, the turmoil over the 9/11 commission and the growing sense that the Iraq problem is not going away anytime soon. And the very public dust-up between Moore and the Walt Disney Co.'s Michael Eisner, which has left Moore momentarily without a distributor, certainly raises the film's profile even further. So the film should reach a large enough audience; the question is: Will Moore be preaching to the choir?
Charting the American political scene during the past 3 1/2 years, Moore is forced to rely mostly on other people's material. The assertion that America's Saudi policy has been determined largely by financial ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royals -- including another Saudi clan, the bin Ladens -- comes largely from "House of Bush, House of Saud", by Craig Unger, whom he interviews.
The Bush White House's obsession with Iraq in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 despite overwhelming evidence that al-Qaida was behind the attacks comes from former counterterrorism czar Clarke in his book "Against All Enemies". Most of the film's interviews come from TV network news shows or CNN's Larry King.
The movie begins with the contested 2000 presidential election. Moore takes the usual anti-Bush view that the election was stolen. Moore then characterizes Bush as a country bumpkin in the initial months of his presidency, spending 42% of his time on vacation and falling rapidly in public opinion polls.
Then comes 9/11. Moore touchingly conveys this day of infamy with a montage of sounds and visuals that refrains from showing images of airplanes hitting buildings or the World Trade Center collapsing. Instead, we get noise of horror over a blank screen, then shots of crying, horrified people staring into a sky filling with smoke and debris.
Moore recounts the Afghanistan invasion, the "botched" search for Osama bin Laden and the administration's alleged fear-mongering through constantly upgraded, color-coded levels of the terrorist threat issued by the Homeland Security Department, all designed to make the public more willing to back the invasion of Iraq.
Even if one agrees with all of Moore's arguments, the film reduces decades of American foreign-policy failures to a black-and-white cartoon that lays the blame on one family. He ignores facts like the policy to arm and support Afghan rebels that began in the Carter administration. For that matter, the Clinton team never mounted a serious effort to go after al-Qaida even after the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa.
The Iraq violence is more gruesome than what normally appears on American TV. One particular sequence follows an American patrol on Christmas Eve, but Moore never identifies who shot the footage. Because Moore is very good at jumping in front of a camera when he is around, one can only assume he shot none of the Iraq footage. But his editing is designed to emphasize Iraqi suffering and U.S. military personnel indifference or even hostility.
The movie contains only one episode of Moore's patented "ambushes" of the famous. He collars congressmen leaving Capitol Hill and tries to persuade them to enlist their children to fight in Iraq. Not surprisingly, he has no takers.
When the movie devolves into problems of veteran benefits, harassment of peace groups or the grief of one family over a killed son, Moore simply loses his focus. These are worthy topics but have nothing to do with why the United States is in Iraq.
What Moore seems to be pioneering here is a reality film as an election-year device. The facts and arguments are no different than those one can glean from political commentary or recently published books on these subjects. Only the impact of film may prove greater than the printed word. So the real question is not how good a film is "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- it is undoubtedly Moore's weakest -- but will a film help to get a president fired?
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Dog Eat Dog Films and Wild Bunch
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Michael Moore
Producers: Kathleen Glynn, Jim Czarnecki
Director of photography: Mike Desjarlais
Music: Jeff Gibbs
Editors: Kurt Engfehr, Christopher Seward, T. Woody Richman
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
The film arrives, of course, amid recent revelations of Bush insiders Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill, the turmoil over the 9/11 commission and the growing sense that the Iraq problem is not going away anytime soon. And the very public dust-up between Moore and the Walt Disney Co.'s Michael Eisner, which has left Moore momentarily without a distributor, certainly raises the film's profile even further. So the film should reach a large enough audience; the question is: Will Moore be preaching to the choir?
Charting the American political scene during the past 3 1/2 years, Moore is forced to rely mostly on other people's material. The assertion that America's Saudi policy has been determined largely by financial ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royals -- including another Saudi clan, the bin Ladens -- comes largely from "House of Bush, House of Saud", by Craig Unger, whom he interviews.
The Bush White House's obsession with Iraq in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 despite overwhelming evidence that al-Qaida was behind the attacks comes from former counterterrorism czar Clarke in his book "Against All Enemies". Most of the film's interviews come from TV network news shows or CNN's Larry King.
The movie begins with the contested 2000 presidential election. Moore takes the usual anti-Bush view that the election was stolen. Moore then characterizes Bush as a country bumpkin in the initial months of his presidency, spending 42% of his time on vacation and falling rapidly in public opinion polls.
Then comes 9/11. Moore touchingly conveys this day of infamy with a montage of sounds and visuals that refrains from showing images of airplanes hitting buildings or the World Trade Center collapsing. Instead, we get noise of horror over a blank screen, then shots of crying, horrified people staring into a sky filling with smoke and debris.
Moore recounts the Afghanistan invasion, the "botched" search for Osama bin Laden and the administration's alleged fear-mongering through constantly upgraded, color-coded levels of the terrorist threat issued by the Homeland Security Department, all designed to make the public more willing to back the invasion of Iraq.
Even if one agrees with all of Moore's arguments, the film reduces decades of American foreign-policy failures to a black-and-white cartoon that lays the blame on one family. He ignores facts like the policy to arm and support Afghan rebels that began in the Carter administration. For that matter, the Clinton team never mounted a serious effort to go after al-Qaida even after the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa.
The Iraq violence is more gruesome than what normally appears on American TV. One particular sequence follows an American patrol on Christmas Eve, but Moore never identifies who shot the footage. Because Moore is very good at jumping in front of a camera when he is around, one can only assume he shot none of the Iraq footage. But his editing is designed to emphasize Iraqi suffering and U.S. military personnel indifference or even hostility.
The movie contains only one episode of Moore's patented "ambushes" of the famous. He collars congressmen leaving Capitol Hill and tries to persuade them to enlist their children to fight in Iraq. Not surprisingly, he has no takers.
When the movie devolves into problems of veteran benefits, harassment of peace groups or the grief of one family over a killed son, Moore simply loses his focus. These are worthy topics but have nothing to do with why the United States is in Iraq.
What Moore seems to be pioneering here is a reality film as an election-year device. The facts and arguments are no different than those one can glean from political commentary or recently published books on these subjects. Only the impact of film may prove greater than the printed word. So the real question is not how good a film is "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- it is undoubtedly Moore's weakest -- but will a film help to get a president fired?
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Dog Eat Dog Films and Wild Bunch
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Michael Moore
Producers: Kathleen Glynn, Jim Czarnecki
Director of photography: Mike Desjarlais
Music: Jeff Gibbs
Editors: Kurt Engfehr, Christopher Seward, T. Woody Richman
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
CANNES -- In "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore drops any pretense that he is a documentarian to pull together from many sources an angry polemic against the president, the Bush family and the administration's foreign policy. Where "Roger & Me" and "Bowling for Columbine" were personal quests for truth, looking at a subject from different angles and talking to people polls apart in their points of view, Moore stays "on message" here from first shot to last. There is no debate, no analysis of facts or search for historical context. Moore simply wants to blame one man and his family for the situation in Iraq the United States now finds itself in.
The film arrives, of course, amid recent revelations of Bush insiders Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill, the turmoil over the 9/11 commission and the growing sense that the Iraq problem is not going away anytime soon. And the very public dust-up between Moore and the Walt Disney Co.'s Michael Eisner, which has left Moore momentarily without a distributor, certainly raises the film's profile even further. So the film should reach a large enough audience; the question is: Will Moore be preaching to the choir?
Charting the American political scene during the past 3 1/2 years, Moore is forced to rely mostly on other people's material. The assertion that America's Saudi policy has been determined largely by financial ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royals -- including another Saudi clan, the bin Ladens -- comes largely from "House of Bush, House of Saud", by Craig Unger, whom he interviews.
The Bush White House's obsession with Iraq in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 despite overwhelming evidence that al-Qaida was behind the attacks comes from former counterterrorism czar Clarke in his book "Against All Enemies". Most of the film's interviews come from TV network news shows or CNN's Larry King.
The movie begins with the contested 2000 presidential election. Moore takes the usual anti-Bush view that the election was stolen. Moore then characterizes Bush as a country bumpkin in the initial months of his presidency, spending 42% of his time on vacation and falling rapidly in public opinion polls.
Then comes 9/11. Moore touchingly conveys this day of infamy with a montage of sounds and visuals that refrains from showing images of airplanes hitting buildings or the World Trade Center collapsing. Instead, we get noise of horror over a blank screen, then shots of crying, horrified people staring into a sky filling with smoke and debris.
Moore recounts the Afghanistan invasion, the "botched" search for Osama bin Laden and the administration's alleged fear-mongering through constantly upgraded, color-coded levels of the terrorist threat issued by the Homeland Security Department, all designed to make the public more willing to back the invasion of Iraq.
Even if one agrees with all of Moore's arguments, the film reduces decades of American foreign-policy failures to a black-and-white cartoon that lays the blame on one family. He ignores facts like the policy to arm and support Afghan rebels that began in the Carter administration. For that matter, the Clinton team never mounted a serious effort to go after al-Qaida even after the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa.
The Iraq violence is more gruesome than what normally appears on American TV. One particular sequence follows an American patrol on Christmas Eve, but Moore never identifies who shot the footage. Because Moore is very good at jumping in front of a camera when he is around, one can only assume he shot none of the Iraq footage. But his editing is designed to emphasize Iraqi suffering and U.S. military personnel indifference or even hostility.
The movie contains only one episode of Moore's patented "ambushes" of the famous. He collars congressmen leaving Capitol Hill and tries to persuade them to enlist their children to fight in Iraq. Not surprisingly, he has no takers.
When the movie devolves into problems of veteran benefits, harassment of peace groups or the grief of one family over a killed son, Moore simply loses his focus. These are worthy topics but have nothing to do with why the United States is in Iraq.
What Moore seems to be pioneering here is a reality film as an election-year device. The facts and arguments are no different than those one can glean from political commentary or recently published books on these subjects. Only the impact of film may prove greater than the printed word. So the real question is not how good a film is "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- it is undoubtedly Moore's weakest -- but will a film help to get a president fired?
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Dog Eat Dog Films and Wild Bunch
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Michael Moore
Producers: Kathleen Glynn, Jim Czarnecki
Director of photography: Mike Desjarlais
Music: Jeff Gibbs
Editors: Kurt Engfehr, Christopher Seward, T. Woody Richman
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
The film arrives, of course, amid recent revelations of Bush insiders Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill, the turmoil over the 9/11 commission and the growing sense that the Iraq problem is not going away anytime soon. And the very public dust-up between Moore and the Walt Disney Co.'s Michael Eisner, which has left Moore momentarily without a distributor, certainly raises the film's profile even further. So the film should reach a large enough audience; the question is: Will Moore be preaching to the choir?
Charting the American political scene during the past 3 1/2 years, Moore is forced to rely mostly on other people's material. The assertion that America's Saudi policy has been determined largely by financial ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royals -- including another Saudi clan, the bin Ladens -- comes largely from "House of Bush, House of Saud", by Craig Unger, whom he interviews.
The Bush White House's obsession with Iraq in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 despite overwhelming evidence that al-Qaida was behind the attacks comes from former counterterrorism czar Clarke in his book "Against All Enemies". Most of the film's interviews come from TV network news shows or CNN's Larry King.
The movie begins with the contested 2000 presidential election. Moore takes the usual anti-Bush view that the election was stolen. Moore then characterizes Bush as a country bumpkin in the initial months of his presidency, spending 42% of his time on vacation and falling rapidly in public opinion polls.
Then comes 9/11. Moore touchingly conveys this day of infamy with a montage of sounds and visuals that refrains from showing images of airplanes hitting buildings or the World Trade Center collapsing. Instead, we get noise of horror over a blank screen, then shots of crying, horrified people staring into a sky filling with smoke and debris.
Moore recounts the Afghanistan invasion, the "botched" search for Osama bin Laden and the administration's alleged fear-mongering through constantly upgraded, color-coded levels of the terrorist threat issued by the Homeland Security Department, all designed to make the public more willing to back the invasion of Iraq.
Even if one agrees with all of Moore's arguments, the film reduces decades of American foreign-policy failures to a black-and-white cartoon that lays the blame on one family. He ignores facts like the policy to arm and support Afghan rebels that began in the Carter administration. For that matter, the Clinton team never mounted a serious effort to go after al-Qaida even after the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa.
The Iraq violence is more gruesome than what normally appears on American TV. One particular sequence follows an American patrol on Christmas Eve, but Moore never identifies who shot the footage. Because Moore is very good at jumping in front of a camera when he is around, one can only assume he shot none of the Iraq footage. But his editing is designed to emphasize Iraqi suffering and U.S. military personnel indifference or even hostility.
The movie contains only one episode of Moore's patented "ambushes" of the famous. He collars congressmen leaving Capitol Hill and tries to persuade them to enlist their children to fight in Iraq. Not surprisingly, he has no takers.
When the movie devolves into problems of veteran benefits, harassment of peace groups or the grief of one family over a killed son, Moore simply loses his focus. These are worthy topics but have nothing to do with why the United States is in Iraq.
What Moore seems to be pioneering here is a reality film as an election-year device. The facts and arguments are no different than those one can glean from political commentary or recently published books on these subjects. Only the impact of film may prove greater than the printed word. So the real question is not how good a film is "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- it is undoubtedly Moore's weakest -- but will a film help to get a president fired?
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Dog Eat Dog Films and Wild Bunch
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Michael Moore
Producers: Kathleen Glynn, Jim Czarnecki
Director of photography: Mike Desjarlais
Music: Jeff Gibbs
Editors: Kurt Engfehr, Christopher Seward, T. Woody Richman
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
- 5/18/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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