THE satirist Michael Moore hopes that his anti-Bush film Fahrenheit 9/11
will lead to the downfall of other world leaders who supported the invasion
of Iraq, such as Tony Blair.
Dressed in his trademark baseball cap and denims, Moore said that he hoped his
film would not only lead to voters removing George W. Bush from the White
House but also to the ousting of other governments that joined the
“coalition of the willing”.
In his first press conference promoting his film to the international media,
he welcomed the defeat of the Spanish Government that sent troops to Iraq.
“I think the Spanish started it,” he said. “They didn’t listen to the will
of the people. It is my sincere hope that the Australians, the Italians and
the others who joined with Mr Bush in this war will also be removed by the
citizens of their countries. I hope my film will help them do that.
“If I were an Italian citizen, I would leave the cinema wondering, ‘What the
hell was (Prime Minister) Berlusconi doing hooking up with President Bush?
This is an embarrassment to Italy and the sooner there is a regime change in
Italy the better’.”
The film, which has been doing record business in the US and opens in London
tomorrow, suggests that Mr Bush, a former Texan oil executive, invaded Iraq
to take control of its oil reserves and further his family’s close business
links with the bin Ladens and the Saudi Government.
Asked why Mr Blair, who has no such links, should have come to his own
decision to oust Saddam Hussein, Moore expressed puzzlement.
“I have been racking my brains trying to figure out what Tony Blair, an
otherwise intelligent man, would be doing hooking himself up with George W.
Bush,” he said. “That is something for science to figure out, maybe some day
when someone can put him under hypnosis.”
Moore said he hoped that his film would inspire a similar documentary to
question Mr Blair’s motives. “I hope there’s one or two Brits out there that
want to pick up a camera and do a film like this about Tony Blair.”
The runaway success of Fahrenheit 9/11, which pokes fun at Mr Bush and
questions his honesty about declaring the existence of Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction, has become a frontline issue in this autumn’s American
presidential election.
Currently selling out at 1,725 screens across America, the film is being
greeted with enthusiasm and applause even in the “red states” that voted for
Mr Bush in 2000. It took $23.9 million in its first weekend and has so far
earned about $70 million in just ten days. It is on course to become the
first non-musical documentary to earn more than $100 million.
Sony’s release of the DVD in September is also expected to break sales records
and is already being welcomed as a potent tool among those campaigning to
unseat Mr Bush on November 2.
“Farenheit 9/11 is a powerful national phenomenon that may well sway the
votes of some uncommitted voters and motivate some citizens who might
otherwise fail to vote,” said Joe Conason, whose book, The Hunting
of the President, has been made into a Republican-bashing documentary.
“In states where the contest is very close, as we now know, a few thousand or
even a few hundred can make all the difference. The unexpected success of
films like ours represents a sharp change in the public mood that may well
disturb White House political strategists.”
Republicans insist that they are not worried. “I don’t think most American
voters consider Michael Moore a serious analyst of American politics,” Terry
Holt, a Bush campaign spokesman, said. Nonetheless, the film has sparked a
fierce and often vicious debate between Left and Right.
While opponents of the Bush Adminstration such as moveon.org have been holding Fahrenheit
9/11 parties and setting up voting registration desks outside cinemas to
encourage non-voters to oust Mr Bush, Moore has become the target of
right-wing websites such as moorelies.com that challenge the film’s
accuracy.
The film’s message is considered so potent and misleading that Republican
groups have tried to hamper its release, although they have had only partial
success.
Last month Citizens United failed to persuade the Federal Election Commission
to ban television commercials for the film on the ground that they were
politically partisan.
However, three major cinema chains have been persuaded to ignore the film,
leaving it mostly to independent cinemas to profit from the enormous demand.
Like or loathe Moore, Fahrenheit 9/11 has become the thing for
Americans to see, if only to be able to discuss it.
Moore, aided by the former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, failed to lift
the film’s “R” rating which prevents those under 16 from buying tickets.
In response, the prohibition rule has been widely ignored by box-office staff.
The film has spawned rival right-wing documentaries such as Disney’s America’s
Heart & Soul, designed to make Americans feel better about
themselves, and Michael Moore Hates America, the film-maker Mike
Wilson’s attempt to turn the tables on Moore’s polemical techniques.
In response to Stupid White Men, Moore’s bestselling book about
Republicans, the right-wing authors David Hardy and Jason Clarke have
written Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man.
All of which is heartening news for Moore, who would like to show his film on
a giant screen in Central Park during the Republican Convention next month.
All the opposition to the film has encouraged Americans to see the film to
find out for themselves what all the fuss is about.
“The right wing are all getting a Christmas card from me this year,” joked
Moore on his way to the bank.
QUEUES AT THE BOX OFFICE
Fahrenheit 9/11, directed by Michael Moore
- Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes film festival
- Disney at first refused to distribute the film in America
- Released in US June 25
- Opened on the greatest number of screens — 868 — for a documentary in its
opening weekend
- Took $23.9m across North America in its opening weekend
- First documentary to open at number one at the US box office
- Opened in cinemas across France on Wednesday July 7
- Film opens across UK tomorrow after preview screenings were held earlier this
week
