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Daily News
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Fahrenheit Flies Off Shelves
Michael Moore continues to wield a weapon of mass-market destruction, as Fahrenheit 9/11 sets a new DVD mark for a documentary release.
Friday, October 8, 2004
By Larry Carroll
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“I’m mad as hell, and it’s going to help me take in more!”
That may be the amended scream coming from the lips of Michael Moore these days. It’s a long way from Peter Finch raging against the establishment in Network, certainly, but anger is the controversial film director’s business, and business continues to be good.
In its first day on video store shelves this week, Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 sold more than 2 million copies on DVD and VHS combined, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That stunning number easily sets the record for money generated by a documentary release, confirming once again the director’s status as the Steven Spielberg of roaming video camera footage.
Fahrenheit, which shattered conventional wisdom earlier this year with a $119 million domestic box-office, has achieved unprecedented success in this election year while portraying President Bush and his associates in a less-than-flattering light. How much of an effect it will have on next month’s elections remains to be seen, but there is little doubt that the film’s success has allowed Moore to reach the very same elevated financial bracket that he has condemned Bush for giving tax breaks to.
Of the two million units sold on October 5th, about 1.4 million went to rental stores. Industry projections suggest that three million copies of the controversial film will be sold by the end of the week; or three million and one if Bill O’Reilly decides he wants to use of the shiny discs as a drink coaster.
In other news, Michael Moore got one step closer this week to his dream of showing Fahrenheit 9/11 on television the night before the presidential election. The director plans to offer the film during a three-hour pay-per-view event called "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special".
The program will consist of interviews with politically-active celebrities discussing the issues brought up by the film, while the film itself screens between that footage. Daily
Variety quotes TV sources as saying that the In Demand pay-per-view network will transmit the special between 8 and 11 p.m. EST (5 and 8 p.m. PST) for $9.95.
| Representatives for Moore and home video distributor Columbia TriStar, however, say there is no deal in place. As Moore mentioned last month when he first said that he hoped to air Fahrenheit on TV the night before the election, Columbia TriStar has the right to block any small-screen broadcast so close to the Oct. 5 DVD release. Despite the
record sales of the DVD, the distributor still seems concerned that a pay-per-view event could harm its bottom line. |
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