Moore to Offer Election Film Free Online
Documentary film-maker to release Slacker Uprising with hope of mobilizing young voters ahead of US election
Michael Moore, the creator of the most successful documentary in box office history, stands to make a loss with his latest film ? and claims that is just how he wants it.
The Oscar-winning film-maker is releasing Slacker Uprising as a free internet download to mobilize voters ahead of November's presidential election. It is a first for a major Hollywood release.
"This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans," Moore said in a statement. "The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters at the polls in November."
The 2004 election was a financial boom-time for Moore. While his Bush-baiting Fahrenheit 9/11 may have failed in its professed aim of upending the sitting president, it fattened its creator's bank account by earning a record $119m (?60m) at domestic cinemas.
Slacker Uprising, by contrast, will leave him an estimated $1m out of pocket. The film, which documents Moore's 2004 speaking tour of US cities, will be available to North American residents for three weeks from September 23 before going out on DVD in October. Moore insists there are no plans to profit from the movie.
Executive produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Slacker Uprising is the first mainstream Hollywood picture to be released exclusively as an internet download. It takes its lead from recent innovations in distribution by the music industry. Last year, Radiohead's eagerly awaited album In Rainbows debuted online with optional pricing, while Neil Young briefly streamed his 2006 album Living With War for free ahead of its official release date.
Slacker Uprising ? originally titled Captain Mike Across America ? focuses on Moore's tub-thumping tour of US campuses. Along the way, he corrals listless students into registering to vote ? even going so far as to bribe them with "ramen noodles and clean underwear".
Moore admits it is a movie pitched squarely at his Democrat fan base. "This film really isn't for anybody other than choir," he told AP. "But that's because I believe the choir needs a song to sing every now and then."
Others may prefer to sit it out, whether the film is available for free or not. Early reviews have not been kind, arguing that the picture lacks the scope and ambition of Fahrenheit 9/11 or last year's Sicko.
According to Variety, Slacker Uprising is "a repetitive and self-indulgent hodge-podge" while Salon.com dismisses Moore's film as "a 102-minute commercial for himself ? a shameless act of self-promotion even for a shameless self-promoter like Moore".
The Oscar-winning film-maker is releasing Slacker Uprising as a free internet download to mobilize voters ahead of November's presidential election. It is a first for a major Hollywood release.
"This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans," Moore said in a statement. "The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters at the polls in November."
The 2004 election was a financial boom-time for Moore. While his Bush-baiting Fahrenheit 9/11 may have failed in its professed aim of upending the sitting president, it fattened its creator's bank account by earning a record $119m (?60m) at domestic cinemas.
Slacker Uprising, by contrast, will leave him an estimated $1m out of pocket. The film, which documents Moore's 2004 speaking tour of US cities, will be available to North American residents for three weeks from September 23 before going out on DVD in October. Moore insists there are no plans to profit from the movie.
Executive produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Slacker Uprising is the first mainstream Hollywood picture to be released exclusively as an internet download. It takes its lead from recent innovations in distribution by the music industry. Last year, Radiohead's eagerly awaited album In Rainbows debuted online with optional pricing, while Neil Young briefly streamed his 2006 album Living With War for free ahead of its official release date.
Slacker Uprising ? originally titled Captain Mike Across America ? focuses on Moore's tub-thumping tour of US campuses. Along the way, he corrals listless students into registering to vote ? even going so far as to bribe them with "ramen noodles and clean underwear".
Moore admits it is a movie pitched squarely at his Democrat fan base. "This film really isn't for anybody other than choir," he told AP. "But that's because I believe the choir needs a song to sing every now and then."
Others may prefer to sit it out, whether the film is available for free or not. Early reviews have not been kind, arguing that the picture lacks the scope and ambition of Fahrenheit 9/11 or last year's Sicko.
According to Variety, Slacker Uprising is "a repetitive and self-indulgent hodge-podge" while Salon.com dismisses Moore's film as "a 102-minute commercial for himself ? a shameless act of self-promotion even for a shameless self-promoter like Moore".
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