[Sfbay-video] Re: Michael Moore Snubs Peralta Colleges TV
Jeff
jeff at whisperedmedia.org
Mon Oct 11 21:36:27 PDT 2004
OK, I know it seems like Mr. Moore is sending mixed messages: "get it our
there now" ... but then, ... "don't broadcast the sucker" ... and, as one
who usually advocates for the free and immediate distribution of
everything in all media formats ... in this case, I can see why it is
sometimes strategic (when you are trying to reach a larger audience and to
get beyond the choir for once) to restrict smaller broadcasts and
screenings in order to get things broadcast and screened in larger venues.
So, for example, if one is trying to get a nationwide broadcast that will
be available in lots of homes via something less-than-pure like PBS, than
they will likely have to give that broadcastor some kind of exclusive for
at least until their run of the broadcast is over ... This may suck, but
that's how things often go ... so, if Michael Moore's production company
wants to maintain good standing and to be able to get the larger
broadcasts in the future, as well as maybe just fullfill the terms of the
current broadcast, then, they have to be seen as going along with this
exclusive ... maybe they can release it to smaller broadcastors in the
future ... So, what I am saying, is that while it may seem stingy, and
some of us might just react to this kind of thing every time someone wants
to do a big broadcast (say like when the makers of "This is What Democracy
Looks Like" wanted to screen with a national syndicated broadcastor in
Canada and so Free Speech TV had to hold off for a'while so that
ultimately a larger audience could be reached) - it may be the same
situation here. So, it is not always about the money. I feel in this
case, if Mr. Moore and co. are in the process of lining up important
broadcasts - they may be having to restrict some of the smaller broadcasts
in the meantime, in order to make the bigger one happen.
The rest of you producers and would-be producers might want to consider
this for the future, and before you critique others, that if one has a
chance at a network broadcast and/or one on PBS - then, one may have to be
strategic with how the work is released. I myself have lost out on a
screening opportunity that would have seated hundreds and reached a
different kind of audience because some unilateral and noncommunicative
jerks decided to screen a work without even letting anybody associated
with the piece know about it, at their local infoshop. Subsequently, the
big screener learned of this, we lost the "premiere" and hundreds of
people were prevented from seeing the work so that 10
already-convinced-viewers could see it first. Had they have just
coordinated with us, we could have given the "premiere" to the bigger
house first, reached an incredibly diverse american audience and then,
used that occasion to promote the event at the smaller location too. ...
So, it sucks to lose big opportunities if you don't have to and maybe that
is what is going on. A broadcast at Peralta college would be good also,
but if it means that Mike will lose the national broadcast, I don't think
it is worth it to risk it. So, it is not unusual for a films handlers to
have to restrict the piece in order to actually reach more people in the
long run. And, isn't it really about getting the message out there? ...
Its just another way of looking at this. Especially if the maker has in
fact released the DVD and made it available ... hasn't really sued anybody
for doing small screening events all over the country ... this after a
really successful run in the cinemas that would not have been possible if
the piece had been previously released by overzealous people with less
experience. So, as far as I can tell, the piece has been handled pretty
well since it was dumped by Disney. What a comeback. What a way to get the
word out there ... even if you have to start in France.
Peace, Jeff Taylor
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Sfbay] Michael Moore Snubs Peralta Colleges TV
From: "Jeffrey Heyman" <>
Date: Wed, October 6, 2004 4:07 pm
To: "Jeffrey Heyman" <jheyman at peralta.cc.ca.us>
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---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Sfbay-video] [Fwd: [Sfbay] Michael Moore Snubs Peralta Colleges
TV] From: mahtin at riseup.net
Date: Mon, October 11, 2004 3:25 pm
To: sfbay-video at lists.indymedia.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
there was a previous email but I am not attaching it, if you want it let
me know...
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Sfbay] Michael Moore Snubs Peralta Colleges TV
From: "Jeffrey Heyman" <jheyman at peralta.cc.ca.us>
Date: Wed, October 6, 2004 4:07 pm
To: "Jeffrey Heyman" <jheyman at peralta.cc.ca.us>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier today I wrote you about the San Francisco Bay Area's Peralta
Colleges TV (PCTV) showing "Films for Democracy," including Michael
Moore's much-hyped movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11." (See also
http://www.peralta.cc.ca.us/democracyfilms.html)
How about this for the ultimate in hypocrisy: We just learned that Moore
and his distribution company Lion's Gate won't let us show
"Fahrenheit 9/11"!
This seems all the stranger when one considers that Moore sent out an
e-mail to his followers yesterday (see below) urging them to "share it
with everyone you know...the more people who see it -- especially those
still sitting on the fence -- the more likely we will have regime change
come November 2nd."
Isn't this just what the Peralta Colleges are doing by showing the film
on its public cable station?
So what gives? Well, it seems that the $15 million dollar deal struck for
the cable rights to "Fahrenheit 9/11" is more important than Moore's
hyperbole about "flood[ing] the country with this movie" and
enlightening the electorate. Talk about mixed messages.
All the other films in the series gave PCTV rights to air the movies;
only Moore seems more interested in dollars than democracy at this stage.
What a shame. I guess PCTV will air "George W. Bush: Faith in the White
House" - which the producers were more than happy to make
available - instead of "Fahrenheit 9/11."
If suddenly the SF Bay Area goes for Bush, the blame can be directed at
Michael Moore.
Feel free to try and persuade Lion's Gate to let our community colleges
air "Fahrenheit 9/11" by calling John Ferro at (310) 255-3947.
I thought this might be an interesting story for you. Contact me at
jheyman at peralta.cc.ca.us if you need more details.
Here's Michael Moore's e-mail:
-----Original Message-----
From: mailinglist at michaelmoore.com [mailto:mailinglist at michaelmoore.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2004 3:40 AM
Subject: Fahrenheit 9/11 Out On Home Video/DVD Today! Pass It Around...
10/5/04
Dear Friends,
Today's the day! You can now own your own copy of "Fahrenheit 9/11." Or,
you can rent it. It is now available in thousands of stores across the
country for you to take into your possession and use as your own
personal weapon of George Bush's mass defeat. You can also just have a
nice movie night at home with the kids.
Nothing would make me happier than to have you share it with everyone you
know. All surveys have shown that, the more people who see it --
especially those still sitting on the fence -- the more likely we will
have regime change come November 2nd. As the critic from the New York
Times wrote, "Mr. Bush is under no obligation to answer Mr. Moore's
charges, but he will have to answer to Mrs. Lipscomb." In other words, it
is impossible for any good American with a heart and a conscience to
survive a viewing of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and not be profoundly moved by the
grief of the mother from Flint who lost her son, Michael, in Iraq. What
do we say to her when she asks us what exactly was it that her son died
for? Mr. Bush can't tell her the real reason because the truth is so
appalling that, if we were to stop and consider the true level of his
deceit, it might cause more than just his defeat in November. They used
to hold trials for crimes like his and Cheney's and Rumsfeld's and
Wolfowitz's.
A few months ago I asked our film's distributor if they would shorten the
time "Fahrenheit" would spend in the theaters and make it available on
home video to everyone before the election -- and they agreed.
They also agreed to let me include an additional 90 new minutes worth of
material on the DVD. These extras include never-before-seen footage
outside Abu Ghraib prison, plus footage which we shot in Iraq just weeks
before the invasion that clearly showed what we were in for ("Please tell
America that Iraq will be their cemetery"), more words of truth from our
soldiers in Iraq, and footage of Bush and Condoleezza Rice that is so
frightening you will understand why the networks never showed it to you.
May I suggest that you take this DVD and run with it? Use it as a way to
energize people of like-mind or convince recovering Republicans that this
may be the most important election of our lifetime. Here is what you can
do:
1. Hold Your Own Neighborhood Premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11." Do it this
week. Get the DVD, break out the biggest TV screen you have, pop the corn
and invite over your friends, family, classmates, coworkers and neighbors
for a couple of hours of laughter and tears. When it's over, take a few
minutes to decide what everyone is going to do between now and November
2nd.
2. Become Your Own Fahrenheit Video Store. Buy a copy of the film and
then just start lending it for free to everyone you know for a night at a
time. Become known as "The Fahrenheit Connection" to those with whom you
work or go to school.
3. Sponsor Large Community or School Screenings. You have my permission.
Don't charge money (unless everyone has to chip in for the union hall or
church basement). Invite everyone; pack the place. Have something for
people to do afterwards, like volunteering for a "get out the vote" drive
between now and November 2nd.
4. Give It Away. The politics and economics of the video business mean
that those in poorer communities often have to resort to bootlegging.
While I'm happy for people to see my movie by any means necessary, I
would love for them to see it the way I made it and under the best
possible conditions. If you have the wherewithal, donate copies of the
DVD and VHS to your local library or to your school library. Get
multiple copies and pass them out, especially to groups and people who
can't afford to buy it. In a free society, which only survives if it has
an enlightened electorate, information should be shared, not privately
owned.
There you go. Let's flood the country with this movie. It's the
Republicans' worst nightmare, should this happen. You know what to do; I
don't need to say any more.
Thanks for your help in this. I think we can make a huge difference.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint at aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com
www.michaelmoore.com/takeaction/vote/register.php
P.S. I'm also releasing a book today as a companion to the DVD. It's a
softcover called "The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader" and it not only
includes the film's screenplay, it is chock full of articles and essays
that expand on the issues raised by the film. It also contains all of our
sources and factual backup so that when that conservative
brother-in-law starts giving you grief over the film, you can whip out
your F911 Reader and show him the irrefutable evidence that backs up
every single fact in the movie.
P.P.S. Last night, we set a tour record with 12,000 in attendance in
Gainesville, Florida -- and 2,000 more who couldn't get inside! You can
see some pix here and check in on my occasional blog. Sixteen cities so
far, mostly in Michigan and Florida, and only 44 stops to go! See ya
tomorrow in Pennsylvania! (And tomorrow I will write you about a new
hardcover book I am releasing this week, a book I also hope will help
swing this election.)
--
Jeffrey Heyman
Executive Director
Department of Marketing, Public Relations and Communications
Peralta Community College District
333 East Eighth Street
Oakland, Calif. 94606
Tel 510.466.7369
Fax 510.466.7394
Mobile 510.499.1420
E-mail jheyman at peralta.cc.ca.us <mailto:jheyman at peralta.cc.ca.us>
Web http://www.peralta.cc.ca.us/news.html
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