October 9, 2009

Friends,

It’s your friendly webmaster from MichaelMoore.com here to remind you THIS is THE weekend to go see the movie so much of America is talking about: “Capitalism: A Love Story.” As you know, documentaries do not last long in theaters so don’t put off going to what many critics have called Mike’s “Best film yet!”

Did you happen to read this in the Huffington Post:

“Michael Moore has made the most important and urgent political film of our time. In fact, he might have made the most American of films since the populist cinema of Frank Capra.” (Read the rest of this excellent piece, “Michael Moore’s Grapes of Wrath,” by clicking here.)

Or this from the Los Angeles Times:

“It is Moore at his most passionate, most personal and most political, and that is something not to be missed.”

Or this from the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

“‘Capitalism’ is a Molotov cocktail thrown straight at the heart of the New York Stock Exchange. The impact is spectacular.”

And finally this gem from MacLeans the “Time magazine” of Canada:“… Moore is at the top of his game. ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ may be the best film of his career.”

But here’s what’s crazy: Some conservatives are also saying they love the film and are telling people to go see it:  E.D. Hill from Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Post. Even Jim Pinkerton, White House staffer under both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush said, “I’ve got to tell you, on this particular issue, I’m with Michael Moore.” This is amazing. Plus, having the mainstream support of people who speak to middle America, like Jay Leno and Merle Haggard — this has truly become a movie that has reached its hand out and said “please come in, I think you might appreciate knowing some of the things I’m going to show you.” If there was ever a time to take your Republican brother-in-law to a Michael Moore film, this would be it!

Last week, Mike had one of his best openings ever — second only to the once-in-a-lifetime “Fahrenheit 9/11.” It tied for 6th in the national box office (with Drew Barrymore’s “Whip It,” which was on nearly twice as many screens!) and had the #4 per-screen average. “Capitalism” earned more than Mike’s last film, “Sicko,” did on its opening weekend and is on track to be one of the top 5 grossing documentaries of all time (which will give Mike 4 of the top 7 all-time docs!). And “Capitalism” remains the highest grossing per-screen average for any film in limited release in 2009. And it’s a documentary! This never — very rarely — happens.

I can tell you that Mike is probably more proud of this film than anything he’s done since “Roger & Me.” That’s because “Capitalism: A Love Story” is what I would call the pinnacle of his life’s work — this is his manifesto.

And it’s damn funny! Or, rather, it’s damning and it’s funny. You will be transported watching this amazing movie — no one has ever made anything like it. If you want a great time at the movies this weekend, go see “Capitalism.” You will NOT be disappointed!

Click here to find where it’s playing near you. It’s rated “R,” like most of Mike’s films (why? why? why?), but that didn’t stop him from seeing “Woodstock” or “M*A*S*H” when he was a teenager — and it shouldn’t stop you under-17-year-olds from seeing “Capitalism: A Love Story!” You know what to do.

And check out our newly redesigned website that I manage for Mike.  There’s great new stuff every day. You can now post comments and participate in the discussion!

And you can stay in touch with Mike on Twitter at Twitter.com/MMFlint.

That’s it for now. Grab some friends and go see this great flick — it won’t be around forever! They gotta make room for “Saw VI!”

Webmaster
MichaelMoore.com

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Friends,

I’d like to have a word with those of you who call yourselves Christians (Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Bill Maherists, etc. can read along, too, as much of what I have to say, I’m sure, can be applied to your own spiritual/ethical values).

In my new film I speak for the first time in one of my movies about my own spiritual beliefs. I have always believed that one’s religious leanings are deeply personal and should be kept private. After all, we’ve heard enough yammerin’ in the past three decades about how one should “behave,” and I have to say I’m pretty burned out on pieties and platitudes considering we are a violent nation who invades other countries and punishes our own for having the audacity to fall on hard times.

I’m also against any proselytizing; I certainly don’t want you to join anything I belong to. Also, as a Catholic, I have much to say about the Church as an institution, but I’ll leave that for another day (or movie).

Amidst all the Wall Street bad guys and corrupt members of Congress exposed in “Capitalism: A Love Story,” I pose a simple question in the movie: “Is capitalism a sin?” I go on to ask, “Would Jesus be a capitalist?” Would he belong to a hedge fund? Would he sell short? Would he approve of a system that has allowed the richest 1% to have more financial wealth than the 95% under them combined?

I have come to believe that there is no getting around the fact that capitalism is opposite everything that Jesus (and Moses and Mohammed and Buddha) taught. All the great religions are clear about one thing: It is evil to take the majority of the pie and leave what’s left for everyone to fight over. Jesus said that the rich man would have a very hard time getting into heaven. He told us that we had to be our brother’s and sister’s keepers and that the riches that did exist were to be divided fairly. He said that if you failed to house the homeless and feed the hungry, you’d have a hard time finding the pin code to the pearly gates.

I guess that’s bad news for us Americans. Here’s how we define “Blessed Are the Poor”: We now have the highest unemployment rate since 1983. There’s a foreclosure filing once every 7.5 seconds. 14,000 people every day lose their health insurance.

At the same time, Wall Street bankers (“Blessed Are the Wealthy”?) are amassing more and more loot — and they do their best to pay little or no income tax (last year Goldman Sachs’ tax rate was a mere 1%!). Would Jesus approve of this? If not, why do we let such an evil system continue? It doesn’t seem you can call yourself a Capitalist AND a Christian — because you cannot love your money AND love your neighbor when you are denying your neighbor the ability to see a doctor just so you can have a better bottom line.  That’s called “immoral” — and you are committing a sin when you benefit at the expense of others.

When you are in church this morning, please think about this. I am asking you to allow your “better angels” to come forward. And if you are among the millions of Americans who are struggling to make it from week to week, please know that I promise to do what I can to stop this evil — and I hope you’ll join me in not giving up until everyone has a seat at the table.

Thanks for listening. I’m off to Mass in a few hours. I’ll be sure to ask the priest if he thinks J.C. deals in derivatives or credit default swaps. I mean, after all, he must’ve been good at math. How else did he divide up two loaves of bread and five pieces of fish equally amongst 5,000 people? Either he was the first socialist or his disciples were really bad at packing lunch. Or both.

Yours,

Michael Moore

MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Friends,

We’re just one day away from the widest opening I’ve ever had for any of my movies. Tomorrow, Friday, October 2nd, “Capitalism: A Love Story” opens on over a thousand screens across the United States, a record for an independent documentary.

This follows last weekend’s limited opening in New York and L.A. where “Capitalism” set the box office record for the highest per screen average of ANY movie released so far this year. Not just any documentary — any MOVIE! It was, as the studio said, a good indicator of just how well the movie may do when it goes wide this weekend. I sincerely hope they’re right because I believe deeply in this film.

To kick off the national release of  “Capitalism: A Love Story,” I’ve asked the studio to offer a number of screenings in the nation’s hardest hit cities — the ones with the highest unemployment rates and highest foreclosure rates — where those who’ve lost their jobs or who are in foreclosure (or have already been evicted) may attend my film free of charge. They’ve agreed, and so tonight (Thursday), the night before our opening day, ten cities will grant you free admission if you have fallen on hard times. The list of theaters and cities is below. You don’t need to bring any “proof” of your situation — just show up — it’s the honor system, no questions asked.

Of course, a free movie ain’t much when what you really need is a job or a place to live. And that’s not going to change until the party that controls both the Congress and the White House wakes up and realizes the American people put them in charge to fix the mess created by the previous administration. For that to happen requires the active involvement of each of us. And, as I show in this movie, it’s going to also require us to challenge some fundamental assumptions about an economic system that currently allows the wealthiest ONE PERCENT in this country to have more financial wealth than the bottom 95% combined. That concentration of money and power in the hands of so few people is, I believe, at the core of so many of our problems.

So, if you’re going through tough times and you live in one of the areas below, please be my guest tonight, on the eve of my new film’s opening. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

Also, in another five cities tonight, I have made the film available to local groups to hold benefit screenings to raise money for their local organizations — organizations which are working toward a day when a filmmaker doesn’t have to offer free screenings to people who’ve been put through the wringer. If you live in any of these areas (see below for the list of benefit premieres tonight), please come out and support the good work of these grassroots groups.

So, until tomorrow, thanks for your support, and I’ll see ya at the movies!

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
Twitter.com/MMFlint
Facebook.com/MMFlint
MySpace.com/MMFlint

“CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY” FREE SCREENINGS:
Las Vegas, Nevada
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:00 p.m.
Cinemark Orleans
4600 W Tropicana Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89103

Phoenix, Arizona
Thursday, Oct.1st, 7:00 p.m.
Harkins Christown
1620 W Monte Bello
Phoenix, AZ 85015

Fresno, California
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:30 p.m.
Edwards Stadium
250 Paseo Del Centro
Fresno, CA 93720

Saginaw, Michigan
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:00 p.m.
Goodrich Saginaw 8 Theater
3250 Kabobel Dr.
Saginaw, MI 48604

Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:30 p.m.
Regal North Hills Stadium 14
4150 Main at North Hills St.
Raleigh, NC 27609

Tampa / St. Petersburg, Florida
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:30 p.m.
Muvico Starlight
1800 Highwood Preserve Parkway
Tampa, FL 33647

Elkhart, Indiana
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:00 p.m.
Carmike Encore Park 14
2701 Cassopolis Street
Elkhart, IN 46514

Baltimore, Maryland
Thursday, October 1st, 7:30 p.m.
The Charles Theatre
1711 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

Cleveland, Ohio
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:30 p.m.
AMC Westwood Town Center
21653 Center Ridge Road
Rocky River, OH 44116

Peoria, Illinois
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:00PM
Willow Knolls 14 Theatre
4100 W Willow Knolls Drive
Peoria, IL 61615

“CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY” BENEFIT SCREENINGS:

Miami, Florida
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:30 p.m.
Sunrise Intracoastal
3701 NE 163rd Street
North Miami Beach, FL 33160
Benefiting: Take Back the Land

Madison, Wisconsin
Thursday, October 1st, 7:00 p.m.
Sundance Cinemas 608
430 N. Midvale Blvd.
Madison, WI 53705

Benefiting: Madison Association of Worker Cooperatives / Union Cab / Isthmus Engineering
San Francisco, California
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:30 p.m.
Embarcadero Center Cinema
One Embarcadero Center, Promenade
San Francisco, CA 94111

Benefiting: US Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Chicago, Illinois
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 8:00 p.m.
Kerasotes City North
2600 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

Benefiting: United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America
Grass Valley, California
Thursday, Oct. 1st, 7:30 p.m.
Del Oro Theatre
165 Mill Street
Grass Valley, CA 95945

Benefiting: KVMR-FM

Boulder, Colo. (past screening)
Tuesday, Sept. 29th, 8:00 p.m.
Boulder Theater
2032 14th Street.
Boulder, CO 80302
Benefiting: Present Tense Films

I was most moved with Michael Jackson’s performance at the Motown 25 event in 1983.

That night, 26 years ago, as I watched Michael perform, I recall vividly how the hair stood up on my arms; gaping in awe at the fluidity of his fancy footwork. His magnificent moonwalk defied reality. I was so moved that the excitement of the moment has stayed with me as of this writing. Michael Jackson was indeed, thrilling to watch. I felt the same way when I first watched Gene Kelly in “Singing in the Rain”, Fred Astaire in Puttin’ on the Ritz and James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy”. How lucky I was to experience this event in my own lifetime as part of MJ’s generation. Blessed and thrilled simultaneously. I’m sad he is gone. Even with the negative news events that transpired, I really did want to see him succeed this year. We’ll never know now if that would have happened.

Sadly, Danny Gans, age 52, a terrific entertainer, renowned impressionist, singer, and all around great guy has passed away today.  He was a family man and ‘tireless champion of charities’ raising millions for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, homeless teens and Nevada’s Childhood Cancer Foundation. 

I never got to Vegas to see him but one of his shows was on my list of ‘must sees’. He leaves behind 3 children and his wife, Julie.

Here are excerpts of a great interview with Larry King on CNN.  He’s really funny!