Variety: Sony hot on '9/11' vid deal (release this fall)

Sony hot on '9/11' vid deal
Columbia TriStar expected to release DVD, VHS this fall

By NICOLE LAPORTE


Still igniting ticket sales at the box office, Michael Moore's hot-button doc "Fahrenheit 9/11" is generating heat for a homevideo deal. Sony is set to acquire domestic home entertainment rights to the Bush-bashing pic and is expected to release DVD and VHS versions through its Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment division this fall.

Sony would not comment, but sources said the studio is close to sealing the deal.

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Moore's 2002 doc "Bowling for Columbine""Bowling For Columbine" made $21 million at the box office and brought $12 million in homevid revenue to MGM. Sony can expect to see much more than that amount, considering that "Fahrenheit" has already grossed $60 million since its June 25 release.

A DVD release date for "Fahrenheit" has not been set, though there has been talk of a late-September release in order to precede the Nov. 2 presidential election.

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More at www.variety.com (subscription site)

A party after the election with that movie would be so great!

Big screen TV

F911 Playing

House Full beyond Capacity of Ecstatic Dems

Celebrating our Big Win. :)

I can almost taste it !

and then live come November! :D

Deliver the goods in the form of a Landslide. :)

No doubt the agoraphobes of the world will appreciate this TREMENDOUSLY!

Who wouldn't want to be able to see it whenever the spirit moves?

How about buying it and inviting Republican neighbors or relatives over to watch movies?

...stock it? :evilgrin:

Libraries may be leary to buy the dvd because of wingnut protests. (I've seen battles over less partison material.) However, donations are easily defended against censorship (no tax dollars spent) and a good way to make the film available to folks who would not view it because of financial or political reasons.

Repugs who wouldn't dream of renting/buying the dvd because it implies an endorsement of Moore would quietly check out a copy from the library.

Just a thought.

You know, through the library tracking part of the patriot act.

Nothing would make me happier than if the "less government" crowd started worrying over the Patriot Act. How the hell self-identified conservatives can maintain that bit of cognitive dissonance is beyond me.

Last year, there was a book I was excited to read (can't recall the title now). I looked into buying it, but it was $30, hardcover only. So, I went to the library to see if they had it. Nope. So I inquired about purchasing the book and donating it, so that my $30 would seem more worthwhile. Nope, it had to go through a committee for approval first. I gave them the title, author, ISBN and they said they'd get back to me if it passed committee. Haven't heard from them yet. FYI, the book took a highly critical look at the power and abuse of power by corporations. Hopefully my library here in beautiful, but freeper hell Montana is the exception, not the norm.

And you make a good point. Libraries are locally-controlled and some are more political than others.

BTW, why are the most beautiful parts of our country -- like Montana -- so freaking freeper-ridden? You'd think the natives would be more laidback from contemplating the natural beauty.

I live right next door(almost) in rural eastern Washington, and while the extractive industries are slowly dying out due to lower world prices for those products, the Good-Ol'_Boys are still in control, and the retirees usually are Republicans also("I got mine, you get yours!"). Many of those people are beginning to change, though, since the * administration is so obviously screwing the little people. I LOVE asking the hardcore religionists or even the Catholics if they think George W. Bush is the Anti-Christ! Makes 'em think...
:hi:

On edit, I SURE hope the DVD comes out before the election, since we here in the sticks will NEVER see it any other way, and I've got a few "republicans" I'd like to invite to see it.

Bruce

or will it be a matter of folks buying it and just showing the thing to their neighbors?

I believe his name was Ch'en Ch'u. He decided to burn all the books. By doing so, he kept his population ignorant and uninformed. Also, he believed that by burning all the books, history would start with him.

Ignorance does come in many forms, doesn't it?

regarding shared versions of this film, I wonder if public libraries would be held accountable for stocking a dozen copies of their own original on the shelves...

Libraries also have dwindling budgets. The librarians I've talked to prefer DVDs to tapes (more durable and take up less shelf space) but the new format is more expensive. Given that the Lord of the Rings series will cost upwards of $50, it's not surprising that they may only be able to afford 1 or 2 copies of a popular movie for an entire city. I donated a copy of "Bowling for Columbine" to my library, because the ones they have are always out, and there aren't enough for all 8 branches.

(note: there's always a waiting list for the popular DVDs at my library, and they're so desperate for more that there doesn't seem to be a screening process -- I've seen DVDs I've donated put on the shelf only a couple of weeks later! If people are worried about their contribution being turned down, try bringing in a family film like "Finding Nemo" as well, or maybe a bunch of past Cannes winners like "Elephant" -- that way they won't think you're a rabble-rouser, but just interested in promoting prizewinning films. Actually most of the librarians at my branch ARE rabble-rousers, and the one who wasn't was won over when I donated a copy of "The Paper Chase", one of her faves.)

I plan on giving them TWO copies of F 9/11, with a stipulation that one goes to the branch that services the community around the local military base.

Michael Moore would approve of us doing this, because he doesn't care about the royalties (he just wants people to see the movie). There are a LOT of potential viewers out there who simply can't afford to buy a movie ticket or even rent it. Also, he likes librarians (they're the ones who pressured the publishers to release his book). I talked to him when he was in Vancouver a while back, and when he found out that I was giving my copy of "Roger & Me" to a librarian, he got very excited and approved wholeheartedly!

Was this a former sports writer? :shrug: