Fahrenheit 911 - The Temperature Where Freedom Burns
Fahrenheit 911 is the latest movie in the works by Liberal author and filmmaker Michael Moore. This movie will follow in the wake of Oscar-winning Bowling for Columbine and best-selling non-fiction books Stupid White Men and Dude, where's my Country? I should point out that all three of the works are critical of George W. Bush; while the movie doesn't mention Bush and focuses more on American culture, the books are very critical, taking sides against Bush from the 2000 election fiasco to the botched Iraq war. Michael Moore has said since he got his tax refund from the federal government that he will spend it all in an effort to unseat George W. Bush from the White House.
This film, a non-fiction documentary, will try to describe why the US has become a target for hatred and terrorism. Michael Moore mentioned how the "What a Wonderful World" montage in his last film, "Bowling For Columbine," shocked audiences by a visual timeline that showed the consequences of US foreign policy, some very graphically. It's expected that this might follow upon the same theme. More importantly, this movie will show the connections between the Bush family and the Saudi Bin Laden family. Bush is connected to the Saudi royal family through oil deals, and has met Mohammed Bin Laden, the father to Osama Bin Laden, in the course of business.
The title of the film "Fahrenheit 911" is a play on the classic Fahrenheit 451, a well-known book which was later made into a movie (and is being remade for 2005), and 9/11, the media nickname for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The film will be a documentary, similar to Bowling for Columbine, an exposé of sorts, and with humor. Michael Moore is not new to documentaries, he won acclaim for Roger and Me, as well as two television series TV Nation and The Awful Truth. They're humorous while at the same time serious, poking fun at people and things while trying to discuss a serious issue, in a way that makes the audience feel something about the injustice. A critic once called Moore "in the style of Mark Twain."
The film has been selected by the Cannes film festival to premiere in their competition, only the second time in the last 48 years that a documentary has been chosen to be in the main competition (the first being "Bowling for Columbine" in 2002)
Disney, the studio that owns Miramax announced that it was prohibiting Miramax from distributing the film. According to The New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. Critics accuse the movie of being partisan (before it's even done), given the fact that Moore is a Green party member, amid accusations it will be anti-Bush. However, the decision was made last year, despite only surfacing now, which has led some of accusing Moore of creating a publicity stunt. He will most likely find another distributor anyway, his last documentary netted millions, becoming the highest grossing documentary in history.
Starring:
Michael Moore as himself
The trailer has been posted at http://www.fahrenheit911.com/trailer/