Local petition protests decision: GKC won't show 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
By JOHN PEPIN, Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE - In an intended show of support for U.S. military troops, GKC Theatres will not play Michael Moore's controversial movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" in 23 cities, including Marquette.
GKC President Beth Kerasotes confirmed Thursday that the Springfield, Illinois-based company with roughly 270 movie screens at 29 theaters scattered across five Midwestern states will not show Moore's film as long as the country is at war.
"We believe in Michael Moore's freedom to make this movie," Kerasotes said. "We trust that our customers will recognize and respect our own freedom to choose not to show it. During a time of war, the American troops in Iraq need and deserve our undivided support."
Moore's blockbuster film, which is highly-critical of the Bush administration and its decision to go to war in Iraq, racked up $23.9 million in box office receipts last weekend, becoming the first documentary to debut as Hollywood's top weekend film.
Bryan Jeffries, GKC executive vice-president of film and marketing, said the company's decision is unprecedented in its nearly 20-year history.
"We have never not played a film based on content before," Jeffries said.
GKC owns both the Delft and Royal theaters in Marquette.
Since the film's premiere, many people in the local area have wanted GKC to show the documentary. Initially, there were not enough prints of the film released for GKC to be able to run the movie, Jeffries said.
But now, the film is more widely available.
However, GKC is sticking by its decision, despite the opportunity to draw large ticket sales and the private pleas from moviegoers, some of whom have contacted Kerasotes by telephone and e-mail.
Some GKC customers have called for a boycott of GKC until it shows the movie. Many people equate the decision with censorship, especially in a market like Marquette where both theaters are owned by GKC.
"Even if they don't like it, we should have the choice to be able to see it or not," said Brandon Young, writer of a petition against the decision in Marquette. "We should have the option to see it."
Atara Dror, a Marquette student helping Young circulate the petition, agrees. She thinks the movie is important for people to see because it involves vital current events.
"There's a lot going on with the election and what our country is doing around the world," she said. "There's a lot of people upset about this movie not coming to our town. People should be able to form their own opinions."
There are reportedly a few petitions circulating in Marquette. So far, more than 165 people have signed Young's petition at Emma Joes Common Grounds coffee shop.
Young said he hopes to submit at least 200 signatures to GKC, but ultimately doesn't think the effort will really change anything.
Since the film opened, some moviegoers have organized trips to Green Bay or Traverse City to see the Moore film. Because of a complicated business arrangement, the GKC-owned Horizon Cinemas in Traverse City is the only exception to the company's "Fahrenheit" ban, Jeffries said.
The Lode Theatre in Houghton will show "Fahrenheit 9/11" daily for at least the next two weeks-the only theater in the Upper Peninsula currently doing so.
"It's generated some interest," said owner Judith Mason Mayer. "Actually, we were very fortunate to get a print."
Michael Moore, a native of downstate Flint, was first widely known for his breakthrough 1989 film about the economic fallout of General Motors' shutdown of auto plants in Flint called "Roger & Me."
"Fahrenheit" made more money in its first three days showing across North America than "Bowling for Columbine"-Moore's Oscar-winning 2002 documentary on the Columbine High School massacre-made in its entire run, according to the film's distributors.
"Fahrenheit" won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Kerasotes said that her company-the 15th largest theater circuit in the United States-would decide to show Moore's movie, once the war in Iraq is over.
"If we were not at war, this film would be playing at GKC," Kerasotes said.
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