Whatever happened to truth in advertising? Clint's invitation must have been lost in the mail.
"We're selling it as a broad-based entertainment," Ortenberg said. "It's a good story well told by a master storyteller; he explains complex issues in layman's terms."
news.yahoo.com
Beating the Bushes in H'w'd
Tue Jun 8, 8:00 PM ET
Timothy M. Gray, STAFF
This article was updated at 7:01 p.m.
After their Cannes triumph, Michael Moore (news) and "Fahrenheit 9/11" made their Stateside bow in a high-energy event chockablock with Hollywood heavyweights.
A special screening was held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, with another at 10 p.m. across the street at the Music Hall for the post-Laker game crowd.
The crowd included a heady mix of stars, filmmakers and execs, ranging from Larry David (news) to Leonardo DiCaprio (news), from Chris Rock (news) to Drew Barrymore (news).
After the Acad screening, Moore got a 70-second standing ovation that began during the closing credits.
While that applause was not as dramatic as the 20-minute ovation he received at Cannes, Tuesday's filmgoers offered a different (but equally impressive) tribute. After the screening, no one raced up the aisles to get to their car, no one pushed to be first at the reception, and people were talking about the film long after it ended -- three things that are surprisingly rare at Hollywood events.
Plenty of info
Guests quietly and slowly filed down the stairs to the reception in the Acad's lobby. "There's a lot to digest," said one about the film, which drew big laughs and tears from the capacity crowd.
The evening was hosted by Lions Gate, IFC, Fellowship Adventure Group and Endeavor, with Miramax's Harvey Weinstein acting as unofficial host, greeting people as they entered the theater.
Like Weinstein, Lions Gate Films president Tom Ortenberg and IFC Entertainment prexy Jonathan Sehring were circulating among the crowd and accepting congrats.
"We're selling it as a broad-based entertainment," Ortenberg said. "It's a good story well told by a master storyteller; he explains complex issues in layman's terms."
New card
Unspoolings marked the first public showing of a print bearing the credit "Lions Gate and IFC and Fellowship Adventure Group present ..." It was also the first showing of the final locked print, with a new sound mix and approximately 10 minutes of footage that was slightly tweaked after Cannes screenings (e.g., the Iraq (news - web sites) body count) to make it as current as possible.
Before Tuesday, the preem was almost under the radar; it wasn't hyped to the media and many didn't realize until they arrived that there was a potent guest list.
Early in the evening, Weinstein told Daily Variety, "It's great that the town is showing up for this. We need support, and support seems to be coming."
That may have been an understatement. Guests included directors Michael Mann (news), Michael Bay (news), Gary Ross, Wes Anderson (news), Kevin Smith (news), Ed Zwick, Nora Ephron (news), Spike Jonze (news), Brett Ratner, Tom Shadyac, John Singleton (news) and Joe Carnahan; and execs/producers Bob Shaye, Lawrence Bender, Gale Anne Hurd, Steve Bing and Mitch Glazer.
Also, Ellen DeGeneres (news), Jodie Foster (news), Viggo Mortensen (news), Demi Moore (news) & Ashton Kutcher (news), Jack Black (news), Sharon Stone (news), Billy Crystal (news), Meg Ryan (news), Danny DeVito (news), David Duchovny (news) and Tea Leoni, Diane Lane (news), Garry Shandling (news), Aaron Sorkin, Marisa Tomei (news) and Mark Wahlberg (news), as well as political power players such as Arianna Huffington, Martin Sheen (news), Norman Lear, Rob Reiner (news) and Tom Hayden (there with his son, actor Troy Garity).
Few no-shows
In Hollywood, it's traditional to give the media an advance list of showbiz notables who've RSVP'd their attendance. This one was the exception: Most of the notables on the list actually showed up.
The event was far from lavish: no decorations, a few canapes. Guests at the reception, which was also swarming with agents and media members, seemed more interested in the conversation than the food.
In an introduction to the pic at the Acad showing, Weinstein joked that he and brother Bob had placed an ad in the L.A. Times classifieds: "Two execs looking for company to run. Resumes available upon request."
Weinstein praised the courage of Moore's agent Ari Emanuel, saying, "We could not have found a more loyal partner." He said the Endeavor honcho is someone you'd want to have by your side if you were in a foxhole; "Come to think of it, we are in a foxhole."
Emanuel said, "This has been one of the great rides of my professional career" and praised the Miramax freres for being willing to put their whole company on the line "to support artists the way they did."
Whose cheese?
Post-film, Moore thanked the Weinsteins for giving "100% support, zero interference and a blank check -- I thought it was Disney money!"
He also saluted Lions Gate and IFC, which will distrib the film in North America. "They came in to save the day and to make sure this film could be seen by every American."
Pic will open June 25 in what Moore said is the widest distribution of any documentary ever.
Weinstein and Emanuel similarly made intro remarks at the Music Hall show.
After that screening, Moore answered questions from the audience. Asked about a printed rumor that the Miramax toppers' roles may be in jeopardy, Moore said he feels weird about the unsettling conclusion that "if you work with Michael Moore, you lose your company." From the back of the theater, Weinstein shouted out, "It's worth it!"
Despite Disney's decision to drop the pic, Moore said Michael Eisner has never seen it.
He added that John Kerry (news - web sites) hasn't viewed it either, and he'd particularly like George W. Bush to see the film.
'Hopeful' helmer
As for the upcoming election, Moore said at the AMPAS screening, "I'm hopeful and I'm optimistic. There's been a shift in this country." He said that in promoting his book, he's received a huge and positive reaction in small towns, saying the anti-Bush/anti-war movement "has gone beyond the Berkeleys and the Ann Arbors."
He quoted Abraham Lincoln's statement that if you give people the truth, the republic will be safe, concluding that he feels sure "the country will be back in our hands."
Disney forbade Miramax to distribute the pic, so Moore and the Weinsteins looked for another distrib. Moore said he'd been asked about the lesson he's learned from that. He said he's more concerned that the Disney brouhaha sends a message to fellow documakers that "if you go too far, the chance of your getting distribution are virtually nil." He fears filmmakers will start censoring themselves.
(Bill Higgins contributed to this report.) |
