Moore Approves Fahrenheit 9/11 Downloads

13.7BillionYears writes "The Sunday Herald reports that Michael Moore has expressed his approval of Fahrenheit 9/11 being downloaded through networks like BitTorrent and eDonkey2000. He also champions a very Lessig-esque outlook in his reasoning. Quentin Tarantino's earlier support for such practices is also mentioned. Meanwhile, Lion's Gate says it has no plans to oppose the practice."

Comments

F911

[mfh]

This truly is a first. I am quite pleased by Moore's decision to broaden his audience by allowing free downloads of the film.

I think this would be a great place to link all your Fahrenheit 9/11 torrents!

I already saw Fahrenheit 9/11 in theatre, and it was truly amazing. I don't care if some of it was not factual, because the bulk of it is just too damn funny to worry about trivial he-said, she-said crap. Think for yourself, but also see the movie... it's amazing, imho. Quite a catalyst for provocative thought and discussion. It's not just funny, it's moving and sad, terrifying at times. The funniest parts are when they look at bush in his candid moments, when his true hick nature seeps through the $5000 suits he wears. I won't spoil it. I will say that during the film, they play audio of the 9/11 attacks over a black screen and people in the audience were crying, it was soooo moving, and sad. Now watch this drive!

So much for the MPAA... gosh it's nice to see their hands tied for a change.

Not all pirates are assholes...

[FrO]

Valenti said: "Nobody can allow their rights to be stolen because, if you can't retrieve your investment, you're out of the movie business,

"I don't think there's really a single actor or director in the world who does not believe that if you don't combat piracy, it will devour you in the future."

I've seen this happen so many times that it's the norm for me. A group of my friends used to pirate movies/music/apps/games/etc back in our early days of college. While it is true that there were many things we didn't buy, there were also many things that we DID buy. my DVD collection grew greatly during this period, as did my CD collection and the number of games that I owned. I mean hell, I had a pirated copy of Warcraft III, yet I forked over the $80 to get the special edition of the game when it came out. Yes, there are those assholes who decide that they will never buy anything, but most pirates will pay for things that they really enjoy. Thus, in my experience, Valenti's assertion that piracy is the downfall of the industry is wrong. If they produced something that everyone wants to see or own and sold it at a reasonable price, then even the pirates would go out and buy it.

Re:Interesting.

[Eru-sama]

The title is "Fifty-six deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11" but I think a more suiting one would be "fifty-six insignifciant instances of nitpicking."

Moore's next film

[epsalon]

If Moore is against Copyright, he should make a film about the DMCA, the Sonny-Bonno copyright extention act, software patents, and similar freedom-inhibiting laws. That kind of film could really make a difference.

Not even Mel Gibson did this

[canadacow]

Interesting how Mel Gibson actually cracked down on peer-to-peer distribution of "The Passion of the Christ" (techincally the equivalent to stealing Bibles) where as Moore supports the free sharing of his movie.

Re:Not surprising...

[Trolling4Dollars]

Bingo! I may have more liberal leanings, but I don't think there is anything wrong with REAL capitalism. The kind that originally made this country a great place. REAL capitalism isn't about making the most sales and dominating the market. It's about providing a good or service that really has value and keeping your customer satisfied. The criminal activites that masquerade as "capitalism" these days have made a travesty of the United States. It sickens me that so many people out there believe that they are part of something good when they support the purveyors of these activities. It also does my heart good to see that there are plenty of people who are, perhaps, starting to become a little more aware of how this country is being ruined.

Analysis of how F911's critics "expose lies"

[Anonymous Coward]

In reading a plethora of "critiques of the movie", web sites supposedly debunking Moore's claims and everything in between, I've noticed a consistent pattern of how Moore's critics address his work:

1. Standard right wing/conservative approach to dealing with issues: DON'T

Attack the messenger, ignore the message.

The vast majority of negative reviews of F911 tend to center around character assassination of Moore himself, rather than the issues raised in his movies:

"Before watching Fahrenheit 9/11, I actually had some sort of admiration for Michael Moore. In his previous, most popular, two movies, Bowling for Columbine and Roger and Me, he was able to hide the fact that he's truly a sleaze-ball."
- Bucket Reviews

2. Make outrageous claims with no intent to back them up:

"Fahrenheit 9/11 is a different experience than his past two outings, though. In it, he lets the filth fly, exposing his entirely evil heart, which is offensive and vile through and through. No matter how many quick cuts and slick moves he can make behind and in front of the camera, there's no disguising his despicableness here. Fahrenheit 9/11 is comprised of one percent truth, thirty-three percent staging, sixteen percent bents of reality, and fifty percent downright, inexcusable, lies. If I was a Democrat, I'd be ashamed that such an obnoxious scum was representing my political party, in film. If I was on the fence, voting, I would steer towards George W. Bush's side because of the atrociousness Moore utilizes in this film."
- Bucket Reviews

3. "Post-hypnotic suggestions" - Tell people what they will think.

It's bad enough that any critic has the job of influencing people based on their opinion, but when they start telling you how you will react to the movie, they've gone too far:

"What can I say about "Fahrenheit 9/11" that you can't already guess? If you are in line with Michael Moore's politics, you're gonna love this movie. But if you disagree with him - or maybe even find yourself somewhere in the middle - you just might find this the most grossly speculative, obnoxious, racist, obscured and hate-filled movie yet."
- Film Threat

4. Push the boundaries of hypocrisy

This great trick, perfected by Fox News with the advent of the "No Spin Zone" has been elevated to an art form by the Bush administration. Right wing pundits employ this technique more often than they whip out their American Express gold card:

"..Apparently Moore didn't have any footage of torture chambers, rape rooms or mass Kurdish graves to throw in as well. Oh yeah, I forgot. That doesn't fit in his agenda. So, let's not "document" those facts. Most people forget that Michael Moore has had a problem with accuracy. ...At times, Moore completely abandons any pretext of a documentary and slips into fiction by literally putting words into Bush's mouth and thoughts into the man's head.

Let's put thoughts in Michael Moore's head, then let's lambast him for putting thoughts in other peoples' heads. Then let's top it all off with a cherry:

"The bottom line is that "Fahrenheit 9/11" is nothing short of yellow journalism. In fact, it's worse. It's yellow journalism masquerading as investigative reporting. It is Michael Moore's desperate attempt to justify his Oscar speech."