- Friends,
-
- Thank you so much to the hundreds of thousands of you
who went to see my movie last night and this afternoon. The studio tells
me that we are on track to have the second largest opening weekend for
a documentary in the history of the movies! ("Fahrenheit 9/11"
was first.) Many theaters have been selling out. The Bush administration's
investigation of this movie is certainly not keeping people away. Thanks
for all the pictures you sent me of people packing in to see "Sicko!"
-
- The movie is making impact big and small. I thought you
would enjoy this story about a family that Aetna was forcing to pay a $65,000
hospital bill that the insurance company was supposed to cover!
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz7uRmMUSZM
- Check it out.
-
- The critics, too, have been more than kind. Can I show
you what a few of them said?
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- "It's as uplifting and heart-rending a thing as
you will see at the movies all year. And it speaks of Moore's enduring
faith -- his angry, nettled, exasperated belief that 'despite all our differences,
we sink or swim together.' " -- Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
-
- "The weight of evidence Moore marshals for taking
the profit motive out of medicine is overwhelming. In a summer of dumb,
shameless drivel, Moore delivers a movie of robust mind and heart. You'll
laugh till it hurts." -- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
-
- "'Sicko' is a beyond brilliant, nonpartisan expose'
on American politics that should be mandatory for every student in America.
Some rich person -- like maybe Angelina Jolie -- should sponsor a program
where DVDs are sent to families or free screenings are held at local churches."
-- Caroline Kepnes, E!
-
- For more of this,
- http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/pressroom/
- click here.
-
- There's a moment in "Sicko" when the former
British MP, Tony Benn, says, "If we have the money to kill people
(with war), we've got the money to help people." That line always
gets the loudest applause in the theater. It is estimated that, before
Bush's War is over, we will have spent two trillion dollars on it. Let
me say this: I NEVER want to hear again from ANY politician that we "don't
have the money" to fix our schools, to take care of the poor, to provide
health care for every American. Clearly, the money IS there when we want
to illegally invade another country and then prolong a disastrous occupation.
From now on, we have to demand that our tax dollars be there for the things
we need, not the things that make us one of the most detested countries
on earth.
-
- If you haven't seen "Sicko," go see it tonight.
I want this film to have as much impact as it can. How well it does in
terms of attendance this first weekend will determine how many other towns
get to see it. It's all about the "first weekend box office"
with the studios these days. If it does well in the 400 theaters it's in,
they will put it in more theaters next weekend. And trust me, the White
House and their friends in the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries
know this, too. It's no surprise to me that an original master of "Sicko"
was stolen and widely distributed on the internet before the film's release.
I'm one of the few people in the movie business who doesn't believe in
prosecuting teenagers who want to share music or films (although I make
my movies to be seen on a big screen and that's how I hope people see them!).
I called up Mr. Bush's FBI last week. I wanted to know if they had asked
themselves the first question any cop would ask about this particularly
unique theft:
-
- "Who has a vested interest in destroying the first
weekend of Michael Moore's new film by stealing his movie's master copy
and placing it on the internet?"
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- Needless to say, they showed little interest in investigating
who's behind this. That's ok. I realize what's at stake for them and I
accept that this is a battle with serious consequences. The drug and insurance
companies have dumped over a half billion dollars in the pockets of Congress
and the White House in the last 10 years. This movie may end up being their
worst nightmare.
-
- But here's the good news: There's more of us than there
are of them. So, it's up to the rest of you to help me help this movie
have a great opening weekend. If over a half million people come out to
see it by tomorrow night, the studio will take that to mean it should be
in more cities and more theaters. Let's make that happen. And I promise
you, if you go, you'll see a movie unlike any other you've seen this year.
Last night, the industry polled the people coming out of "Sicko."
93% said they would "strongly recommend 'Sicko'" to their friends
and family. The pollster said he'd never seen a number that high (the norm
for most movies is about 45%). It was a heartening piece of news.
-
- Thanks again and see ya tonight at the movies!
-
- Yours,
- Michael Moore
- mmflint@aol.com
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