Michael Moore Wants You to Join His ‘Slacker Uprising’
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 7, 2008
Filmmaker Michael Moore would like to give you a gift, and no, you don’t have to sign any waivers or drink any questionable Kool-Aid. In fact, you don’t have to do anything other than give your email address in order to be notified about when you can download his latest film Slacker Uprising absolutely free. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will make his film available online as “a gift” to all of his fans.
Slacker Uprising traces Moore’s 62-city tour of the swing states during the 2004 Presidential election and records the thrilling — and frightening — response he received across the country. According to a press release on the film’s official website, neither Moore nor Brave New Films will make any money from the film, which had a budget of over $2 million. As Moore himself states, “This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans. The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November. I think ‘Slacker Uprising’ will inspire million to get off the couch and give voting a chance.”
This isn’t the first time that Moore has attempted to use his films to influence the outcome of a Presidential election. In June 2004, he released Fahrenheit 9/11, a heavy-handed attack at the Bush Administration’s handling of the events of September 11, 2001 and the Iraq war that followed. To Moore’s dismay, Fahrenheit had a minimal effect on the voting public, who voted George W. Bush in for a second term in November of the same year.
Also, this won’t be the first time that one of Moore’s films has shown up for the masses online. In June of 2007, Moore’s documentary on the state of health care in America, entitled Sicko, ended up online via various torrent sites. The film, which had a budget of $9 million, would ultimately go on to make $24.7 million worldwide despite the incident.
To find out more about Slacker Uprising, head over to slackeruprising.com, or check out the trailer below.
What do you think of Michael Moore giving his film away online? Do you think that it will have any impact on this year’s Presidential Election?
Read more articles by Neil Miller
