Michael Moore to release his next film free online

[My take: I'm not so sure that Moore is giving up tens of millions of box office revenues on this one, as AP suggests. Getting theatrical distribution for a documentary is hard, even for Moore, and it maybe this one just didn't look like it was going to sell well enough to justify that. So it may really be a case of free online vs straight to DVD. And for Moore, for whom political impact is as important as cash, the mass reach enabled by free could mean more than whatever DVD revenues he'll forgo during the online distribution window. ]

NEW YORK (AP) — Inspired by Neil Young and Radiohead, Michael Moore will release his new film online and for free.

The film, "Slacker Uprising," follows Moore's 62-city tour during the 2004 election to rally young voters. It will be available for three weeks as a free download to North American residents, beginning Sept. 23. An official announcement of the film is planned for Friday.

Moore said he considered releasing "Slacker Uprising" theatrically as "Michael Moore's big election year movie" as he did with 2004's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which was highly critical of President Bush.

Instead, Moore opted for a symbol of gratitude to his fans as he approaches the 20th anniversary of his first film, 1989's "Roger & Me."

"I thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate my 20th year of doing this," Moore said. "And also help get out the vote for November. I've been thinking about what I want to do to help with the election this year."

The 97-minute long "Slacker Uprising" will be the first major film to be released in such a way. Last December, "Jackass 2.5" was streamed online and for free, but that was only a collection of left over material from "Jackass 2." Companies like ClickStar, which Morgan Freeman co-founded, have made films still in theaters — such as 2006's "10 Items or Less" — digitally available for purchase or rental.

If history is any measure, "Slacker Uprising" could have made a decent sum in theaters. His last two films, "Sicko" ($24 million) and "Fahrenheit 9/11" ($119 million) are two of the three highest grossing documentaries ever.

Read more here.

[Thanks to Brandon Buck for the heads up]

Comments

[Eben Carlson]

Ah--content as a loss leader, that'll give us a robust culture.

It didn't work for Soviet cars, why would it work for movies, songs, books, magazines or television.

Digital distribution will force us to float (that is raise) content prices--if we want more beautiful face that is.

I, for one, am done with long tails. Remember, this is the culture with which we have to live. If it's cheap, shoddy and done by amateurs it's like the richest people in the world living in Soviet-Era projects voluntarily. Stupid shit. Do you have any movies you're dying to see this weekend?

[G Barral]

Besides his obvious political goals and although MM is not one of my favourite Directors at all, I appreciate the fact that he's opening a New Era for the Movies Industry. Thanks to MM the Freeconomics Model is having an even stronger impact in the world.

[Matt]

Personally, I'm disappointed that it's being limited to North American customers. Probably something to do with copyright laws and/or distribution networks but I think that given the borderless nature of the internet, it should be available everywhere.

[Epon]

The film has been on the market for a year but no distributor has picked it up. He is giving away because no distributor wants to pay for it.

[Kat Lash]

When the people raise their consciousness to a higher level, everything (including politicians, corporations and film producers) will follow. We should all take a good hard look at ourselves if we want a better world. Imagine relationships based on love and respect rather than power!

[Craig Kessler]

Whether it's true that no one picked it up or a gimmick to try to dive into the radical online world and create buzz like Radiohead did earlier this year with their album, it's interesting to see. MM is a widely controversial director and people have open opinions about him. Not much of the youth knows him though so to see him take this format to try to strike them and increase voting is very interesting and if nothing else is a smart marketing gimmick. Hears one more example you can use in your book Chris.

Craig
www.budgetpulse.com

[piles]

Michael Moore interets me. He’s a controversial figure and certainly he means well and raises some good points. As for the bias or quality of his movies I can’t comment, having not seen them. The height of my Moore exposure is a letter he sent to fans via email about the financial crisis. A Rage Against the Machine video he directed and a cruelly parodied depiction of him in Team America!

[jonathan_sergio]

For those of you thinking that if they implement this it will eliminate some of the waiting and lines…
vajinismus
panik atak
estetik

[John Stefan]

Well, nice article buddy… Someone will love to read this infor if I tell her about this. For those of you thinking that if they implement this it will eliminate some of the waiting and lines…
meme estetiği
yüz estetiği
burun estetiği

[Camela Chircle]

Hi. I agree in principal with your ideas at the same time I do believe if someone invents something before others.
saç ekimi
estetik
yaşam koçu

[xmas presents]

Thanks for the very nice post. I like it very much . The letter has been sent to fans via email about the financial crisis is superb. Thanks .