Film and Election Politics Cross in 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

[AmyStrange]

Film and Election Politics Cross in 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
Fri Jun 11, 7:55 AM ET
By Michael Finnegan Times Staff Writer

FROM: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=2026&e=2&u=/latimests/20040611/ts_latimes/filmandelectionpoliticscrossinfahrenheit911
There are movie campaigns and there are presidential campaigns, and usually you can tell the difference. One features a red carpet, the other a war room.

But "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's scathing new documentary about President Bush (news - web sites), has both.

Its release later this month appears to mark the first time that a film slamming a major presidential candidate has opened on screens across the nation in the final months of a campaign. At the same time, the movie is producing a global publicity extravaganza for Moore and Miramax Film founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who bought the film after Walt Disney Co. refused to let Miramax release it.

The scramble to bring the dark, often satirical film to U.S. movie screens is blending Hollywood and presidential politics in ways never seen in a race for the White House. While the filmmakers deny any overt effort to promote the candidacy of the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, their efforts fall clearly in sync with the campaign to unseat Bush.

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