(Right wing) org takes aim at Sony's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' homevideo ads

[Democat]

Now that Sony/Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment has landed domestic DVD distribution rights to "Fahrenheit 9/11," studio is facing the wrath of some of same Republicans who went after Michael Moore before the controversial doc was released.

Days before "Fahrenheit 9/11" opened in theaters, Citizens' United, a conservative group in Washington, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, charging that the movie and any ads related to its promotion amount to political electioneering and are subject to the same restraints of the new campaign finance laws.

Sony spokeswoman Susan Tick tells Daily Variety that Sony's advertisements for the DVD will be much different than spots for the theatricaltheatrical release and that the studio plans to err on the conservative side -- so to speak -- and adhere to the strictest interpretation of election law. "Our advertising and marketing material will be compliant with all FEC election laws, interpreted in the strictest fashion," she said.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117908100?categoryid=1077&cs=1

Right wingers hate us for our freedom.

[durutti]

1. So are they going to take right-wing talk radio off the air too?

Hmmmmm?

[Bandit]

14. It is an interesting question.

I think a little scrutiny is in order. If Rush or Savage or any of them mention any Republican candidate by name they are breaking election law by their own standards. Maybe they are on to something here. Maybe this group has just given us a potent weapon.

[Rose Siding]

16. Is Kerry even mentioned in the movie?

I don't recall.

[doctorbombeigh]

2. Hmm... so is this biz as usual, or Sony trying to cut down on...

the home video market? Lotta registered-voter soccer moms & dads only watch movies at home. Presumably, Sony wants to make money and this is their first priority. Still, I'm not sure that a mega-corp like Sony is the company to trust with the advertising of this flick, what if they cheney it up on purpose?

Dunno... dunno.

[kysrsoze]

9. Sorry, but I like Sony. At least they focus on the average person

unlike the WH. Let them have all the money they can make off this, as long as they have the guts to distribute it.

[Tight_rope]

3. Sony/Columbia TriStar know who butters their bread...

And it ain't the rich. Collectively, the poor have more purchasing power. All our nickels and dimes add up to big bucks.

[mom cat]

7. And we can harnass that power by becoming informed consumers.

:dem:

[ThoughtCriminal]

4. Can't buy better publicity than this

How many times do they need to stick their fingers in that light socket?

[0007]

18. ......until they have their feet in the water

[chicagojoe]

5. Don't the Clown Shows aired daily by DORKS like

Slimebaugh and Shammity and O'Lielly amount to shameless political
propaganda, not to mention kissing the ass of that useless piece of crap Bush ???
What a bunch of girly men !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Zorra]

6. Hey, Sony...Fuck You.

Democrats will download F9/11 off the internet....see how much money you make off of your "conservative" pro-Bu$h advertising.

Don't cave.

If you want to make money, get real.

The times, they are a changin'.

[Bridget Burke]

8. This Democrat will pay for the DVD.

"The times, they are a changin'" is a pretty good oldie. I prefer "don't think twice, it's all right."

[psychopomp]

12. I think you have it wrong

Sony/Tristar coming on to do the distro means that the video and dvd versions of the movie will have the maximum distro. This is big bucks lining up behind F911. The word conservative was not meant to mean a GOP-friendly slant on the advertising; the exec meant that the advertising would in no way give the FEC anything to complain about.

[EV1Ltimm]

10. Oh no! Not the wrath!

Lord knows what would have happened if those poor, poor Sony executives had to wade through TENS of angry voicemails from Bush supporters vowing to never buy a walkman again.

[wishlist]

11. The more controversy and attempts to ban distribution, more interest in it

I can't wait until some of the major mainstream retailers promote sales of it by running pictures in their flyers and displaying it prominently in their stores- while other retailers like Walmart/Sams Club draw attention to the movie simply because of the controversy that will be caused by their refusal to carry it! (I may be proven wrong, but I cannot see Walmart selling this movie)

[Keirsey]

13. Wal-Mart refused to carry "Uncovered" The Truth about the War in Iraq"

...at first

His 2003 video, "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraqi War," is being expanded into a full-length documentary feature with added footage and global distribution for release in mid-August right before the Republican convention. ("I'll personally offer free tickets to delegates who are bored of listening to canned speeches and happen to be poor," taunts Greenwald.)

In September, Greenwald comes out with the third in his "Un" series of documentaries, "Unconstitutional," which purports to look at how the Bush administration has cynically used the 9/11 tragedy to erode civil rights and quash dissent. Meanwhile, his first installment, "Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election," is praised as a video primer on the precise mechanisms used by the Republicans to steal the White House.

"Doing these documentaries has just taken my faith in movie-making to a whole other level," he tells L.A. Weekly, "because when you make a film that doesn't put people to sleep, the response is extraordinary."

All well and good, but the question remains: Why in the world would someone as successful in the entertainment industry as Greenwald jeopardize everything he has worked so hard to build – his career, his reputation, his finances – to dabble in the dirt-poor field of documentary-making? And not just in can't-lose, do-good documentaries on say, American Indians or Holocaust victims – but down-and-dirty, let's-get-those-sons-a-bitches, provocative-on-purpose-and-to-the-max documentaries.

After all, this is no newcomer like Moore who, when he burst on the scene with the anti-corporate Roger & Me, had everything to gain and nothing to lose. By contrast, Greenwald easily could have – and still can – become blackballed by the Big Media networks and studios whose bottom lines depend upon toeing the lines drawn by the FCC, the FTC and the Bush administration. He'd already run afoul of Wal-Mart, the world's single biggest seller of show-biz product, when the chain giant's supplier refused to carry "Uncovered." That is, until a big stink was made about Wal-Mart stocking videos of Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda film, "Triumph of the Will." So the supplier buckled and bought 2,000 copies of "Uncovered" to sell online.

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/19250/

[tom_paine]

15. Welcome to DU, Keirsey!

:toast: :party: :toast:

[DaveClearwater99]

17. It sucks

I think clips from the film shown as commercials would have a bigger impact than the sale of the DVD to the choir. Sony just effectively spiked the impact this could have had in balancing out Faux.