June 30, 2004
Disney backs anti-Moore film
Disney, which refused to distribute “Fahrenheit 9/11" on the grounds that it is a thought provoking and truthful representation of how we were manipulated into the quagmire that Iraq has become political film, apparently has no problem with getting behind a film that they are praising as the anti-F9/11 .
So now Disney is collaborating with the conservative group that tried in vain to keep Fahrenheit 9/11 out of theaters and threatened CBS last year until the network agreed to drop its TV movie "The Reagans." (The leader of this group, Howard Kaloogian, was also involved in the unseating of California Gov. Gray Davis). You'll remember that Fahrenheit was originally scheduled to be released by Disney's Miramax unit, but the company dropped Michael Moore's movie because of the film's content. Now we have a better window into Disney's rationale.Posted by Norwood at June 30, 2004 07:42 AMSorry we missed this press screening of Disney's film "America's Heart & Soul," which the company is touting as a cinematic antidote to Fahrenheit 9/11. On the VIP list, the invite says, were Disney reps, Howard Kaloogian and his colleagues -- and Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse!
From the press release:
MOVE OVER MICHAEL MOORE…
Disney & Move America Forward
Team Up to Show a Brighter Side of America(SACRAMENTO) -- Move America Forward is teaming up with Walt Disney Pictures to present an exclusive screening of Disney's "America's Heart & Soul" on Monday, June 28, 2004 at the Crest Theater in Sacramento, California. The private screening takes place at 1:00 PM and members of the news media are invited to attend. "Americas Heart & Soul" opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, July 2nd.
Unlike the negative and misleading storyline of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," Disney's "America's Heart & Soul" features a collection of upbeat storylines of real life Americans who pursue their passions in a way that underscores what makes America a great nation.
......On its Web site, Move America Forward complains that: "Those who oppose the War on Terror have the mouthpiece of the mainstream media to disseminate their propaganda to the entire nation in an almost unchallenged effort. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week it is bash America, bash the military and bash the Bush administration." This, of course, is hardly true -- but it's even more ridiculous now that the company that owns ABC News is associated directly with Howard Kaloogian's anti-Moore efforts.
Michael Moore's reaction to the Disney/Kaloogian alliance: "Disney joining forces with the right wing kooks who have come together to attempt to censor Fahrenheit 9/11 must mean that Dumbo is now in charge of the company's strategic decisions. First, Disney tried to stop the movie from being released and now it is aligning itself with the very people who are trying to intimidate the movie theaters from showing the movie. Even Daffy Duck would tell you this makes no sense. This latest development only further disproves what Michael Eisner had claimed about 'politics' not being behind Disney's decision not to distribute Fahrenheit 9/11."
