Monday, July 26, 2004

Mickey Blows It Bigtime

By now everyone’s heard of how Disney washed their hands of “Fahrenheit 9/11”, and refused to distribute it. Then they said they didn’t want to be involved with a “blatently political” movie, especially in an election year.

The next week, they released “America’s Heart and Soul” - they had put $1 million into the film, and spent $400,000 in print promotion. Advertisements read, “Move over Michael Moore,” and “Disney and Move America Forward team up to show a brighter side of America. Unlike the negative and misleading storyline of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, Disney’s America’s Heart and 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.”

So much for not being political, at least as far as the promotion went. But the ironic part of this is that the movie they wrote off is now the top documentary of all time, has grossed about $100 million and is playing on over 2000 screens (it’s even playing in my little neighborhood theater); and the one they chose to support has taken in a grand total of $311,572 (in one less week than F 9/11) and is now down to 13 screens.

Hopefully, this says something about the mood of voters this year…

- Bob Woods