We Are Being Lied To: Chapter 5,734
File Under: Rantin' and Ravin'
So lets talk about Michael Moore. You know, the loudmouth liberal you love to hate, director of the Oscar-winning documentary "Bowling For Columbine".
As most folks who have any connection with the mediascape know, he used his designated 45 victory seconds at the Oscars to deliver a screed against the war in Iraq and the president (sic), describing them both as "fictitious." He was, according to some reports, loudly booed offstage.
This brash move was poorly calculated and is certainly the last gasp of Mr. Moore's influence in our society, right? The marketplace, being righteous and patriotic, will squash this upstart like a commie cockroach, right.
Right?
Wrong.
Despite the seething of rightwing radio and its dittolings, Michael Moore could not be doing better businesswise, thanks for asking. From the posted link, here's Moore's catalog of the "backlash" against his speech:
- On the day after I criticized Bush and the war at the Academy Awards, attendance at "Bowling for Columbine" in theaters around the country went up 110% (source: Daily Variety/BoxOfficeMojo.com). The following weekend, the box office gross was up a whopping 73% (Variety). It is now the longest-running consecutive commercial release in America, 26 weeks in a row and still thriving. The number of theaters showing the film since the Oscars has INCREASED, and it has now bested the previous box office record for a documentary by nearly 300%.
- Yesterday (April 6), "Stupid White Men" shot back to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. This is my book's 50th week on the list, 8 of them at number one, and this marks its fourth return to the top position, something that virtually never happens.
- In the week after the Oscars, my website was getting 10-20 million hits A DAY (one day we even got more hits than the White House!). The mail has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive (and the hate mail has been hilarious!).
- In the two days following the Oscars, more people pre-ordered the video for "Bowling for Columbine" on Amazon.com than the video for the Oscar winner for Best Picture, "Chicago."
- In the past week, I have obtained funding for my next documentary, and I have been offered a slot back on television to do an updated version of "TV Nation"/ "The Awful Truth."
And just in case your head hasn't exploded yet, the Dixie Chicks are still at the 
