Michael Moore’s Anti-Americanism Doesn’t Always Sell Overseas
by Pam MeisterThis week, as the buildup to the upcoming movie “G.I. Joe” continues, the L.A. Times claimed that…
Yet overseas, where big action films often earn 60% or more of their ticket sales, rah-rah American sentiment doesn’t play well. So those references have vanished from the advertising.
Big Hollywood’s John Nolte gave that theory a thorough fisking, providing numbers showing that while “rah-rah America” movies aren’t guaranteed big foreign box-office returns, they aren’t automatically guaranteed to fail. He also points out that many “anti-rah rah” movies have even less appeal.
Oh, is it still okay to say “foreign?” Just checking, seeing as many schools are replacing “foreign language” departments with World Language departments. We’re all just one, big, happy World Family, right?
Okay, back to the topic at hand. John’s post got me to thinking. If anti-war movies such as “Rendition” and “A Mighty Heart,” despite the hype and the A-list star roster didn’t bring in the beaucoup bucks, how about anti-American movies made by one of the biggest anti-Americans on the planet, Michael Moore?
Moore has made a career bashing everything essentially American while reaping the benefits of living in the (for now) freest nation on earth. As we “all know” how much Europeans despise Americans, it’s almost a given that Moore’s films would break all foreign - oops, world box office records. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
Roger & Me: $1,000,000
Bowling for Columbine: $36,432,405
Fahrenheit 9/11: $103,252,111
Sicko: $11,515,086
Let’s cut MM some slack with “Roger and Me” – he was hardly a brand name in America at that time, let alone anywhere else. He starts to inch up the scale with “Bowling for Columbine.” The Columbine killings made headlines around the world, and naturally Euros were eager to know all about the curious American fascination with firearms – and of course, these things never happen over there, right?
Moving on to “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Moore was at the top of his game. The movie garnered an Academy Award and took the top prize at Cannes - yet it only took in $103,252,11 overseas. Come on, I thought everyone hated Bush and his crummy war – which is now Obama’s war, so it’s okay. Even “National Treasure,” starring the not-so-versatile Nicolas Cage, did better.But, my stars – domestic box office for ”Fahrenheit 9/11″ was only $119, 194,771. Don’t people know quality filmmaking when they are told about it by their Hollywood betters?
Then, numbers for “Sicko,” considering Moore’s er, hefty star power, plummeted. Either foreign, I mean, worldmoviegoers were turned off by the sight of Moore putting on a rubber glove for that anal probe, or they knew from personal experience that his love fest for socialized health care ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Or perhaps Europeans have figured out that Moore is a master of manipulation and don’t like being played.
So if the biggest “anti-rah rah” movie maker can’t match the overseas numbers (or even the domestic ones) of the likes of the films John points out, and some he didn’t point out, like ”Iron man,” what’s the anti-American left in Hollywood to do?
Why, make another anti-American film, of course! Or in this case, a film that pretty much trashes everything that makes Western civilization tick. Moore’s next project, due out in October, is entitled “Capitalism: A Love Story.” According to Moore:
It will be the perfect date movie. It’s got it all – lust, passion, romance and 14,000 jobs being eliminated every day. It’s a forbidden love, one that dare not speak its name. Heck, let’s just say it: It’s capitalism.” And, the movie focuses on “the disastrous impact that corporate dominance and out-of-control profit motives have on the lives of Americans and citizens of the world.
Does that mean we get to see it for free? I doubt it – Moore has his stock portfolio, Manhattan penthouse and ten-acre Michigan waterfront estateto worry about. Just an everyday schlub like you and me, trying to pay the bills in an unjust world. The ever-present baseball cap says it all. And no, he’s not even hiding an embarrassing bald pate like Ron Howard.
As the Brits would say, Mike’s dead chuffed at the fact that GM is now in the hands of the government. I can’t wait to see him put his money where his mouth is, and drive one of those little PUMAs we’ve heard so much about.
You know, considering how recent elections all over Europe showed a decided tilt to the right, I wonder how well MM’s new movie will do? We’ll have to wait and see.
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117 Comments
I'm making a prediction. This new pile of cinematic excrement from that fat lying slob will tank. Both here AND overseas….
THEN can we finally be rid of this complete phony??? I mean seriously, I would rather watch a Uwe Boll marathon than sit through one minute of a Michael "I'm so fat I have smaller men orbitting me" Moore movie….
Aww, gee, how can you get down on the greatest living capitalist like that? Anyone who can make money of socialists is definitely someone we should admire!
Michael Moore is the epitome of hipocrasy… The man "detests" capitalism yet he is using the very crux of it to live on… Good one Michael, just another reason I don't listen to your pinhead ranting.
Michael Moore is no longer relevant…
And the returns from 'Sicko' proves it. Particularly now with his ideological soulmates in power. preaching to the choir isn't going to pay any bills, and we certainly are not going to patronize his work…
It's ok, though. He doesn't believe in capitalistic enterprises anyway- so what if the movie tanks. Maybe he can get a grant…
If the G.I. Joe movie had Micheal and his fatness enlisting in the Army and flunking out of boot camp, that might be worth a watch. Otherwise, this movie will bomb, why?
Because he's picking on something that most Americans are proud of, our military.
Gee, I'd really like to see MM attempting a few jumping jacks.
I did not know that "foreign" is verboten. Mayhaps I should just tape my mouth shut.
When we were children it was considered cool to be against anything your parents or teachers were for. For most of us when we grew up we realised that cool was something else but for most Liberals they have never matured intellectually or emotionally and still believe to be cool is to be against what was. It does not matter if what was still works or has been found through thousands of years of experience proven to be what works it only matters that it is what was and that can never be cool. Mr Moore is a classic example of this type of thinking and it is just the same kind of thinking going on in 4th, 5th and 6th grades today.
"I'm so fat I have smaller men orbitting me" LOL, that cracked me up! That's better then him having his own zipcode.
These rich, elitist a**holes who make a ton of money off of ranting about capitalism are the same ones who make their comebacks by putting down president Bush. Need popularity, slam Bush, want more money? Slam capitalism. Koolaid drinkers everywhere are only too willing to buy into it all.
This fat-assed hypocrite is a stain on the fabric of America; here are some examples:
The New York Post reported on a tantrum he threw in London: "Then, on his second-to-last night, [Michael Moore] raged against everyone connected with the Roundhouse and complained that he was being paid a measly $750 a night. 'He completely lost the plot,' a member of the stage crew told the London Evening Standard. 'He stormed around all day screaming at everyone, even the 5 pound-an-hour bar staff, telling them how we were all con men and useless. Then he went on stage and did it in public.' At his last appearance, staffers refused to work or even open the theater's doors." NY Post, Jan. 8, 2003
"I'm a millionaire, I'm a multi-millionaire. I'm filthy rich. You know why I'm a multi-millionaire? 'Cause multi-millions like what I do. That's pretty good, isn't it?"
Ya, and this EXTREMELY OBESE, FAT AZZED HYPOCRITE will be sitting in a line waiting for a doctor with us?
It's funny cause it's true…..
Michael Moore should do a porno titled: "Socialism: A liberal Love story". The movie will be produced by Barry O studios and in the end we all get screwed.
Hell no!!! The impact tremors would cause another tsunami!!!!
Moore's time has passed. His movies aren't that well done. His logic and argument are weak, and really are nothing more than propaganda. So there isn't really a reason to watch his stuff unless you want to believe his message.
At the same time, I get the sense that most people are starting to swing right again, and even those remaining on the left aren't as interested in his style of obnoxious attack because they want everyone to "get along" now, to make governing easier.
"Moore is so fat he sweats gravy". Or "Doctors said he has a flesh eating disease and he has only 50 years to live".
MM is a no talent hack. He made a career out of manipulating film to show his side of any interview he ever does and under normal circumstances that is called a LIE.
Of course the notion that Michael Moore is "anti-American" depends on defining patriotism as following the Republican party line in all things.
That aside, this is possibly the dumbest piece of "analysis" I've seen on this site, and that's saying a lot. The author claims that Fahrenheit 911 was some kind of failure because it didn't make as much money as a Jerry Bruckheimer family action blockbuster starring Nicholas Cage — as if that is any kind of benchmark for success of a documentary. (Here's a different one — how about cost versus returns? Which one made more money as a percentage of budget?)
But her verdict on Sicko's weaker international gross as a sign that Moore is falling out of favor is even dumber. Sicko is a polemic about the American health care industry. The fact that anyone outside this country would be interested at all is a tribute to Moore's talents as a director and his own popularity.
you are joking right? he will be going to India, Peru, etc where he can get what he wants done, and live like a king while doing so. He is much too good to set with commoners, like the rest of us
As Andrew states above, he has been at odds with the wacky left also…
"After four months at Mother Jones, Moore was fired. Matt Labash claims this was for refusing to print an article by Paul Berman that was critical of the Sandinista human rights record in Nicaragua.[16] Moore refused to run the article believing it to be inaccurate. "The article was flatly wrong and the worst kind of patronizing bullshit. You would scarcely know from it that the United States had been at war with Nicaragua for the last five years".[17] Berman described Moore as a "very ideological guy and not a very well-educated guy" when asked about the incident."
This fat POS is at war with the U.S., all the while living off the fat of freedom afforded him by our Constitution…disgusting, a truly disgusting human being…
As Andrew states above, he has even been at odds with the wacky left also…
"After four months at Mother Jones, Moore was fired. Matt Labash claims this was for refusing to print an article by Paul Berman that was critical of the Sandinista human rights record in Nicaragua.[16] Moore refused to run the article believing it to be inaccurate. "The article was flatly wrong and the worst kind of patronizing bullshit. You would scarcely know from it that the United States had been at war with Nicaragua for the last five years".[17] Berman described Moore as a "very ideological guy and not a very well-educated guy" when asked about the incident."
This fat POS is at war with the U.S., all the while living off the fat of freedom afforded him by our Constitution…disgusting, a truly disgusting human being…
This 400 lb. TURD breaths hard when he lifts his fork to his mouth…
Ya you're correct, actually this wide body PIG will IMPORT a Dr. to fix what years of self abuse has done to him…maybe he'll get ahold of some much too pure cocaine, and soon…my vitriol for this guy is boundless.
No mention of Transformers in either this article or John's? Doesn't get more rah-rah than those two movies and they absolutely destroyed at the BO. People want to see US military tech do stuff, not UN peacekeeping forces patrolling, or the convoluted 'Che'.
400lbs???
Which leg??
Your absolutely right this Bum's act is on thin ice. He's been found out for what he is just a Useful Slob of the Left There's to much pain and more to come out here to tolerate him . Stick a fork in this Porker I think he's almost done
LOL! You caught me being "generous"…NEVER AGAIN!
One can only hope.
He's so fat he uses hula hoops to keep his socks up
I share your dislike of this a-hole. I remember when I first saw Roger and Me. He had me convinced that Roger Smith was this evil bastard.
Then the truth about waht Mm did with the film, manipulating it and flat out lying. Then Bowling for Columbine came out and almost immediately people that were in the film came out and said some of the things MM did were totally false or misleading.
This guy is a liar and a skunk of the first order….
"You know, considering how recent elections all over Europe showed a decided tilt to the right, I wonder how well MM’s new movie will do? We’ll have to wait and see." Pam
With the left in this country so wanting to be European, and Europeans realizing the error of their(socialist ) ways' albeit too late, you'd think they'd learn from Europe. These libs certainly aren't the brightest bulbs in the
package.
Capitalism: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Money.
If you stick a fork in him, get ready to duck. He'll look like Mr. Creosote from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
Michael Moore is getting pudgy
He should make a movie about fast food – how fast he eats food
Imagine if obamacare passes. He would be told to lose weight if he wanted that needed bypass surgery or hip replacement.
I thought the quote from a liberal journalist describing him as "…not a very well -educated guy" speaks volumes to what a lazy slob this POS is, he's to lazy to be objective, and now he's a millionaire by lying through his "work". What a pig.
He's so fat a 10lb. Chihuahua got lost in a fat fold…but survived on a lost ham sandwich…for a week
Maybe the Europeans realize socialism sucks. They still may want it for themselves, but they still need the geese that lay the golden eggs to stay alive somewhere. If Moore, Obama and the rest of the Hive have their way, and the US becomes Venezuela del Norte, the wealth-producing machine pretty much expires.
He's so fat his blood type is RAGU
John Stossel did a piece on health care comparing free-market systems (ours) with socialized systems such as those in Europe and Canada. He interviewed The Whopper who was working on his own health-care crockumentary at the time. Stossel just tore him up. Tubbo was particularly unable to respond to Stossel's figures on the number of Canadians who come to the bad old U.S. for their health care needs. Finally Stossel revealed that ole lard-butt had undergone a weight-loss procedure (presumably for his health) and had chosen to have it done at clinic in Florida. You have to admire MM in one sense though. He recognized the seething hatreds that underlie the American Left and found a way to make a buck off of it. .
Michael Moore continues to be a legend in his own mind.
Getting pudgy???
That's like saying Godzilla has bad breath…..
He's reminding me of that guy in sit-coms that hangs around, even though everybody runs when they see him coming.
Ralph Malph on Happy Days? Only heavier?
More like Newman on Seinfeld.
I fell asleep watching Roger and Me, and his films haven't gotten any more watchable since.
The LA Times article is a complete farce – perhaps even more so than your average Moore 'documentary.'
"if you're a flag-waving, Nascar-loving American, it's practically your patriotic duty to see this movie." Seriously? Paramount (and/or the LA Times) REALLY believe that patriotic Americans should feel compelled to watch a de-Americanized film just because it's in a concert or two?
That's right out of the Moore playbook – create an absurd strawman, and increasingly diverge from reality thereafter.
I had a chance to see Mr. Moore out and about a month ago. He had pulled up to the curb infront of a Baskin Robbins. My first thought was, "How do they turn a vehicle with that many axles?" About 15 minutes later he came out, got in his vehicle and left. The store manager followed soon after and promptly removed the 3 from their famous 31 flavors sign.
I wish people would not make personal attacks on Mr Moore, because a) It drags us down to his level, and b) it enables legitimate criticism to be shrugged off with a "it's just peronal abuse."
FWIW I don't like the man, his politics or his movies, but I don't like cheap shots either.
LOL! That's perfect.
I take offense to this column.
There's NOTHING embarrassing about a bald pate…except perhaps to Ron Howard.
He's so fat he's "height – weight" proportional…if he was 22 feet tall…
He's so fat he's "height – weight" proportional…if he were 22 feet tall…
He's so fat he jumped up in the air and got stuck….
He's so fat when he goes to Luby's Cafeteria and the lady asks him "which entree would you like?" he just says yes…which dessert? yes…bread?…yes…conveyor belt?…YES!
Except Newman had a real job….
Good point. Newman is also better looking.
He's so fat he just had to buy Michelin Heavy Duty Radial……… shoes
Don't read the fat joke expose above, it's a personal attack…kind of like everything that comes out of his trash can sized, hypocritical mouth…
He's so fat he got harpooned…in the shallow water at his lakeside mansion…
michael who ?
It does seem fitting doesn't it? Can you see Moore standing at the door of the White House, trying to get in, and AxelRham standing at the door, going, "Helloo Moooore."
He soooo fat that when he went to buy a new belt they had to kill 14 cows…
You mean the door to the kitchen in the White House….
Will someone please send this pile of suet another pile of suet so he can gorge, vapor lock and move into the hellish afterlife that surely awaits his ass?
Will someone please send this pile of suet another pile of suet so he can gorge, vapor lock and move into the hellish afterlife that surely awaits his ass?
Sorry if you don't like the "personal attacks". I don't, either. However, the Canadian Communist Moore offends me in a visceral, love-to-see-him-caught-in-a-shootout kind of way. And I just plain don't like commies, either.
"Michael Moore is so fat that, when he goes to the beach, some Greenpeace guys try to drag him into the water."
Do you think Fareinheit 9/11 was more popular than his other films because of anit-Bush sentiment in foreign markets, or where they genuinely interested in what Moore had to say? The point I'm getting at is: was it more the subject matter than the man that made 9/11 more money? I just see 9/11 as a much more relevant issue to the world than the issues Moore addresses in his other films. I think he just capitialzed (no pun intended) on the event at the right moment.
The last time I was at Target, I saw Michael Moore DVD's on sale for $5.00 each (compared to $19.95 to $24.95 for first releases). Moore's movies shared the rack with movies like "The Care Bears" and "Drop Dead Fred".
Ouch… but yes, Uwe Boll, while atrocious, is much less painful to watch than MM
It would be the final irony, wouldn't it? It's almost enough to make me wich obamacare would pass. Almost.
hand him a waffer thin mint.
So you see the lengths I'll go to avoid a Michael Moore film….
Michael Moore is so fat he leaves footprints in concrete….
I thought Moore was great in Austin Powers and was trying to eat Mini Me. Funny stuff!
I thought Moore was great in Austin Powers where he was trying to eat Mini Me. Funny stuff!
His plot lines would be simplistic even for a Care Bears movie…
May God have mercy on his soles.
LMAO! Everyone of those cracked me up! I need a tissue now!
Cheap shots? Here's a man (I use that term loosely) who is a champion of public schools and teachers unions. Yet his kids go to private schools. He's a champion of the little guy, yet owns a multi-million dollar apartment in Manhattan (I bet the homeless don't flop there). His movies are hit pieces on people he hates, not dislikes, but hates. He loves Castro and thinks our health care system should be like theirs. But his buddy went to Spain when he was under the weather a couple of years ago. Typical lefty who lives one way but wants everyone to live another. He really should lay off the bratwursts and lose some of his Fat Bastardness.
Beautiful!
Beautiful! Get me a bucket.
We will never be rid of Michael Moore.
George Soros has deep pockets.
Cheap shots? Here's a man (I use that term loosely) who is a champion of public schools and teachers unions. Yet his kids go to private schools. He's a champion of the little guy, yet owns a multi-million dollar apartment in Manhattan (I bet the homeless don't flop there). His movies are hit pieces on people he hates, not dislikes, but hates. He loves Castro and thinks our health care system should be like theirs. But his buddy went to Spain when he was under the weather a couple of years ago instead of using the Cuban health care system. Typical lefty who lives one way but wants everyone to live another. He really should lay off the bratwursts and lose some of his Fat Bastardness.
Are those numbers really that good, considering all the free publicity he gets, and all the support he gets in academia? It's kinda like Al Gore. Even an idiot can make money if he has enough publicity, and support from organizations that think they will benefit from people listening to his mindless creations or theories? It's like "Climate Change" science. If you say what liberals in the government want to hear, you get grants. If you tell the truth, you don't.
Michael more should do two thing:
1) Find a rope that can support his weight.
2) Put himself on the end of it.
Michael more should do two things:
1) Find a rope that can support his weight.
2) Put himself on the end of it.
Michael more should do two things:
1) Find a rope that can support his weight.
2) Suspend himself from it via his massive neck.
Michael Moore should do two things:
1) Find a rope that can support his weight.
2) Suspend himself from it via his massive neck.
If you fly around Micheal Moore from east to west, do you gain a day or lose a day?
If we position him on the San Andreas Fault, that might be an appropriate substitute for The Big One and cause California to fall off into the ocean. Deficit problem solved…
You made a funny, “one of the biggest anti-Americans on the planet.” Sister that’s a keen observation.
Pam, you have no understanding of much in Europe or about these films or their distribution. Plus if thats what you call anti-Americanism, please define pro-Americanism. I guarantee you I would fall in the anti-American sphere, because being a simple dolt, thinking we are perfect or better than everyone else at everything and that our status quo is worth pusueing rather than improving, I want no part of it.
David Meister (cleary, we are not related)
on a par with root canals.. but at least we get novacaine for those.
michael moore ate them all, otherwise there would be plenty of tissue for ya.
Our status quo sucks, no thanks to liberal frauds like Obama and Michael Moore who say that one thing is great and should be adopted, yet go and do the exact opposite.
Oh, great, a Michael Moore film eviscerating capitalism… that'll do great in places like Hong Kong and China where socialism almost ruined those nations.
II feel kind of bad for you wr1 having to defend “Blod-O.” A documentary, …well if you say so. What are you not having fun playing with your Henry Waxman action figure anymore? I’m gonna help, “hey everybody Michael Moore is a swell guy.”
Waaaaaah.
I need that bucket as well, everytime I see pics of MM like the one above.
I just snorted a pretzel out of my nose…
very good! MM's still hungry and ready to snort it back up into his nose.
Oh, it is becoming one of those words, just like all the other words that mean or imply "the other," such as, "other." Oops!
After this steaming pile of pig dung, Porky-pig Moore's got a new tag line: Tha-tha-tha-tha-that's All Folks! Fade to yellow accompanied by loonytunes theme…..
So are you agreeing that the article's arguments make no sense at all? Or is there another reason you can only answer with gibberish?
I realize paranoid fanstasies are fun, but your statement is ludicrous. Michael Moore's movies make money. Unlike, say, American Carol, they don't need to be subsidized because no one wil pay to see them.
Yeah, I'm sure Communist China is really hurting now… now that we're bankrupt and can't buy their products anymore.
I was trying to help wr1, you hurt my feelings, that was a considered response, it wasn’t gibberish. Well, I take it back then, I don’t feel sorry for you.
Damn it when his his fat heart going to give out?
The socilaism of the Euro-sheep is really ingrained, they really believe the party line. While I was in Euro-land I asked various people how they liked their neo-socialist "systems" and I guess not so suprisingly many of them couldn't think of living without the huge "social saftey net" that they "enjoy", despite all the indications that it's failing. The MP expenses scandal was in full force in England and they still were "drinking the koolaide". I just shook my head and walked away. Worst of all was the "I don't give a crap" attitude of many working Italians, it's very strange.
Moore needs a shave, lose some of his fat and get a real job. The one he has now he sucks in.
http://www.economist.com/books/displayStory.cfm?s...
Take care you moonbat. Imperfect capitalism is far better than "perfect socialism" any day of the week.
LOL James, __He's so fat a cop stopped him on the street and told him to break it up!
At least you recognize the awesomeness of conspiracy theories.
Maybe I wasn't clear. I agree with the premise of Pam Meister's original post. I'm pretty sure that people are starting to tire of MM's schtick. So when his movies stop being successful, he will very likely remain a 'viable' movie maker because his ideological sugar daddies will continue to fund his work.
Thread winner.
First of all, great article Ms.Meister, I really enjoyed reading it. Pretty much what you said covers it, the Hollywood monkeys have really nowhere to go to get BIG ratings from these anti-American films. It's funny to think that they would go overseas and promote their anti-American films just for money and fame. Even though they are speaking out against their own country to other countries, its really bizarre. People like MM will never change, and thats what sad. He will always be the anti-American schmuck he is now. That is just the quality of most of the people in Hollywood right now.
Dominic Illingworth
Host of the DOMINATION radio show
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays 6-7pm est. @
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/domination
James , point taken, I feel the US is still a consevative country and with the healthcare issue on the front burner (failing miserably , I might add) we may still retain our republic.
Geez — hasn't it choked on a sandwich or something yet?
Tiresome, disgusting slob.
German reader reporting in. There is a very simple reason that "Fahrenheit 9/11" was a fair success in Europe and that "Sicko" wasn't. It's that American foreign policy affects the whole world, has cost hundreds of thousands of lifes in the last few years and has displayed a very questionable attitude towards international law.
Your health care system, on the other hand, is of no interest to us. We don't envy you, but how you organize your health care is entirely your own business. By the way we're not that unhappy with our socialized health care, thank you very much.
Jamesb, ToddM – Pretty much what I said before, I don't like the man, his politics or his movies.
But I still think personal attacks e.g. cracks about his size, reduce the debate to name calling and enable his MM & Co to duck awkward questions by dismissing them as "just personal attacks."
By all means call him out on his hypocrisy e.g. complaining about America living in culture of fear, while turning up at public appearances with three armed bodyguards, or the stupidity of his politics e.g. his missing the point about the Cuban health care system; you can show up and slap down the equivalent of six months of a Doctor's salary in US Dollars and get immediate treatment; or . . . well I'm sure you can find other examples.
Just leave the cheap shots to MM&Co.
Please join us in boycotting this moron. http://www.boycottmoore.com
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