Disney blocks new Michael moore film

Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

I'm hoping that Disney/Miramax get fed up with Moore for pulling this publicity stunt and then really do start to mess with him. And I'm hoping that Moore keeps making Disney look bad. And I hope it turns into a huge cat fight and they both go down in flames. :P

What goofball would suggest that Disney, the company that paid for this film, is somehow censoring it by not acting as a distributor, too? ???
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

The bad thing that can happen is Disney completely blocks the release of "Fahrenheit 911" by burying the movie. That's censorship. If they don't want it then they can let somebody else do it.
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

If they own it (which I'm not sure that they do), they can do whatever they want with it . . . and for whatever reason. It's their right.

But like I said, you wouldn't cry censorship if it were a pro-Hitler movie they were burying . . .
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

And if they bought and paid for it, it's not censorship.  It's their property, they hired Moore to make it, they paid him for it, and now they can do what they want with it -- distribute it, exhibit it, hide it, destroy it, whatever they want.  It's theirs, not his.

He didn't have to take their money.  He could have made it on his own.

And besides, they've already said they'll let someone else distribute it, they're just choosing not to "dirty their hands" with it.  So what, exactly, is the problem?
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

Okay, now the story gets even better.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=518618

Not only did Michael Moore know a full year ago that Disney wanted nothing to do with the project, but Eisner told Miramax to have nothing to do with it.

Miramax went and funded it anyway.  Even though Miramax had been told not to, and Miramax did NOT give Moore a distribution deal, just a funding deal.

Why?  Why would they fund something against big daddy Eisner's wishes?

Turns out that apparently the Weinstein brothers (heads of Miramax) have bad blood between themselves and Eisner.  And guess what?  Miramax's deal with Disney is up for re-negotiation this year (just like Pixar's was).  Eisner lost Pixar, and it looks like he may end up losing Miramax as well.  And perhaps Miramax created this situation for the express purpose of picking a fight and getting themselves distanced from their corporate daddy.

There is more to this than meets the eye.

But Disney told Moore's agent "do not sell this to Miramax", and he did it anyway.  Disney told them a year ago "we will have nothing to do with this."  And Miramax did it anyway.  And now Disney is saying "we still will have nothing to do with this."  And they are most certainly entitled to decide what they will or will not distribute.

I know lots of people view Disney as the big evil empire, but I still cannot for the life of me see where they've done anything wrong here.
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

I don't think they have at all. Short post, just wanted to agree.
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

And isn't in conveeeenient that Moore is crying "censorship" in the lead-up period to a movie *about* censorship?
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

IMHO, Disney is a little whacko. I think they just have alot of money they through around and dont do as much research as they should. I remeber thinking they where out to lunch a few years ago when they threw a million dollars at a Heavy Metal band named Insane Clown Posse ( http://www.insaneclownposse.com/detect.php ) only to drop them 6 hours after the album was released when they listened to it and realized it wasnt a childrens group.
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

I have heard of the EVIL EMPIRE that is DISNEY. Anyone care to 'edubacate' me on this take? Why are there people that are pissed off at them?
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

They don't do much for me, though I wouldn't call them "evil," of course. But they CAN be an "evil empire" and STILL be innocent of the charges Moore levels at them . . . ::)
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

I lived in Kissimmee FL for a couple years, just north of their Florida amusement park, and I chummed around with a lot of Disney employees.

Is Disney evil? Well, you need to define the context.

That which we know as Disney is the corporate entity which survives the entertainment genius, Walt Disney. His vision and methods of running his studio were very different from what Disney has become today. Alas, the romanticism that Walt created did not pass on to the Disney Studios of today.

Disney's product is Family Entertainment. That is what they sell, and is the whole reason for the company's existence. For almost a century, Disney had a lock on this particular market. It is only through the short-sighted evility of Eisner and his yes men that their command of that market is slipping.

And yes, by any definition of evil, Eisner is it. >:(

Is Disney evil because it is a corporation? Well, yes, if you automatically lump all corporations as evil money-grubbing institutions of a larger evil capitalist empire. Which is a discussion for another day.

Are they evil because they are control freaks when it comes to their employee conduct, both inside and outside the workplace? Yes, until you consisder that what they are selling is a family venue; you can count on your kids being exposed to wholesome or at least not unwholesome material when you buy from Disney. Whether you want to feed your children such bland drivel is certainly up to you, but the fact remains that there is a huge market for it, and that is what Disney seeks to fulfill. They can't have their employees banging each other behind the Mr Teacup ride, in case little Johnny might see.

The most 'evil' action that Disney consistently manifests is to my mind the legislative pressure they have exerted over the years to continue extending copywrite laws to protect their intellectual property. The original dead white guys who formed our present society set up copywrites that lasted for 7 years for the originators, then the material passed into the public domain. This was a good balance of private vs public ownership of ideas, but the market incentives and payoffs have been terribly distorted by companies like Disney, who now enjoy 50+ years of copywrite protection for properties such as Mickey Mouse (which was in the public domain before Disney snagged him.) More discussion of this can be seen with a Googling of Lawrence Lessig, who has posted some fascinating material.

Anyway, Disney has been just another successful corporation, at least until recently. The fact that they would consider financing a firebrand like Moore shows just how mismanaged they have become, and how desperate the corporation is for new cash sources.
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

Well, Disney is not solely responsible for extension of copyrights. International treaties such as the Bern Convention have a lot to do with it, too.

Mickey Mouse was in the public domain? I don't see how that can be. Walt created him; the law in place just before the recent extension provided for copyrights lasting for the life of the creator plus 50 years. Walt died in the late '50s, so when could Mickey have been in the public domain?
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

Yeah, I thought Walt created him and that his first cartoon with Mickey was in 1928 and is titled "Steamboat Willie".
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

I was wrong. While it is true that Mickey was about to revert to public domain in 2003, he was a legitimate copywrite of Disney.

It is Snow White and Sleeping Beauty which were essentially folk tales that Disney appropriated and protected with copywrite.
 
Re: Disney blocks new Michael moore film

And they still are. Anyone can tell those stories -- they just can't use the Disney-created elements (images, drawings, songs, etc.). You'll find many Sleeping Beauties and Snow Whites out there.
 
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