Post by jeffolie on Sept 1, 2012 15:57:46 GMT -6
Movie HIT-"2016: Obama's America"-hatchet job on Obama
How rare. "...It even makes money..."
I doubt the movie will have broad appeal beyond conservatives.
A very bizarre premise considering I do not see any significant evidence of Obama's actions or rhetoric matching an "anti-colonialist anger he took from his Kenyan father".
" ... The film is written and narrated by conservative author and scholar Dinesh D'Souza, who based the documentary on his controversial 2010 book, "The Roots of Obama's Rage," which argued that the president's political identity and plans are bound up in the anti-colonialist anger he took from his Kenyan father, whom he met only once after the man left his family when Obama was 2 years old.
" ... "It's a hatchet job on Obama," said Carol, a San Francisco woman, as she left the theater with a friend. "I think the movie makes some points, but they blow it out too far."
"... took off. When it expanded nationwide to 1,091 screens last weekend, it earned $6.5 million, the seventh-highest weekend gross in the nation.... "
==========================
When the documentary "2016: Obama's America" was released at fewer than 200 theaters earlier this month, Democrats, liberals and other Obama supporters speedily dismissed it as a right-wing polemic, destined to quickly disappear into the nether land of late-night cable and GOP fundraisers.
But the movie, pushed nonstop by conservative talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and others, took off. When it expanded nationwide to 1,091 screens last weekend, it earned $6.5 million, the seventh-highest weekend gross in the nation.
Finding a documentary among the top 10 box office moneymakers in any week "is very, very rare," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "And it seems to be a grassroots effort. It's not like I'm driving by any huge billboards here in Los Angeles."
It's no accident that the film is blanketing the nation at the same time Republicans are at their national convention in Tampa, Fla., tearing into Obama as a failed president who's leading the United States into ruin. Every anti-Obama speech is free publicity for the film.
And even in a deep-blue bastion like San Francisco, "2016" found an audience.
No last names
While none of the 20 or so people at Wednesday's lunchtime screening of "2016" came in disguise, they still recognized that supporting a documentary slamming the president in San Francisco can raise some liberal eyebrows.
"I don't think many people are going to see this in San Francisco, but definitely there will be interest elsewhere in the Bay Area," said a Pacifica woman who would only give her name as Judy.
None of the half-dozen people interviewed after the movie at the Century San Francisco Centre was willing to provide a last name.
"It's just too much trouble to get your name out as a conservative in San Francisco," said Marty, a local businessman. "It's not worth the aggravation."
The film is written and narrated by conservative author and scholar Dinesh D'Souza, who based the documentary on his controversial 2010 book, "The Roots of Obama's Rage," which argued that the president's political identity and plans are bound up in the anti-colonialist anger he took from his Kenyan father, whom he met only once after the man left his family when Obama was 2 years old.
Looking at Obama's past
D'Souza, who as the film's narrator travels to Hawaii, Kenya and Indonesia to look at Obama's past, uses the writings of Obama's father and reminiscences of his friends in Kenya to paint the president as someone who has embraced his father's "Third-World, anti-American view."
To get elected, Obama had to hide a lifetime of leftist advisers and mentors and "we fell for it," D'Souza says in the film. But if the president is re-elected, he could reveal to the country "an ideology that could not be more remote from what Americans believe or care about."
It's not a subtle film, but effective documentaries seldom are. The country's most financially successful documentary ever, Michael Moore's 2004 "Fahrenheit 9/11," was an all-out attack on President George W. Bush, his election and his first term in office.
"There's nothing wrong with having a point of view," said Jon Else, a documentary filmmaker who teaches at UC Berkeley. "But a documentary needs to be true. You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts."
While Moore's film was pummeled from the political right, D'Souza's film has plenty of critics on the left. They argue that the criticism of Obama not only gets facts wrong, but also goes over the top by suggesting that the president is purposely putting the country at risk by downsizing the nuclear arsenal and that he wants to bankrupt America as revenge against the last colonialist oppressor.
"It's a hatchet job on Obama," said Carol, a San Francisco woman, as she left the theater with a friend. "I think the movie makes some points, but they blow it out too far."
It even makes money
But in a world where most documentaries, which Else describes as "the broccoli of cinema," are lucky to make a few thousand dollars after a brief run in a handful of theaters, "2016: Obama's America" is already around the $10 million mark and slated to expand to as many as 1,800 screens for the Labor Day weekend.
"Success breeds more success," said Dergarabedian, the box office analyst. "The movie seems to resonate with its target audience, and the more people talk about it, the more others want to see it - the water cooler effect."
Even in San Francisco, that target audience of politically active conservatives doesn't need to be convinced that Obama has been a disaster for the country and needs to be beaten in November. Complaints about the film's accuracy and fairness aren't going to keep them away.
"This is an excellent film that should be much more widely distributed," said Michael, a San Francisco man who saw the movie Wednesday. "It's absolutely true."
www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/2016-Obama-s-America-a-box-office-hit-3826158.php
How rare. "...It even makes money..."
I doubt the movie will have broad appeal beyond conservatives.
A very bizarre premise considering I do not see any significant evidence of Obama's actions or rhetoric matching an "anti-colonialist anger he took from his Kenyan father".
" ... The film is written and narrated by conservative author and scholar Dinesh D'Souza, who based the documentary on his controversial 2010 book, "The Roots of Obama's Rage," which argued that the president's political identity and plans are bound up in the anti-colonialist anger he took from his Kenyan father, whom he met only once after the man left his family when Obama was 2 years old.
" ... "It's a hatchet job on Obama," said Carol, a San Francisco woman, as she left the theater with a friend. "I think the movie makes some points, but they blow it out too far."
"... took off. When it expanded nationwide to 1,091 screens last weekend, it earned $6.5 million, the seventh-highest weekend gross in the nation.... "
==========================
When the documentary "2016: Obama's America" was released at fewer than 200 theaters earlier this month, Democrats, liberals and other Obama supporters speedily dismissed it as a right-wing polemic, destined to quickly disappear into the nether land of late-night cable and GOP fundraisers.
But the movie, pushed nonstop by conservative talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and others, took off. When it expanded nationwide to 1,091 screens last weekend, it earned $6.5 million, the seventh-highest weekend gross in the nation.
Finding a documentary among the top 10 box office moneymakers in any week "is very, very rare," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "And it seems to be a grassroots effort. It's not like I'm driving by any huge billboards here in Los Angeles."
It's no accident that the film is blanketing the nation at the same time Republicans are at their national convention in Tampa, Fla., tearing into Obama as a failed president who's leading the United States into ruin. Every anti-Obama speech is free publicity for the film.
And even in a deep-blue bastion like San Francisco, "2016" found an audience.
No last names
While none of the 20 or so people at Wednesday's lunchtime screening of "2016" came in disguise, they still recognized that supporting a documentary slamming the president in San Francisco can raise some liberal eyebrows.
"I don't think many people are going to see this in San Francisco, but definitely there will be interest elsewhere in the Bay Area," said a Pacifica woman who would only give her name as Judy.
None of the half-dozen people interviewed after the movie at the Century San Francisco Centre was willing to provide a last name.
"It's just too much trouble to get your name out as a conservative in San Francisco," said Marty, a local businessman. "It's not worth the aggravation."
The film is written and narrated by conservative author and scholar Dinesh D'Souza, who based the documentary on his controversial 2010 book, "The Roots of Obama's Rage," which argued that the president's political identity and plans are bound up in the anti-colonialist anger he took from his Kenyan father, whom he met only once after the man left his family when Obama was 2 years old.
Looking at Obama's past
D'Souza, who as the film's narrator travels to Hawaii, Kenya and Indonesia to look at Obama's past, uses the writings of Obama's father and reminiscences of his friends in Kenya to paint the president as someone who has embraced his father's "Third-World, anti-American view."
To get elected, Obama had to hide a lifetime of leftist advisers and mentors and "we fell for it," D'Souza says in the film. But if the president is re-elected, he could reveal to the country "an ideology that could not be more remote from what Americans believe or care about."
It's not a subtle film, but effective documentaries seldom are. The country's most financially successful documentary ever, Michael Moore's 2004 "Fahrenheit 9/11," was an all-out attack on President George W. Bush, his election and his first term in office.
"There's nothing wrong with having a point of view," said Jon Else, a documentary filmmaker who teaches at UC Berkeley. "But a documentary needs to be true. You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts."
While Moore's film was pummeled from the political right, D'Souza's film has plenty of critics on the left. They argue that the criticism of Obama not only gets facts wrong, but also goes over the top by suggesting that the president is purposely putting the country at risk by downsizing the nuclear arsenal and that he wants to bankrupt America as revenge against the last colonialist oppressor.
"It's a hatchet job on Obama," said Carol, a San Francisco woman, as she left the theater with a friend. "I think the movie makes some points, but they blow it out too far."
It even makes money
But in a world where most documentaries, which Else describes as "the broccoli of cinema," are lucky to make a few thousand dollars after a brief run in a handful of theaters, "2016: Obama's America" is already around the $10 million mark and slated to expand to as many as 1,800 screens for the Labor Day weekend.
"Success breeds more success," said Dergarabedian, the box office analyst. "The movie seems to resonate with its target audience, and the more people talk about it, the more others want to see it - the water cooler effect."
Even in San Francisco, that target audience of politically active conservatives doesn't need to be convinced that Obama has been a disaster for the country and needs to be beaten in November. Complaints about the film's accuracy and fairness aren't going to keep them away.
"This is an excellent film that should be much more widely distributed," said Michael, a San Francisco man who saw the movie Wednesday. "It's absolutely true."
www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/2016-Obama-s-America-a-box-office-hit-3826158.php