UPDATE, Friday 4:02 PM: Michael Moore In TrumpLand is now available on iTunes, and the surprise self-distributed documentary has also lined up presentations around the globe. The film will air on October 30 in the UK (Channel 4), Australia (Ten Network), Netherlands (VPRO), New Zealand (TVNZ), Denmark (TV2), Sweden (SVT), Finland (Nelonen), Norway (NRK) and Iceland (365).
The film, currently available on iTunes for $4.99, broke the house record at the IFC Center cinema in New York on Wednesday, according to a Moore spokesman, who reported ticket sales of $6,972. The film, dubbed Moore’s October Surprise, is also playing at the Laemmle Town Center 5 in Encino in Los Angeles, where it has been the top-grossing film since it opened.
Moore is expected to make appearances at New York screenings this weekend.
PREVIOUS, OCTOBER 18 AM: Pledging to get his October surprise documentary Michael Moore In TrumpLand in “front of millions of people” over the next three weeks via online distribution, theatrical engagements and even house parties sponsored by MoveOn.org, Michael Moore premiered his film in New York tonight just 12 hours, give or take, after locking in final edits.
Describing TrumpLand as “a movie I knew the Hillary Clinton campaign would never endorse,” the former Bernie Sanders die-hard has directed a film aimed not so much at the undecideds but the unenthusiastics — the voters who hate Trump and don’t like Clinton all that much more.
“This is not a movie for cynics,” Moore told the packed house at New York City’s IFC Center cinema, “and this is not an election for cynics.” His audience was welcoming, to say the least, already pumped by a carnival atmosphere outside the theater that included an automated, glowing-eyed, tiny-handed Trump-as-fortune-teller machine dispensing predictions and promises (Scott Baio for Supreme Court “because I want to see Charles in Charge!”)
The sneak preview — Moore announced the free screening on Twitter yesterday — gave audiences (including the press) a first look at what is essentially a concert film. Taped at a Wilmington, Ohio theater October 7 — and so missing any mention of Trump’s Access Hollywood scandal and its fallout — TrumpLand is essentially Moore delivering an impassioned and often very funny pro-Hillary one-man-show before a politically mixed audience. Moore and his team had recruited local Ohioans of all leanings (he estimates about half the crowd was for Clinton, with the other half divided between supporters of Trump, Sanders and third parties).
The stepping-into-enemy-territory aspect is a key element of the film: TrumpLand depicts moments when Moore can make absolutely no headway with his audience. Early in his show, Moore, in an attempt to find common ground, proposes that at least they can all agree that everyone wants better schools for their children. His suggestion is met by silence.
By the end of the film, Moore seems to have clearly won over the audience — at least in terms of his performance, as the Ohioans at least laugh at his jokes and murmur recognition. (He told the New York preview crowd that he doubted he’d turned any Trump supporters, but hoped he’d at least “depressed” their enthusiasm while amping up that of the fence-sitters and mild Clinton supporters).
If parts of the film are heavy-handed — TrumpLand includes more than a few shots of teary-eyed audience members moved by Moore’s mournful, angry shouts on behalf of Americans who have died due to a lack of health insurance — Moore knows full well how to work his shlumpy, working-class-from-Flint persona. Forever fidgeting with the ball cap (San Francisco 49ers, naturally) that covers the business half of his unrepentant mullet, Moore approaches his scoffers by giving voice to their views before fully venting his.
In one of the more remarkable segments, he lays out Trump’s appeal more effectively than O’Reilly and Hannity combined. Trump’s threats against the auto industry abandonment of the American workforce, his anti-corporate, anti-media, anti-Wall Street rants — all tap into a the same seething hatreds of a decimated middle-class.
“He’s a human Molotov cocktail,” Moore says of Trump, history’s “biggest f*ck you ever recorded.”
Then he pivots. Voting to “blow the whole goddamn” thing up, he says, “will feel good, for a day.” He likens the situation to Brexit, and warns that, like regretful British voters, Americans for Trump will soon lament their decisions.
But TrumpLand, despite its title, is less about Donald than Hillary, as Moore sets out to explain and dismantle the country’s rampant and entrenched dislike of the former First Lady. He asks his audience to shout out the things they hate about her, and they oblige: She’s not trustworthy, she flip-flops, the Clinton Foundation, Benghazi, Iraq. Moore tackles the complaints one by one — I won’t spoil his rejoinders here, but his comical swatting away of the Vince Foster murder rumors are as funny as they are tasteless.
TrumpLand eventually attempts to make its strongest case not so much against Trump as for Clinton, and to rile up enthusiasm for her. He even includes an actual recorded snippet of her Wellesley College graduation speech, and details the sacrifices she made for Bill, the scorn she endured for attempting health care reform, and the sexism she’s battled since the Clintons’ days in the Arkansas governor’s mansion.
And Moore just might succeed at that — as anyone who has seen his earlier docus knows, he can be persuasive as hell — but his biggest hurdle, with or without online options and viewing parties, will be getting the skeptics, the unpassionate and the disgusted-with-it-all to watch. Once they do, they might be surprised.
TrumpLand will begin exclusive one-week runs in New York at the IFC Center and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Town Center 5 in Encino on October 19. Moore said he expects to announce online options in the next day or two, as well as additional theatrical runs. The 73-minute film was written, produced and directed by Moore (the theater direction is by Dana Calderwood). A Dog Eat Dog Production, TrumpLand is presented by Dog Eat Dog Films and IMG Films, produced by Carl Deal and edited by Doug Abel.
just like her bus….more crap
Moore should lead the boycott against MGM and Mark Burnett for not releasing the Trump tapes.
MGM certainly. Mark Burnett doesn’t own the material. He has also repeatedly voiced his disdain for Trump.
Lol, ok. Do you support our government pressuring Ecuador to turn off Julian Assange’s internet so that he can’t release more stuff about democrats and their corruption?
Yeah, right, because Assange holds all that stuff on a server at the Ecuadoran embassy and there are no back ups anywhere.
Come on, grow up.
Congrats Mike. You have officially bent over for the Washington elite. Making propaganda films for the establishment.
Are you the same guy who made Roger & Me? That guy would smack the shit out of this sad soul.
Uhhh…what would 1989 Michael Moore do in 2016? Not vote? That’s hardly an acceptable answer.
He sure as fuck wouldn’t create a 70 minute live letter to the establishment candidate.
If he saw that establishment candidate was the only thing between the middle class possibly making a come back or being devoured by Satan, ‘m pretty sure he would.
Judging by how badly his last movie bombed, he’ll be hard pressed to find a couple thousand who want to watch it.
Who could be more bizzare than Donaldo Trump? Who’s instincts for violence have been known for 30 years? Who has the track record for war crimes and complicity in commission of genocide? Who is solidly in AIPAC’s camp at the exclusion of J Street? Who is popular for being an advocate of American women while bombing, droning and rocketing foreign women, their children and unborn? Why did Michael cop out to the easy task, the safe one to avoid risk of retribution from the H bomb woman?
I say this from an objective standpoint: Michael Moore is no longer relevant.
He wants to get it to millions of people. Well at $15 dollars a ticket what real reason does he want to get it out there? For the benefit of the country or for some extra pocket cash? I understand he has expenses however he is worth $50 million and should put this on YouTube for free if he is genuine in his conviction.
Can’t get it on Amazon Video because it’s an iTunes exclusive, clearly pandering for $ and not interested in getting this to the masses.
i saw your $15 dollar ticket mention and was like yeah that smells bad and then I read the article and it is on iTunes for $4.99
This ugly pile of you-know-what is now just another tick on the establishment-rat bandwagon, I see. And what’s this about him “hoping” Hillary killed Vince Foster? Where’s the Hollywood outrage?
Thank you, Michael Moore. Your fight against racism and fascism is making America great again.
No, he’s trying to cash in on the Trump circus before the circus leaves town and Clinton is elected.
Buffet Master Obi-CD is the best.
As more and more comes out on all the corruption in Washington DC. I’m afraid this isn’t just about the Clinton’s. This is what is uniting the democrat and Republican parties, against Trump to keep him out of office at all cost. He has become an independent catalyst willing to expose back door deals. The two parties keep getting rich off and leave office rich. The money going into the pockets most likely is bigger the voters can even phantom. The lobbyist have proven one thing if nothing else. No politician is to big to buy looking at the people we have in Washington today at least. That goes for “BOTH PARTIES “. They have begin to feel like the untouchables and aren’t from it becoming a fact of life. Vote Donald J. Trump !
iTunes? One minute he is attacking capitalism and the next he is only releasing his film to the most expensive OS out there. Way to be consistent in your “values”.
It’s just how we do it in a capitalistic society. Grow up and smell the roses! It’s about how much, not some purist either/or dichotomy.
Michael Moore only has 995,000 more views on Youtube before his documentary goes viral! He has a whopping 5,000 views on the official HBO Youtube page. AND its free. My kitty can get more Youtube views than that.
If he made it free it might actually happen.