Michael Moore Offering Free 'Capitalism' Screenings

Tonight, Michael Moore is presenting free and benefit screenings of his new film Capitalism: A Love Story in selected cities across the country. The movie opens nationwide tomorrow, his biggest theater count ever, after setting a 2009 standard for per-screen averages last weekend in New York and Los Angeles.

Below is part of a letter from Michael Moore, as well as the cities and theaters showcasing the film this evening:

"To kick off the national release of "Capitalism: A Love Story," I've asked the studio to offer a number of screenings in the nation's hardest hit cities -- the ones with the highest unemployment rates and highest foreclosure rates -- where those who've lost their jobs or who are in foreclosure (or have already been evicted) may attend my film free of charge. They've agreed, and so tonight (Thursday), the night before our opening day, ten cities will grant you free admission if you have fallen on hard times. The list of theaters and cities is below. You don't need to bring any "proof" of your situation -- just show up -- it's the honor system, no questions asked." "Of course, a free movie ain't much when what you really need is a job or a place to live. And that's not going to change until the party that controls both the Congress and the White House wakes up and realizes the American people put them in charge to fix the mess created by the previous administration. For that to happen requires the active involvement of each of us. And, as I show in this movie, it's going to also require us to challenge some fundamental assumptions about an economic system that currently allows the wealthiest ONE PERCENT in this country to have more financial wealth than the bottom 95% combined. That concentration of money and power in the hands of so few people is, I believe, at the core of so many of our problems." "So, if you're going through tough times and you live in one of the areas below, please be my guest tonight, on the eve of my new film's opening. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis."

Get more information about the film and the screenings at MichaelMoore.com. Now, here's where you can check it out tonight:

Click to read more ...

Celebrate 50 Years of 'The Twilight Zone' Next Month

We're about a month away from a very cool event at Ithaca College in New York, one that should be of keen interest to fans of science fiction, the history of television, and just damn good writing. The college hosts the Rod Serling Conference, and Serling, of course, created and wrote The Twilight Zone. He also taught at Ithaca from 1967 - 1975.

Naturally, the Rod Serling Archives are also housed at the college, and this year's Conference marks the 50th anniversary of The Twilight Zone, and since Serling wrote well over half of the episodes, it stands to reason that this will be a pretty good collection of all things Serling. The event will take place on Friday and Saturday, October 2nd and 3rd, and you can get all the specific details at Ithaca College's Serling page. There are about 20 sessions at this year's conference, ranging from adapting The Twilight Zone to the graphic novel format to a discussion of his legendary teleplay Requiem for a Heavyweight (Serling himself was a boxer).

Click to read more ...

'Wizard of Oz' Returns to Theaters for One Night Only

Didn't I just intone about the relevance of original films versus their (usually inferior) remakes? Why yes, yes I did. Which is what makes this news so interesting: The Wizard of Oz will return to theaters on September 23rd, for one night only.

The event will mark the 70th anniversary of what has become arguably one of the ten or twenty most popular films ever made, and it will appeal to not just ardent fans of the movies, but those of us who look at this news and say, wistfully, "I've never seen that in a theater." And it's probably worth it. Warner Bros. Home Video and Fathom Entertainment are presenting Oz in high definition on September 23rd at 7:00pm local time. Just fill in your ZIP code to find out where it will be playing near you. The movie will be accompanied by the new featurette, To Oz! The Making of a Classic. This is basically an theatrical version of the new Blu-ray DVD, which comes out on September 29th.

Click to read more ...

Disturbing 'Saw' Blood Drive Posters

It's almost time once again for the Saw Blood Drive. Every year, the Halloween movie tradition has partnered with the American Red Cross to raise awareness about the dire need for blood donations as well as to collect thousands of pints. They call it "Give 'Til It Hurts" and over the first five years, the program has raised tens of thousands of pints of blood. Quite a success story.

The Saw franchise might not scream quality, but this is a very worthy cause and I don't see too many movies giving back even a fraction as much. And as part of the event, we get new posters each year. Saw, of course, usually has some interesting posters for each sequel, so it's a natural extension to see good stuff for this blood drive. The model doesn't look real, but she is, and so is the dress, designed by "New York fashion darlings The Blonds, the corset kings who have outfitted the likes of Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Rihanna."

Click to read more ...

'Saw': The Amusement Park Ride

This fall, we'll see a sixth Saw movie plus the launch of a Saw video game, and as if that's not enough sadistic killer fun, Universal Studios Theme Parks will feature an attraction based on the series as part of its Halloween Horror Nights.

You are correct: Universal has nothing to do with Saw, but apparently a deal was reached between the theme park arm of the company and Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures. If the Universal website is to be believed, you can check out Saw in Hollywood and Orlando, although in Orlando, there are also attractions devoted to Chucky from Child's Play and the upcoming Wolfman. There are different dates in the two cities, as well, but it's essentially weekends in October.

Click to read more ...