‘Slacker Uprising’ offered as ‘thank-you gift’ to fans
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When provocative filmmaker Michael Moore made his newest movie “Slacker Uprising,” he immediately knew the world-premiere would be in Ann Arbor.
“It’s my good luck charm,” Moore said as he appeared as a guest lecturer as part of the School of Art & Design’s Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Visitor Series. The Sept. 18 lecture “Shooting Democracy,” co-sponsored by Screen Arts & Cultures, drew a standing room only crowd at Michigan Theater.
Noting this year marks the 20th anniversary of his first film “Roger & Me,” Moore said he used $2 million of his own money to make “Slacker Uprising” as a “thank-you gift to fans.” The 97-minute get-out-the-vote movie, which will not appear in theaters, will be available as a free download for three weeks beginning Sept. 23.
Much of Moore’s hour-and-a-half lecture focused on the 2008 presidential election and the ongoing national financial crisis.
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Inevitably the youth vote will define this fall’s election, Moore said.
“They already created an earthquake in the last election,” he said. “I’m optimistic about the current election. I have basic trust in the goodness of American people, and in their smartness, too.
“I’m hopeful that the American public doesn’t want four more years of this.”
“Slacker Uprising” documents Moore’s 62-city tour of swing states, including a stop at U-M, during the 2004 presidential election. He said he aims to stir emotions and inspire patriotism in college-age voters with less than two months before the U.S. presidential election.
While Moore said he supports Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, he intentionally has not become part of his political campaign “because once he gets in office I have to stay on him.”
