'Fahrenheit' Bows Out of
Documentary Oscar Race
Tue Sep 7, 2004 04:30 PM ET
Under rules established by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, documentaries shown on television within nine months of their theatrical release are ineligible for the documentary Oscar. In a message posted on Monday on his Web site, Moore said distributors will instead enter "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the Oscar contest for best picture, which does not have the same rules on television showings. No documentary film has ever been nominated for the Academy's top prize. But some Oscar watchers have speculated that keeping "Fahrenheit 9/11," a scathing commentary on Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, out of the running for best documentary may help its chances to be nominated in the coveted best picture category. "If there is even the remotest of chances that I can get this film seen by a few million more Americans before election day, then that is more important to me than winning another documentary Oscar," Moore said in a statement. Moore said that the distributor for his film's upcoming DVD release, set for Oct. 5, would be unlikely to allow it to be shown on TV, presumably for fear of diminishing its value in the home-video market. But the filmmaker said he remained determined to arrange for a TV debut of the film before the U.S. presidential election in November in hopes that wider exposure of his blistering critique of President Bush would help defeat him at the polls. Moore won the Academy Award for best feature documentary in 2003 for his study of gun violence in America, "Bowling for Columbine." "Fahrenheit" already has grossed more than $116 million at the U.S. box office, making it the most commercially successful regular-format documentary of all time. Only giant-screen Imax documentaries have generated greater ticket sales. Filmmakers and producers submit their work for Academy Award consideration,
but nominations and awards are based on votes of Academy members. | |||||||||||||||
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