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September 24, 2008 6:36 AM
by Jill Serjeant
LOS ANGELES - Filmmaker Michael Moore has released his latest documentary for free on the Internet, marking a first for the maverick director who aims to encourage young people to vote - preferably for Democrats - in November's US presidential election.
Slacker Uprising, a feature-length film documenting Moore's tour of swing states during the 2004 presidential election year, was made available for a free download instead of being released in movie theaters.
Read Michael Moore on Meeja here
The maker of the award-winning anti-Iraq war blockbuster Fahrenheit 9/11, said the gesture was
"entirely as a gift to my fans".
"The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest
turnout of young voters at the polls in November," Moore
said.
Moore has long been known as a firebrand filmmaker.
He took on large corporations in 1989's Roger & Me and
the US gun industry in 2002's Bowling for Columbine,
which earned him an Oscar. Slacker Uprising, made for
about $2 million, comes on the heels of Moore's blistering
expose of the US health care system, SiCKO, in 2007.
Although Slacker Uprising chronicles the director's efforts to get
young people on either side of the political spectrum to vote,
he said the documentary was also a "tribute to the young
voters who are going to save this country from four more years
of Republican rule".
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are in a
neck-and-neck race for the White House in the November 4
election, according to opinion polls.
Moore encouraged fans to download, email or share the movie
with everyone and anyone, or to show it in schools, colleges,
church halls and community centers, adding: "I don't want to
see a dime from this."
He said several websites, including iTunes and Amazon.com,
were providing streaming or downloading services for free.
Moore marked the release with a one-hour online chat with
fans. Hundreds of Obama supporters responded on the
www.slackeruprising.com message boards, thanking Moore.
The documentary is also available as a low-cost DVD for those
not in the download community.
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