When I saw on Michael Moore’s advance tickets site that “Fahrenheit 9/11” would be opening at two chain theaters in Madison – Point and Eastgate, both owned by Marcus Theatres – I was excited.
Then, when they disappeared from the list yesterday, I was not pleased. I wondered if they had been a victim of the intimidation campaign that some right-wingers have launched against theater owners planning to run the movie.
When I called Marcus, I found the situation was a little more complicated than that. The woman I spoke to said they hadn’t screened the film yet, and were planning to on Monday. So they won’t be making a final decision until after that screening.
“But unless there’s something really awful in it, I have a feeling we’re going to be running it,” she said.
I asked her if they had been getting protest calls. She said they had been getting a lot of calls about the movie, but 2-to-1 in favor. That’s not as good a ratio as I’d like, but I’ll take it.
If you’d like to call them (and hopefully express your support for this important movie), their number is 414-905-1000.
Eight days and counting.