by Peter Knegt
Overture Films and Paramount Vantage have announced that Michael Moore's new documentary feature will be released domestically on October 2, 2009. The as-yet-untitled film will explore the root causes of the global economic meltdown and take a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore has described as "the biggest robbery in the history of this country"--the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.
"The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn’t have enough wealth," Moore said in a statement. "They wanted more--a lot more. So they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money. Now, why would they do this? That is what I seek to discover in this movie."
Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett, Overture's CEO and COO respectively, previously worked with Moore when they oversaw the release of Bowling for Columbine at MGM/United Artists.
"Everyone can relate to this subject matter and all have been affected," said McGurk and Rosett in a statement. "We think there should be plenty of people interested in hearing Michael's take on how exactly we got here and what we can do to move forward."
Moore's new documentary, his first since 2007's Sicko, was first announced by Overture and Paramount Vantage International in May 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival and production began shortly afterward.
John Lesher, President of Paramount Film Group, added: "Michael is a master at capturing the most timely and critical issues shaping our world today. His unique, thought-provoking method of filmmaking is sure to bring dynamic insights into the state of the global economy that will have mass appeal to audiences worldwide." The release date is a year and a day after the United States Senate voted to hand Wall Street a $700 billion bailout.
This news item is brought to you by a special partnership between the IDA and indieWIRE and Snagfilms.
Keep up with Michael Moore at his website www.michaelmoore.com
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See filmmaker Michael Moore talk about a plan to get more documentaries into movie theaters at the IDA's DocuDay 2008 event.