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Tuesday, 29 June 2004

Fahrenheit 9/11 - Never Again

I've seen Fahrenheit 9/11 twice now, but I'm not going to subject you to any kind of review or anything. Plenty of people have already done that, and they've done a much better job than I could hope to.

Naturally, I recommend that you see the movie yourself instead of relying on somebody else for an opinion, but I digress...

It's been pointed out in numerous places that there is absolutely no way to predict what the impact will be on the election in November. Will it be a fatal blow to the Bush campaign? Or will it serve to mobilize the right wing? The movie is an unprecedented factor in this election so all anyone can do is guess, right?

Well, sort of. There might not be any way to foretell the movie's effect on the Presidential race, but the powers that be have found a way to ensure that this little inconvenience won't pop up again anytime soon:

"Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp. has been sold for the second time in three years for close to $1.5 billion to a private equity group composed of Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group and Spectrum Equity Investors.

[...]

Loews is the third-largest movie theater chain in the world, with more than 220 theaters and 2,200 screens worldwide."


If you've already seen Fahrenheit 9/11 then you know all about the Carlyle Group. If you haven't, here's a little background (via Fortune Magazine):
"The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C., buyout firm, is one of the nation's largest defense contractors. It has billions of dollars at its disposal and employs a few important people. Maybe you've heard of them: former Secretary of State Jim Baker, former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci, and former White House budget director Dick Darman. Wait, we're just getting warmed up. William Kennard, who recently headed the FCC, and Arthur Levitt, who just left the SEC, also work for Carlyle. As do former British Prime Minister John Major and former Philippines President Fidel Ramos. Let's see, are we forgetting anyone? Oh, right, former President George Herbert Walker Bush is on the payroll too.

The firm also has about a dozen investors from Saudi Arabia, including, until recently, the bin Laden family. Yes, those bin Ladens."


These guys now own the third largest cinema chain in the world. Something tells me the next Michael Moore movie won't enjoy a 900 screen opening weekend.

Of course, the Carlyle Group can't stop Loews from showing Fahrenheit 9/11. It's too late for that. What they're essentially doing is saying:

"Fool me once shame on...
Fool me, don't get fooled again."

Posted by flow Frazao on June 29, 2004 at 03:48 PM in Current Affairs, Film, US News | Permalink



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