Distributor Gets Political with Release of Healthcare Doc During Election Season

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by Anthony Kaufman
May 31, 2012 11:34 AM
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I wish more film distributors would follow their political leanings with the films they present. When I hear about New York leftwing Jewish indie movie executives releasing the latest Christian agit-prop drama, I always cringe. So I was happy to hear that Roadside Attractions (which has cultivated the religious right before, see "Bella") would be releasing Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke’s documentary “Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare” on October 5, just one month before this year's Presidential Election determines the fate of the free world. (Yes, folks, it's that important.)

“Fire,” which had its world premiere at Sundance, explores the problems in the U.S. healthcare system, with less outrage and more viable solutions. Five years after "Sicko," the film chronicles such continuing issues as prevention vs. treatment; the system's dependency on drugs; corporate profits vs. patient care; and the health care industry's refusal to reform. I recently put the movie on my list of "4 Healthcare Movies the Supreme Court Needs to See."

The looming court decision about the fate of the Affordable Care Act was explicitly behind the decision to release the film, according to the distributor.

“The upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the federal mandate to buy health insurance guarantees that the healthcare debate will be re-ignited," said Roadside Attractions co-president Howard Cohen in a press release, "and inserted into the 2012 election in a big way, and this important film offers solutions that need to be part of that dialogue.”

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William Richert | June 8, 2012 12:28 PMReply

The NY TIMES reports that The FCC is about to rule that cable companies, like TIME WARNER, will no longer be required to use any rules about carrying "local" stations when it is not in their economic interest. This means that the funnel through which we all, or many of us, get cable internet etc. will narrow to fewer corporate/entertainment independent programs -- omitting from our view important sources of information in a free society, like local news, for example (FCC definition of entertainment often includes education these days, like documentaries promoting one side or another are also entertainment, subject to various rules including union and studio piracy broadsword laws.) This grab over studio/union control of content comes at the same time SAG-AFTRA is issuing a "DO NOT WORK" order to background dancers in rock videos, traditionally a way for young dancers to get work and exposure. Now rock videos will also be controlled by SAG, and SAG is represented by the Teamsters on sets, so these young dances better wise up. SAG-AFTRA is newly formed from the stardust in the supernova breakup of Hollywood that came after the 2007 WGAw strike and earlier SAG strikes that were unable to shut down television production. But the real harm in this is that TIME WARNER internet can also "filter" content (both union and non, studio and indie) as Ari Emmanuel at William Morris-Endeavor put it. Indiewire arrives over the cable system. Is indiewire signed yet to the new WGA New Media contract? People should read it at wga.org. It is more pervasive even than propaganda docs, because it will enable the Hollywood WGAW to dictate policy and "SHUT DOWN" offenders, as they are now attempting do do. It's important for indie writers and actors to watch out these days, as SOPA is underground, and those poor dancers being "organized" by SAG will now have the peanuts they work for eaten by elephants.