Michael Moore Releases Free Documentary

Once again, infamous moviemaker Michael Moore has entered the spotlight, this time with an online documentary that viewers can download and share for free.

Director Michael Moore, notorious for his documentaries Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko, as well as his controversial view on fire sharing, released his latest political movie not in theaters, but online.

Entitled "Slacker Uprising," this free downloadable movie chronicles Moore’s 2004 journey across the undecided "swing states" as he attempted to sway young voters from re-electing George W. Bush for another 4-year run. Covering a whopping 52-city stretch over a short span of 42 days, the events that transpired during his journey both frightened and inspired the director, thus resulting in his latest documentary. Along with Michael Moore, the film includes celebrity guest appearances such as Rosanne Barr, Eddie Vedder, Viggo Mortensen, Joan Baez, REM, and more.

"This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans," says Moore on the official Slacker Uprising website. "The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November." Moore claims that his 2004 tour actually helped boost young voter registrations during the Bush/Kerry election even though the youth vote "was the only age group that John Kerry won."

It’s certainly no surprise that Moore gives a firm thumbs up on distributing his movie freely. Recently he came under fire for expressing his opinions on file sharing during in a recent interview (YouTube link), claiming that he had no problem with fans sharing his work as long as no profits were made from the exchange (as in selling his movies). "Information, art and ideas should be shared," he admits. His philosophy is that everyone shares copyright material on a low-level basis, from books to newspapers to DVDs.

With the release of Slacker Uprising, Moore not only follows through with his file sharing morals, but attempts to re-connect with young voters in hopes to increase the turnout once again. The full-length documentary can be downloaded or streamed from the Slacker Uprising website (registration required). However, the streaming version can also be accessed via Amazon Video On Demand, iTunes, Lycos and more. Schools can request a free copy of the DVD version.

The physical retail DVD will cost consumers $9.95, available at most online retail outlets including Amazon and Wal-Mart.