Bias Alert: This news comes just I have recently finished Michael Moore’s Election Guide 2008, thus having read every published word he has ever written including those from the obscure Adventures in a TV Nation.

That waskly old Liberal Michael Moore is rocking the vote (and the boat) with his new film Slackers Uprising. Much like in The Big One (1997) which chronicled Moore’s book tour for Downsize This!, this documentary follows Moore across the country’s universities and colleges. With young adults in attendance months before the Presidential Election of 2004, Moore beseeched the Slackers of America to find their shorts, scarf down their Fruit Loops sans milk and VOTE! The race was between Bush and Kerry and arguably over half the country felt the stakes were near-apocalyptic over four more years of the Sitting Duck in Office.

This caused some ridiculous controversy by the right-wing pundits who spoke out against Moore’s tactic. Now Moore didn’t outright demand to the twenty-somethings which candidate’s name they had to puncture in the ballot. What did Bill O’ “DO IT LIVE!” Reilly and the gang have to fear of young voters participating in their right to democracy. They could very well have stuck it to old man Kerry and gone back to suckling the warm, freedom-flavored teat of Dubya.

Starting September 23rd, Michael Moore is generously releasing his new film Slackers Uprising as a free download for three weeks in North America. As a Canadian, this cheers me greatly. Usually downloadable media from the US is unavailable to your Neighbor of the North - I’m looking at you NBC (30 ROCK), CBS (Swing Town) and Comedy Central (The Daily Show + Colbert Report)! Being the first mainstream film to reach personal computer screens for the admission of bupkis, Michael Moore is not only a pioneer but truely appreciates his fortune in turn by his audience: “This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans. The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November.”

This may very well tip a close presidential race away from the Republican Party’s John ‘Hot Head’ McCain and that media-trashing, earmark-embracing hockey mom Sarah Palin.

A DVD of the said film will also be released. It’s Special Features include:

Go Obama/Biden 08′

Poor, poor Dubya. With only half-a-year of his presidency left, Oliver Stone has him in the cross hairs and is ready to fire October 29th.

Two months since we have gotten the all-type Bushism poster, now here is the trailers that have official hit:

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

Looks like we’re going to see Dubya as all too human here. Much like how Stone saw Nixon in his excellent 1995 feature as a tragic figure worthy of Hamlet.

Hamlet: A man may fish with the Bush that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that Bush.

Just don’t skimp on the flaws, Oliver!

Switching faces from tragedy to comedy, here is the new trailer for Mike Leigh’s upcoming Happy-Go-Lucky. This one is made for the North American audiences so be sure to take a shot of Insulin Glargine.

Now this trailer is just dying to make this bittersweet British comedy come across as a sweet-and-low Julia Roberts vehicle. A desperate attempt turning indie gold look like mainstream schmaltz. It has the banal Disneyesque-pop music cues, the kid-friendly editing wipes (swooshing sound effects are not optional), the garishly bubblegum-polished graphics, and the voice-over narration of Don LaFontaine in syrupy mode. Is Miramax really stooping this low for a Best Picture nom?

News Flash: a dozen years ago Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies (1996) got the coveted nomination, so have a little faith!

The international trailer that I wrote about 3 months ago is far superior and actually feels like it has the fingerprints of Mike Leigh on it. The sophisticated animated graphics with the cute and gritty edge - check! An editing aesthetic that does not condescend - check! The quirky yet somber soundtrack by Gary Yershon - check!

Question: Am I the only one waiting for the melancholy soundtracks of composer and Mike Leigh regular Andrew Dickson (High Hopes - 1988, Naked - 1993, All or Nothing - 2002, Vera Drake - 2004) to be released?

Happy-Go-Lucky will speak for itself (in limited release) on October 10th.

The typographer in me is jumping for joy over this Bell-font teaser poster for Oliver Stone’s W. I hope to see them lined up across the marquee walls soon. The Bushisms are also a great send up of the commander in thief.

Do you think this type of all-type movie advertisement sheet could set a trend for future movie posters? No pictures, but with more font-laced words dedicated to more than just the film’s title and a tag line.

Fun Extra: You can download the font regularly used for movie poster credits here.

Distributed by QED International and Lionsgate Films, Oliver Stone’s W. starring Josh Brolin - George W. Bush (In the Valley of Elah, 2007), Elizabeth Banks - Laura Bush (Catch Me If You Can, 2002), James Cromwell - Bush Sr. (The General’s Daughter, 1999), Ellen Burstyn - Barbara Bush (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, 1974), Thandie Newton - Condoleezza Rice (Flirting, 1991), Jeffrey Wright - Colin Powell (Syriana, 2005), Scott Glenn - Donald Rumsfeld (The Silence of the Lambs, 1991), Toby Jones - Karl Rove (Nightwatching, 2007) Ioan Gruffud - Tony Blair (Black Hawk Down, 2001), and Richard Dreyfuss - Dick Cheney (Jaws, 1975) will be released this October.

The above picture is a parody

Following from Chris Beaubien’s brilliant review of Standard Operating Procedure below, an interesting development has hit Oliver Stone’s new biopic on the current US president.

Despite movie executives best efforts, the script of Oliver Stone’s movie covering George W Bush’s time in office has leaked. The New York Post has reportedly obtained a copy of the script despite Stone’s determination to keep details of “W” under wraps with watermarked scripts and scripts being embargoed in order to maintain tight security.

Stars of the film are Ioan Gruffud, Thandie Newton and Josh Brolin. The movie reportedly pokes fun at GW Bush and creates dastardly caricatures of both Bush and members of his administration. Bill Clinton is also parodied in the movie and reportedly has a scene ion which he is referred to as a “lardass”.

The leaked script goes on to make fun of Bush’s relationship with his parents, his alleged incompetence, his Texan accent and, most controversially, his decision to go to war with Iraq in 2003.

“W” which started filming on May 12 in Louisiana, has a release date scheduled for October 2008.