Docu-Flops and Blockbuster Books
With the notable exception of Fahrenheit 911, this year's many propaganda documentaries have been box office duds, reports today's WaPost. Meanwhile, those political bestsellers have a dirty little secret, reports Barnes & Noble chairman Leonard Riggio in an informative and entertaining NYT op-ed piece:
Informal polls taken by our store managers indicate that some 70 percent of our customers say they have no intention of reading these books; 15 percent say they will; and 15 percent are undecided. One Kansas City customer said, "I'm buying this book to show people where I stand." Another in New York said, "I'm buying this book because the author agrees with me."
I wonder if the authors care.
Maybe agit-prop movies should take a hint from book publishers and find a way to sell tickets that don't actually require you to sit through the picture--a new application of Fandango, perhaps.