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Will 'The Undefeated' make Alaska's big screens?When Stephen Bannon came to Alaska last winter to film "The Undefeated," the glowing feature-length documentary about Sarah Palin, one of the first things that hit him was how far away from the rest of the country the state is. When he flew into Seattle, he looked at his watch, calculated the flight time, and told the agent at the counter, "You've got to be kidding me." Here at last, he was struck by the cold and the sense of scale. He was struck by the level of integrity of those he interviewed -- namely former Department of Revenue Deputy Commissioner Marty Rutherford, and former Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin, both of whom walked out on their jobs in protest of the oil tax policies of former Gov. Frank Murkowski, and were then rehired by Palin. (And both of whom had enough integrity to stick to their promise to not talk about being interviewed for the movie, which had to be one of the best-kept secrets in Alaska history.) And of course, Bannon was struck by the beauty. "As an Outsider, I can tell you that it's all extraordinary. The state where you live is so overwhelming: the resource, the weather and beauty. And the high stakes involved," he said. Bannon was talking about the billions of petrodollars that are pumped into Alaska, and the woman, Sarah Palin, who raised those stakes by extracting many more billions of dollars of oil money -- and who now could be, might be considering a new job for herself, as the next leader of the world's lone superpower. High stakes indeed -- for Alaska, for Alaska's daughter, Sarah Palin -- and in a way, for Bannon himself, the writer, producer and director of the film. Not only does he have about $1 million of his own cash invested in the film -- he didn't take SarahPAC money for it and wanted to keep enough of a distance between her and the film that he didn’t even interview her for it -- but he happens to be a huge Sarah Palin fan. He wants her to run. He believes it's absolutely necessary that, at the very least, her "spirit infuse" the 2012 presidential race. That, he said, was one of the reasons he wrote, directed and produced the film, and why he needed to get it distributed this summer. The fate of "The Undefeated" will likely be decided this coming Friday, where it will appear in commercial theaters in 10 states. If it bombs, it will probably go the way such films normally go, to art-house theaters or directly to DVD. And it just might put an end to her presidential aspirations. But the documentary about Palin's time as governor is getting enough buzz across the country that those involved believe it will do well. And if it does well in the rest of the country, Bannon says they have plans to bring it to Alaska. "We haven't forgotten about Alaska. We have plans to bring it up there," Bannon said. An independent film maker, Bannon is also a capitalist. And he first needs to make his money back. To that end, "The Undefeated" is opening in populous U.S. cities with a conservative streak, which tend to be more sympathetic to Sarah Palin than her own home state. Here in Alaska, her recent poll numbers show only a 40 percent approval rating. Trevor Drinkwater, from ARC Entertainment (the film's distributor), said they did a lot of research to see where the documentary would play best. According to that research, Orange County, Calif. is good for her. So is Houston, Phoenix and Kennesaw, Ga., to name a few. Still, it's a crapshoot. Political documentaries tend not to draw huge audiences in the best of times, and summer might be the very worst time to release the movie, when Americans crave action and adventure. The timing doesn’t bother Drinkwater. "I've worked on a lot of films, but not any with this kind of built-in publicity. I'm very confident that we’ll have a good weekend," he said. There's some reason to believe that they may be right. "The Undefeated" will be shown in AMC theaters, the second largest movie chain in the country. The fact that a documentary, a political one at that, is being released by the chain is significant. Palin herself asked Rebecca Mansour to contact him to make a movie. So, for him to say he had no contact with Sarah is a lie, unless Sarah used Becky (she hates that name) as her mouth. Sarah would never have become governor if she was running against anyone else but Frank Murkowski. People actually voted against Murkowski rather than for Palin. Anyone could have won against Murkowski, anyone. Palin's popularity was skewed by her own letters to the editor saying how great she was and using other people's names. A lot of Alaskans believed her for awhile. The only thing she is great at is being an imposter. And I'm also certain that SarahPac also paid for the movie. They claimed it cost a million dollars to make, but I think that's just another lie to make it sound like it's a high quality professional film. Also, has anyone seen or heard anything about the results of SarahPac's financial discloser? Thousands are seeing the movie about Governor Palin, Grapevine TX is sold out. She has a list who don't know she is a national figure who has effect every where she goes. She goes to Iowa and fills the house, to Texas and sells out her tickets. To be sure anyone in her business will have a yap yap list. Real easy to answer. Make a movie of what you have done and see how many show up! Woops, catching on ? Those who fault Palin, nothing stops you from making a movie, nothing. Get the second largest Movie chain to run it! The problem of with what you wrote is that you didn't mention the tickets for her Iowa debut were free and the theater only had 328 seats. As for the Grapevine Tx show, how many people who plan on attending bought 4 or 5 tickets that Team Sarah and Conservatives4Palin are requestion people to do. It could end up being a that the theater will be only half full. Wouldn't that be embarrassing for the grifter. Also, make a movie everyone will want to go to? The Palinbots are not "everyone", just a small group who have been decieved by Sarah for the past 2 years, and have supported Sarah's life style by giving money to the SarahPac who don't have to operate or reports financial disclosure like a campaign fund. She even allowed to take money out of it for personal use. Now don't you feel like a fool for being so badly deceived, or are you going to be stick to your guns and be even more embarrssed when it becomes obvious what she has been doing to her poor fans. There's a sucker born every minute, and your one of them. I guess we will see on July 15. According to C4P they encouraged everyone to buy at least 5 tickets so it would appear the movie was sold out. This idea had to come from sarah herself, that is how she thinks. She never thinks about the consequences. So when one person buys five tickets, the theater will not be full unless the buyers of the tickets can bribe four other people to go with them. Sarah will never stop being the worldwide joke that she is. It will be funny to read this page when Palin says she is running. She has 4 who can hardly spell the name of her town, couldn't buy the fuel to fill her bus or the price of a plane ticket to fly to Iowa. Her movie is selling out, Me, I don't think Alaskans will forget Palins' effect on Alaska politics. Remember, we are hidden up here, but nearly as corrupt as Illinois. Given the pitifull remains of the Alaska GOP, hope springs eternal. Now we have Dan Sullivan setting himself up against Don Young, Congressman for all those who voted for him. Please don't give this movie, or that awful Newsweek articles, credence. Ignore it all. Hopefully she'll just leave. nem let's see if I have this right, payme got voted in to be mayor the first time with less then 600 votes, the second time was less then 900 votes, Actually, it's the legislature that only sits 90 days out of the year. The Governor's job is supposed to be year-round, but I can pretty much agree with the rest of your assessment. I think there were legislators who started wearing buttons saying "Where's Sarah" since she was hardly ever there. when you add up the political game of who wanted to stop Palin from getting the credit for a pipeline. Look up the part of the FEDS who stopped it. Goodness, 2009, transcanada gets a licence and seed money from the State of Alaska to build a natural gas pipe line. The feds stopped it, not Palin or anyone else. The USA spends hundreds of millions a day buying oil. Then stop a pipeline?Palin didn't stop it. You can find this information in 30 seconds, as well as Palins record as Governor and why she had a 80% approval which is why she was selected for VP and made her millions. Who would pay to see a badly produced infomercial about a half-term has been? Better to wait for the movie by an award winning British film maker; a movie that tells the TRUTH about the Twitter Quitter. Those AK poll numbers on her make a very good case that we need better public education. But then many of those polls get massive numbers of hang-ups, because they refuse to tell the pollee what the poll is about. I've hung up on them twice... Theaters may not want to show it Anchorage: they'll be cleaning food off the screen afterward. The market for natural gas has went down. When the market comes back the pipeline will be built. The fact that the USA is not building the line is plane stupid. Palin couldn't put a gun in someones mouth and make them build a 1700 mile line. The fact the USA is throwing the natural gas away is not the fault of Palin. It's a ignorant public, not a ignorant Palin. Why do we need a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48, when the lower 48 is flushed with natural gas. It's like selling snow to an Eskimo. Palin was the fool for waisting and giving 500 million dollars of tax payers money to a Canadian company, who's contract stated and signed by Palin that if the pipeline is cancelled for any reason, we would lose any unspent money. So she basically gave away millions of dollars by not getting any committments from the oil companies first saying they would even use the pipeline. So even the oil companies in Alaska didn't want it. Now tell me who's ignorant! The price of natural gas has gone down because of all the natural gas that has been discovered in the lower 48. With the quanity of gas they've estimated we have discovered, the pipeling will never be built. Alaska's natural gas will go to Japan and other eastern countries eliminating the need even further for a pipeling. Plain and simple, Palin didn't listen or want to hear what the oil companies had to say. Yes, we know who's the ignorant one is, and it's Palin for misspending taxpayers money without doing her homework first. She once again didn't do what she calls "common sense" if she even has any. I see no harm in letting the public see a side of anyone running for office We buy the bullets for the people we fight? I didn't know we were fighting with Canada. You do know, don't you, that most of our foreign imports of oil come from Canada, right? Alaska Dispatch, why do you have two different headlines for the same story? Oh, wait ... "Alaska Loon Cam" is about something else. Never mind. True, a big part of our oil comes from Canada. The fact is, why are we buying oil period ? We do this from the ignorance of our public, not a Palin. Except for Palin's boondoggle with her gas pipeline that lost 500 million dollars of taxpayers money because she signed a contract with a Canadian company that Palin gave 500 million dollars to without first getting any committments from the oil companies that they would actually use it. If she boast about the pipeline in her movie that never even got started, you should take it as an absolute lie. Now tell me who is the finacial conservative? One thing is for sure, it's not Palin. I loved to here her spin on her absolute failure. I will wait to see it when it's free. I'm not interested in watching a movie about a woman who was soundly defeated in her bid for vice president and one who quit her job as governor. It should be retitled the Defeated Quitter!! Silly Sarah the half term half wit was defeated and is a joke!! Reagan ran for President twice before elected. The housing mess beat the ticket Palin was part of, nothing else. Other than, after 8 years of one party we change, have for ever, it wasn't Palin who lost the race. A vice president never wins the race, never. Palin has done more to shape the race for President than anyone. Much more than she could do as a Governor. Palin doesn’t need to be our president. The salary isn’t enough for her and she’d just abandon the post like she did in Alaska. Do you want someone in office whose main focus isn’t on the people but on her bank account? What Sarah’s after is fame and fortune and everything that goes. See the ways she sells herself at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/06/ecstasy-of-sarah-palin_15.html I bet she even got a nice check for wearing that logo on her chest for this shoot. bww227, you must not have bothered to looked into any of the claims she said she has done in Alaska. Look up what she claims to have done for Alaska from reliable sources and you'll see most of what she has done is false. Her lies are well documented. I don't understand how anyone can be so gullible to trust anything that comes out of her mouth. But getting back to what she has done for Alaska, what about that pipeline she claimed to have built during her convention speech. She invested 500 million dollars with a Canadian Engineering company (not American), and it appears certain the state will lose all of it because it has been shown not to be a practical, and even the oils companies didn't even want it and said they would not use it. That's not something you'll her about in her infomercial ("Undefeated"). In fact even the title is a lie. Besides the Presidential campaign, she also lost the election for Lt. Govenor. I also like the claim she tried to hold back the Stimulous money, when in fact I think she was only holding back 5% which was for home weatherization to cut fuel cost for the people out in isolated areas. To everyone, if I stated anything incorrectly, please feel free to correct me. bww227, please tell us what she has done for Alaska. And, please, give specifics, not just generalities like "was able to handle big oil". I'm an Alaskan and I'm certainly not jealous of her, but I am angry at her for the mess she left when she quit. I would give anything if Sarah Palin were from my state! Seems that some Alaskans just do not realize what she has done for their state. What a shame!! The movie may not do well in AK, however, remember that Sarah DID well for Alaska until the mainstream media started lying about her. I have never seen a more "honest", "decent" and "true" American in my life than Sarah. I've read books about her and by her. Her words don't change. That says a lot!! Alaskans that do not like her appear to be jealous! Sorry, but that's what it looks like. She is the only one I know what would be able to change our Country in the right direction even if it meant that she would be very unpopular for doing so. I call that "guts". She was able to handle big oil in AK quite well. That, in itself, is quite a feat! Everyone has an opinion and that is okay. We'll just have to wait and see who ends up being right about this. I haven't been to a movie in years and IF this one was playing in my city, I WOULD go. I believe everyone deserves a chance - an honest chance. Palin managed to keep the oil companies from doing any new drilling or searching for new oil because with the tax she succeeded in passing made it unprofitable for them. So they are now discovering new oil reserves and drilling in Montana and the Dakota's where the price isn't as onerous to them. There is no question the oil in Alaska will eventually run out unless new reserves are discovered and wells drilled. The amount of oil flowing through the pipeline has steadily decreased as is, so the need to find and drill for new oil is imperative for Alaskans if they want to keep that money flowing into state coffers. The Republicans regularly chant "no new taxes" and no raising of taxes, so how is it that they would support a candidate who raised taxes to the point as to make it unprofitable for oil companies to continue exploring for oil in an oil state? As an Alaskan, I have a funny feeling that this so-called "movie" will not do well here. With little to no interest and not even a mention for an Oscar this will go the way Sarah has gone. The Bus tour was funny and her flip flop on running for President has gone too. The Tea Party has asked Grand Wizard David Duke to enter the race for President as they told him they will give him their full support. Now Sarah waited to long for the party and now will have to settle for Fox News until they fold. Right now she's is asking people to see the movie because that man wont even get the million he spent to make the movie. Sarah should have asked Orlando Bloom, Will Smith or Denzel Washington to be in the movie then someone might have gone to see it. Crazy Michele Bachmann is exciting the crowds with her insanity speeches and they love her. Sarah is now using Alaska as the bite for viewers and hope they don't realize it's a movie about her new formed image she wants people to believe. No more stupid ignorant statements that make people laugh and feel she's so dumb. Who knows maybe David Duke will ask Sarah to be his running mate. Sarah’s people were writing to her fans and begging/demanding that they each buy up five tickets and bring bodies to fill the seats. A good film doesn’t require the audience to be shanghaied. People aren’t even bothering to show up a the book signings where they can see a real live Palin and a cute baby to boot. Infomercials are bad enough having to listen to while you hunt for the remote. Imagine having to pay for the privilege of viewing an infomercial? |
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