Erik R. Bishoff Online & Photo Editor" SRC="http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper859/thumbs/t_40e417b5ae27b-46-1.jpg" target=new> Lines stretch outside the doors of the Bijou Art Cinemas as customers wait to enter the theater Tuesday for Michael Moore's new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." Erik R. Bishoff Online & Photo Editor [Click to enlarge]

Fans of Michael Moore and his new movie 'Fahrenheit 9/11' gathered Monday at Cozmic Pizza to participate in a conference call with the filmmaker. Questions were sent to Moore via the internet. Tim Bobosky Freelance Photographer [Click to enlarge]

Michael Moore, creator of the documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," invited the country to a party Monday night. MoveOn.org, a liberal political action committee, organized several thousand gatherings around the country to capitalize on the success of Moore's movie.

More than 100 people converged to one such party at Eugene's Cozmic Pizza to hear Moore give a speech via speakerphone that was followed by a brief question-and-answer period.

Attendees seated in front of the small stage directed their attention to a screen that projected the MoveOn Web site and a U.S. map that showed the location and size of each party.

According to the MoveOn Web site, over 55,000 people in 4,600 parties across the nation gathered to reach out to "unregistered voters in key swing states."

Moore emphasized grassroots action as he urged the crowd to organize, call unregistered voters in swing states and hand out fliers to people as they leave movie theaters to sway them to the Democratic party. His speech included a prediction that the next wave of people to see his film will not be "hard-core liberals" but will be people of "all types of political affiliations."

"These are not the usual suspects that you normally see at protests around town," said Michael Carrigan, the emcee of the Cozmic Pizza party.

Carrigan said he was encouraged by the turnout, noting that many more people showed up for the event than had actually signed up for it on the MoveOn Web site.

Eugene resident Sharon Rose said that she learned of the event after someone handed her a flyer after seeing the movie at the Bijou Art Cinemas Monday afternoon. Rose, who brought her daughter, grandson and a friend, said she follows politics closely and tries to keep her family and friends involved.

"The movie was very moving and emotional," Rose said. "It really portrayed the effects of war through the eyes of the mothers who have lost their sons and daughters to war."

Despite the popularity of "Fahrenheit 9/11," which grossed nearly $24 million in the first weekend, the movie has drawn criticism in the mainstream media and conservative talk shows for alleged inaccuracies.

Bill O'Reilly, who hosts a television talk show on Fox News, claims Moore's central thesis is "untrue." He also asks one of his guests if the claims Moore makes can simply be called "dissent or does it cross-over into being un-American, unpatriotic?"

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Christopher Hitchens, a columnist for MSN Slate Magazine, wrote about "Fahrenheit," "To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability."

Moore is fighting back on his own Web site by clarifying statements and reacting to what he perceives as attacks by the mainstream media.

University senior Woody Adams, said he did not perceive any inaccuracies after watching the film on Saturday.

"I wouldn't say it was inaccurate, but it was definitely engineered to create a reaction," he said. "Moore has an agenda, and I agree with that agenda."

Kesha Rose, daughter of Sharon Rose, said that anyone who is looking for minor details in order to pick apart the movie "definitely has another agenda."

"There is just so much that cannot be overlooked in this film," Rose said. "We have to defeat Bush or we've had it."

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Michael A. Booth is a freelance reporter for the Emerald.

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