Moore, You Magnificent Bastard! I Read Your "Book!" But Did You?

Michael Moore is giving PR lessons to would-be promoters of screenings of his new movie SiCKO. See his "Sponsor a 'SiCKO' Screening" Web page.

Here's one bit of advice offered there about "HOW TO GET PRESS":

When the press arrives at the event, make sure one person on your team greets each reporter and remains available for their requests.

Makes sense.

But let's compare this to how I was treated at my screening of SiCKO a couple of weeks ago in NYC (see "John Mack Finally Gets His SiCKO Screening: You Can Too!").

When I arrive, there is one person who merely checks my name off a list and hands me a couple of sheets of info. After the screening, when I would likely have a number of questions -- including "Where's the bathroom?" -- there's nobody there! I have to ask the projectionist who was startled that anyone would walk into the projection both and actually speak to him! In any case, he did give me the key code to the men's room.

I must say, I was impressed! NOT!

But I wrote the story anyway and you can read it in the June issue of Pharma Marketing News (subscription required; it's FREE!).

SiCKO Sneak Previews This Weekend!

Want to see SiCKO before its official release? Here's the 411 straight from Moore:

Friends,

Would you like to go to a sneak preview of my new film, "Sicko," before it opens on June 29th? Well, if you live anywhere near the 32 cities listed below, this Saturday night, June 23rd, our movie studio is going to hold sneak screenings of "Sicko" in 43 theaters across the country. I'd love for you to be one of the first to see it so, if you'd like, you can click here and order tickets now. We'd love to see you there.

Also, if you live in the New York City area we are opening the film tomorrow (Friday, June 22) exclusively at one theater, the AMC Lincoln Square for a first week run. The interest in the film is very high and theaters have been asking us to open it as soon as possible. Alright, already! It opens tomorrow in NYC, the sneak previews are Saturday around the country, and we open nationwide next Friday, the 29th.

Last night we screened "Sicko" for the members of Congress and the Senate in Washington, D.C. Earlier in the day we testified during a briefing in Congress called by the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, Jr. I brought with me some of the people who appear in the film to tell their stories -- and it was a powerful moment.

I will write again next week, before "Sicko" opens nationwide on the 29th. I'm so excited, after spending the last couple of years working on this film, that you all will finally be able to see it.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Catch the sneak preview of "Sicko" in these cities this Saturday night, June 23rd:

Phoenix, AZ
Sacramento, CA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Denver, CO
Washington, D.C.
Miami, FL
Tampa - St. Petersburg, FL
Atlanta, GA
Chicago, IL
Indianapolis, IN
Kansas City, KS
Baltimore, MD
Boston, MA
Detroit, MI
Flint, MI
Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN
St. Louis, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Albuquerque, NM
Albany, NY
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Portland, OR
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Austin, TX
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Seattle, WA
Tacoma, WA
Milwaukee, WI

Order tickets online here.

Lobbyists Also Get No Popcorn at Their Screening of SiCKO

Michael Moore invited 900 healthcare lobbyists to a special screening of SiCKO in Washington, DC and only 11 showed up.

Could it be because SiCKO screenings don't include popcorn, soda, or even bottled water?

Said John Greene of the National Association of Health Underwriters: "I want to ask Mr. Moore, 'Where's the popcorn and soda?'" (See Washington Post article.)

I asked the same question when I attended a screening of SiCKO in NYC on June 7 (see "SiCKO is Boffo but Not Anti-Pharmaco, per se").

Could it be that the pharma lobbyists read my review and decided that a movie without food was as useful as a fish without a bicycle?

Wonks LOL YouTube Effort!

Turns out that Drug Wonks are not even very good PR Wonks.

Here's their latest YouTube video effort to discredit Michael Moore. They ask people on the street (in a park, actually) "Would you trust your healthcare to Michael Moore?"

Well, no! Duh!

What's funny about this is, at one point, they ask the question of some guy sitting in a tree! Like that's the kind of person whose opinion I should listen to!

Wonks Bitch Slap Jim Edwards: Are We Going to Let Them Get Away with It?

Yesterday I mentioned Jim Edwards' post regarding Drug Wonks Demonization of Michael Moore. Jim used his personal experience to get an MRI as support for his thesis that the Wonks' cause is lost.

Now chief bully wonker Robert Goldberg is trying to sling mud at Jim and the rest of bloggers who share his view with insults like this:

"For the record, drugwonks aims to be the truth dectector [sic; LOL] for Moore's propaganda film Sicko. That is the least we can do for thos (sic) Kool-Aid drinking bloggers who blindly follow a guy who denied health care coverage to his employees when he was producer of TV nation."

Let's see. TV Nation was produced when? Is this relevant now? Should we listen to anyone who cannot even use a spell checker!

"Now some have nothing better to do than price MRIs."

"Oh, and the MRI? Use it to a conduct a more careful analysis of your own sloppy arguments in defense of hypocritical and overweight directors."

Goldberg is a coward! He won't dare say that to Jim's face by naming him in his blog! or at least linking to Jim's post.

No, Drug Wonks never links out to the "enemy" Kool-Aid drinking bloggers!

Cowards! PR Wonks!

I note that all the invective aimed at Moore and his movie is based on what the Wonks have seen in movie trailers and on Oprah. They don't have the nerve to see the film they are criticizing and must constantly stoop to calling people names!

Cowards! PR Wankers!

'Round the Sphere: Dirty Tightie Whities and Wailing on Wonks!

Pretty soon I'm off to my son's high school graduation and there's no time to start anything productive, so I'll just make this quick post about what has caught my attention this week 'round the old Pharma Blogosphere.

First those Tightie Whities
Aside from being recognized as one of The 50 Best Business Blogs by The Times of London, Pharmalot is also recognized -- at least by me -- for sporting a great new look and crisp little graphics. I especially like the dirty tightie whities Ed Silverman used to illustrate a recent post about the problems faced by Acomplia (aka Zimulti).

Ed suggests that we invest in underwear makers. I would point out, however, that most underwear makers are in China or India and run sweatshops. Based on a recent report --- see "Drugmakers Need New Business Model" -- many pharmaceutical companies may need to offshore their business as well if they are to remain viable. "Companies must expand their pipelines by looking to countries such as India and China, where research is burgeoning, and the industry must redesign the drug development process," the report said.

Wailing on Wonks
Meanwhile, the PR Wonks at Drug Wonks are being wailed on from the left and from the right and all over the place! The funny thing is, I pointed out the Wonks conflicts of interest way back in February (see "Drug Wonks are PR Wonks"), but that tree falling in the forest made no sound.

Now you can't swing a Kitty without hitting a post dissing Pitts and or Goldberg, the 2 most prolific drug Wonks. I think CL Psych started it with the post "Welcome to the PR Machine." Since then, others have taken up the clarion call.

Most recently, Jim Edwards over at BrandweekNRX Wailed on Wonks for their attacks on Moore (see "Why DrugWonks' Campaign to Demonize Michael Moore Will Fail"). But there's much more to Jim's post than anti-Drug Wonkisms. He actually is making a point about our health insurance industry that Moore never even touched on! Read it and weep.

Peter Rost over at Question Authority went so far as to ask "Is Big Pharma Secretly Taking Over the Blog World?" It may be less of a conspiracy theory than it sounds. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal profiled a company that can improve your reputation on the Web. One method -- drown out the bad stuff with counter-content that says you're a saint! By the looks of pharmagather, that seems to be the methodology employed by Drug Wonks, which makes one small post after another all day long. Of course, Pharmalot does the same thing, so I guess one balances the other!

PhRMA Jumps on Michael Moore's Bandwagon to Tout It's Own Programs!

Poor PhRMA -- that great pharmaceutical trade association, which fights a never ending battle for believability, justice for pharmaceutical companies, and the PhRMA way! -- it so desperately needed Michael Moore to focus on the industry in his new film SiCKO that when Moore declined to take the bait (see "SiCKO is Boffo but Not Anti-Pharmaco, per se"), PhRMA is left without a whipping boy!

But that hasn't stopped PhRMA Exec VP Ken Johnson from making hay without a pitch fork as it were.

Take a look at PhRMA's "Statement on Michael Moore’s Documentary". As far as commentary on the documentary, this is just a rehash of what Ken has been saying for months, nay, years!

He starts out nicely enough with faint praise that raises our hopes for the ultimate put down sure to follow:

"Michael Moore is a very talented filmmaker, but a review of America’s health care system should be balanced, thoughtful and well-researched to pin down what works and what needs to be improved. Unfortunately, you won’t get that from Michael Moore."

Great! What's your argument in support of this accusation?

Sadly, Ken just uses that as an introduction to PhRMA's own propaganda about SCHIP and PPA. Ken laments the fact that Moore didn't even mention these programs in his movie! Boo hoo! And he also didn't mention my blog, but you don't see me crying!

Ken should have critiqued the "facts" that were actually presented in the movie rather than cry over the facts that were not included. After all, Ken did have a Hollywood "friend" give him some "pretty good blow (by blow)" (see that story here).

John Mack Finally Gets His SiCKO Screening: You Can Too!

While the pharmaceutical industry is part of Michael Moore's -- and many other people's -- "Axis of Evil" consisting of pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and insurance companies, he does cut the industry some slack in his new movie "SiCKO," which I saw yesterday at a special screening in New York City. Pharma is merely a "necessary evil," whereas insurance companies are just not necessary at all -- at least the for-profit insurance industry.

For more of my review of the movie SiCKO, see "SiCKO is Boffo but Not Anti-Pharmaco, per se".

For my fellow bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere who haven't seen the movie yet, but wish to do so, I suggest they contact Sara Finmann Serlen (in NYC) at 646-862-3812, sara.serlen@weinsteinco.com and ask her for an invite to the one of the next screening in NY, which I believe is June 11 and June15. If you are locate elsewhere, ask her who to call for a screening near you.

If you read my review, you'll see why I believe that pharma bloggers may not be high priority PR targets for the producers. But, hey, it's worth a shot.

I'm Off to SiCKO Screening in NYC!

Finally! I received an invitation from the producers of SiCKO to a press screening of Michael Moore's documentary! The screening is today in New York City. I am leaving right now!

I'm not sure who else from the Pharma Blogosphere^TM has been invited. I guess I'll find out when I get there.

Hopefully, if all goes well, I will have some photos and a report tomorrow.

See my review here.

Pre-Release Screenings of SiCKO for Bloggers

I don't know about you, but unlike the folks over at Drug Wonks and PhRMA (Ken Johnson said: "A review of America's healthcare system should be balanced, thoughtful, and well-researched to pin down what works and what needs to be improved. You won't get that from Michael Moore."), I refuse to criticize or praise something I have not seen. It was that way with Centocor's feature-length disease awareness film INNERSTATE (see "Innerstate Private Screening: Philadelphia Style") and I feel the same about Michale Moore's new film SiCKO.

So, on May 17, I wrote an open letter to Michael Moore on behalf of all pharma bloggers encouraging him to invite us to a pre-release screening of the film (see "Mr. Moore Don't Ignore: Please Invite Me to a Screening of Your Movie").

Rather than wait for Moore to respond, I contacted his agent in Hollywood and finally reached his PR people who promised to schedule a screening in Washington, DC or San Francisco (or both, I couldn't be sure).

Since then there have been several emails back and forth as I continue to press them about the screening. They keep responding, "as soon as we know, we will tell you." So far, however, I do not have a definite date.

My hopes have been renewed, however, by an article in PRWeek ("Comms efforts intensify as 'Sicko' release nears") that states:

"[Spokesperson Chris] Lehane said the team is organizing a series of strategic screenings to reach key audiences, including special screenings for Bay Area and DC bloggers, as well as screenings in early primary states and state capitols where healthcare reform is now being considered."

Now, I hope this screening isn't JUST for "DC Bloggers" -- meaning political bloggers and the guys at Drug Wonks! THAT WOULD BE A TRAVESTY!

My call, and my hope, is that all us bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere^TM will have an opportunity to attend a screening -- even if it IS in Washington, DC.

Of course, there's the issue of who pays our train or plane fares.

I am sure, however, that a mere few hundred dollars and free buffet lunch plus the opportunity to hobnob with Moore and DC bloggers would never taint our opinion of the film!

BTW, from what I have seen on Oprah (see the videos here), freebies or no freebies, I am convinced that this movie has wings.

Jack Friday on Holiday -- in Cannes?

Jack Friday of PharmaGossip fame is taking a "Long Weekend" and from what I see posted on his site, it involves flying somewhere.

Could it be Cannes to view Michael Moore's new documentary SiCKO?

Inquiring minds want to know.

'Round the Sphere: Bloggers Side with SiCKO (to a point and for now); Tongue-in-Cheek Free Lunch

Michael Moore's long-awaited documentary film SiCKO (why the lowercase "i"?), about the pharmaceutical-health-insurance-industry complex, is set to debut in Cannes this Saturday.

I wish I could be there, but I am temporarily without passport! So, I wrote an open letter to Moore and urged him to invite us bloggers to a special screening in NYC. If Centocor can do it with its film Moore should be able to as well! (See "Mr. Moore Don't Ignore: Please Invite Me to a Screening of Your Movie").

While I continue to advance the interests of pharma bloggers, other bloggers have pitched in with their own commentary on this film and Michael Moore.

Mark Senak, who confesses not to have seen any of Mike's films, nevertheless has some good advice on putting this movie into perspective:

"I would like to think that SiCKO is perhaps an opportunity for industry and for industry critics to do some soul-searching, asking the real tough questions about how people got to feeling the way they do about the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, and what can be done about it. But for people on each side of the issue to spend time this summer calling the movie or its maker names isn't likely to advance anyone's image - industry or its critics." (See "The Summer of SiCKO - Cannes Film Festival Begins Today.")

This comment got a hearty "hear, hear" comment. Mark, if Moore takes my challenge and invites me to a special screening of SiCKO, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you as well.

Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot expressed a similar point of view:

"Getting beat up in a widely publicized movie isn't likely to make execs and their employees feel warm and fuzzy. Few people respond well to harsh criticism. So ignoring or chastising Moore and his film is likely to be a typical reaction. But that won't make the issues disappear. If anything, big pharma will only appear more defensive, and confirm impressions that critics say is all too real." (See "SiCKO Debuts At Cannes On Saturday").

Ed got some decidedly nasty comments, including this one, which brought the Holocaust into play:

"Occam's Beard says:

Sorry, don't mean to become a gadfly here, but I can't let this pass either without examining the logic.

Or has industry made it easy for him - and other critics - to pull out the long knives? This requires a gamut of people ...to look in the mirror and ask why their industry is increasingly villified.

So unpopularity necessarily has a just basis that the unpopular would do well to reflect on and change their ways?

Perhaps that should be pointed out to German Jews, if you can find any. Demonizing the unpopular is child's play."

I am not sure this qualifies as a direct comparison of Moore's anticipated treatment of Pharma to German Nazi's' demonizing of jews, but there you have it! Occam must not be a proponent of the First Amendment!

Other bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere^TM posted reports about SiCKO, but had nothing new to add.

Meanwhile, the brouhaha over the Cupcake Caper (see "'Round the Sphere With Christiane Truelove") has morphed to a brouhaha about pharma free lunches to physicians and patients in general.

When Black Kitty first raised the issue of appropriate food to give to patients -- cupcakes didn't seem to meet BK's criteria of appropriate -- I thought this was worthy to follow up with some general guidelines of pharma's nascent free lunch for patients program (see "Guidelines for Gifts to Patients"). I had written on free lunch for patients before (see "Free lunch for patients! Why not?") and thought this was an appropriate topic to add on to.

But that story is history.

Pharma's Free Lunch for Physicians Program
What really hit a nerve is when I revisited pharma's practice of free lunch for PHYSICIANS and reported that 62% of respondents to a poll agreed that this practice should ceaase (see "Blog Readers' Opinions on Physician Marketing & Education Practices").

Sarah Palmer, Cafe Pharma webmaster, reminded me that such a poll is not statistically significant. I'm not questioning that -- Sarah and I are on good speaking terms now and I don't wish to reopen old issues. But I will say that in this new age of Web 2.0 and "The Wisdom of Crowds," online polls, rating score and opinions from readers, regardless of the statistical significance, will have an increasing impact on the pharmaceutical industry.

Some industry experts, like Bob Ehrlich, Chairman of DTC Perspectives, have even suggested that Blogs may some day rival DTC (direct to consumer) advertising in influencing consumers (see "Blogs vs. DTC: What's Best for Consumers?").

I think that's what he said. But you don't have to be satisfied with my interpretation. Mr. Ehrlich will be my guest on an upcoming Pharma Marketing Talk podcast on Thursday, May 24, 2007, 1 PM Eastern US time. You can access this podcast here.

Regarding my post about the poll that called for an end to pharma free lunch to physicians, I received a comment from an anonymous physician who said:

"I would just like to say that as a former intern and resident working 100-hour weeks while making less than $30K a year, a free lunch now and then was a godsend and brightened up otherwise long and dreary days."

"Seriously, though, I do understand why institutions are moving toward these 'No Free Lunch' things, but really, cut the scut workers a break every now and then. If you've been there, you know how it sucked and how a free lunch was like having recess."

Of course, I took him/her at his/her word and went on to post a little spoof about free lunch being more than just lunch (see "When is a Free Lunch More Than Just Lunch?").

The guy took all this too seriously: "Like I've said, I don't deny that there are issues, but in the world of pharma and medicine, this is such piddling nothing, I have a hard time understanding your obsession with it."

Chill out, dude. You need a Valium, not pizza! You are so full of yourself that YOU cannot recognize when someone else makes comments "with considerable tongue-in-cheek"!

But, you have to wonder, if free lunch was such a "piddling nothing," why does the drug industry spend so much on its "free lunch for physician" program (which I once estimated cost about $1.65 billion per year; see "Free Lunch Redux") and why do physicians like this get so worked up about criticism of the program? It obviously means a lot to them -- like a free entitlement that they will fight tooth and nail to maintain!

Of course, it's not just lunch; it's the golden key that gets reps in the physician's door (see chart above), which is closing to more and more drug reps. The industry itself recognizes it has only itself to blame -- Pfizer, for example, recently cut back the practice of "rep pods" by which a number of reps hit the same doctor with the same message until the doc caves in!

That's it for now. Go forth and explore the sphere!