Michael Moore makes what?

His latest effort, "Sicko," opens nationwide today, and without getting into the whole thing about whether he distorts the facts (of course he does), or has expensive tastes (more so than the blue-collar everyman stuff would have you believe), or knows how to both entertain and enrage an audience (without question), there is the matter of his take-home pay. This morning's head-shaker is the LAT feature on Moore's stunning contract with Weinstein Co. Under terms of the deal (worked out by the infamous "Entourage" agent, Endeavor's Ari Emanuel), Moore will receive 50 percent of "Sicko's" gross profits. That's a better percentage than what anyone else in Hollywood is getting. And while it's true that Moore's films will never approach true blockbuster status, he's gotten well beyond the art house crowd. I mean, "Fahrenheit 9/11" did $120 million at the box office. "Sicko" might be in the same ballpark.

The 50 percent figure doesn't mean that much unless you have other details of the contract, which we don't have. Typically, a studio will take up to 80 percent of the ticket sales in the opening weekend. Then the percentages start to drop - until it reaches about 35 percent by the fifth or sixth week. Whatever that percentage turns out to be Moore gets half. And that's just the box office - it doesn't include any DVD revenues, which apparently offer Moore a richer-than-typical percentage. All this no doubt gets a little ackward for him because it shows that, well, his tendencies are just as capitalistic as the institutions he's attacking. Not that he doesn't offer a rationale. From the LAT:

While some filmmakers' wealth can make their films seem elitist, Moore argues that his moviemaking and financial accomplishments actually have allowed him to remain even more focused on the real world. "What it should do to me is remind me every single day that I have an even greater responsibility to do good with the success that I have been blessed with," Moore says. "I need to make sure that I am able to make the next film with the money that I have made on this film." By being financially independent, Moore says, he is insulated from the corporate pressures that might try to dilute his impassioned documentaries, which include "Roger & Me," "Bowling for Columbine" and the Oscar-winning "Fahrenheit 9/11." "The money allows me to never have to give in, never compromise," says Moore, wearing his trademark T-shirt, jeans and windbreaker, his Michigan State baseball hat off for the moment. "Nothing can ever be held over my head in the sense of, 'If you don't do this, we won't give you your money!' 'Oh, wow, I guess I'll be in really bad shape, won't I.'>/blockquote>