• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Friday, May 18, 2007 12 PM

The backers of filmmaker Michael Moore's new documentary, "SiCKO," hope it will stir up emotions and help generate the kind of controversy that made his last movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11," both a topic of national debate and a blockbuster. The new film--which takes on the health care and insurance industries--makes its debut at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend.

Moore's formula is simple: Pick a divisive topic and goad opponents into a public debate before the movie opens. Depending on the response of the industries, the "SiCKO" marketers have created various tactics to fire back. That may include gimmicks such as placing logos of HMOs on tombstones in newspaper ads, according to people familiar with the situation.

To help build buzz for "SiCKO," producer Harvey Weinstein brought back the "Fahrenheit 9/11" team, which is overlaying its traditional marketing campaign with an aggressive online outreach, including postings and chat on progressive sites like Daily Kos and screenings for bloggers.

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