Celsius 41.11 - Conception and Production

Conception and Production

The production of Celsius 41.11 was funded by the conservative grassroots political organization Citizens United. The organization's president, David Bossie, was surprised at the success of Fahrenheit 9/11 both at the box office and in rallying support for the Democrat political position. "After seeing Moore's impact, I wanted to counterpunch", he said to the LA Times in 2004, adding that, "Documentaries have become a weapon of the left". Celsius 41.11 took six weeks to make and includes a song, John Boy, specially written and performed by the country music singer Larry Gatlin.

Celsius 41.11 was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America because it contains a graphic image of an Iraqi torture victim and includes swearing on two occasions. The film's producers disagreed with the rating, stating that it wasn't "consistent with other films in theaters." They choose to appeal the rating but were ultimately unsuccessful.