The box office success of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" has prompted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to revise its guidelines for what may be classified as a "documentary film."

Up to now, Rule 12 of the official rules of the Academy Awards defined a documentary as "a theatrically released non-fiction motion picture dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other subjects." In the ever-changing landscape known as Hollywood Reality, Moore's approach to this rule has pointed out an obvious -- but fixable -- flaw.

AMPAS spokesperson Veritas None described the change thusly: "We feel it is appropriate to redefine the documentary as being a film which contains a fact, or at least an interpretation of a fact. We certainly don't believe there's any great benefit in getting carried away with the notion that everything in a documentary should be factual. After all, where's the fun in that?"

For Moore's movie, the redefinition brings a definite downside, as it can no longer lay claim to being the top-grossing documentary of all time. In fact, it doesn't even come close. Consider the success of the following documentaries:

• "Spider-Man II" - This film about a cartoon character is now classified as a documentary because, as AMPAS spokesperson None puts it, "we know for a fact that there are, indeed, spiders." It has grossed $180M thus far, three times as much as "F9/11."


• "Dodgeball" is another movie that benefits from the new definition. As AMPAS puts it, "dodgeball is a verifiable and integral piece of the American cultural experience." It has grossed almost $90M, about 50% more than Moore's effort.


• "Shrek II" is a "documentary about some characters which have voices belonging to real and factual actors and actresses." Its gross of $400M+ is something "F9/11" can only wish for.

In fact, AMPAS concedes that under the new guidelines, the only movie of 2004 that doesn't qualify as a documentary is "New York Minute." "After all," says the AMPAS spokesman, "everyone knows that there's nothing real about the Olsen twins."

The spokesman did admit that "The Passion of the Christ" is still under review for classification. "We realize that there is a real book entitled 'The Bible,' but until we can verify that the book contains something other than fiction, we're not sure that in itself is sufficient to classify the movie as a documentary."

In a related note, AMPAS has also instituted a new Academy Award, the P.T. Barnum Lifetime Achievement Award. Moore's movie is considered a shoo-in.