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Disney
blocks 9/11 doco - 6th May 2004
(Credit:
News Interactive - The Daily Telegraph)
The Walt Disney Company is blocking its Miramax Films
division from distributing Michael Moore's documentary
Fahrenheit 9/11, which criticises President George
W Bush's handling of September 11 and connects the
Bush family with that of Osama bin Laden.
Moore
attributes Disney's decision to concerns that the
documentary will endanger tax breaks the company receives
from Florida, where Bush's brother Jeb is governor.
"I
would have hoped by now that I would be able to put
my work out to the public without having to experience
the profound censorship obstacles I often seem to
encounter," Moore wrote today in a statement
on his website.
The
filmmaker did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
Miramax
confirmed that Disney told the company it can't release
the film.
"We
hope to amicably resolve the situation in the near
future," Miramax spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said.
Disney
representatives Zenia Mucha and John Spelich did not
return calls early today.
Disney
has a contractual agreement with Miramax principals
Bob and Harvey Weinstein allowing it to prevent the
company from distributing films under certain circumstances,
such as an NC-17 rating which bars anyone under age
17 from being admitted to the film, or a budget of
more than $US30-35 million ($41-48 million).
"Some
people may be afraid of this movie because of what
it will show," Moore wrote. "But there's
nothing they can do about it now because it's done,
it's awesome, and if I have anything to say about
it, you'll see it this summer - because, after all,
it is a free country."
According
to The New York Times, which first reported the story
today, Fahrenheit 9/11 describes decades-old financial
links between the Bush family and prominent Saudi
Arabian families.
The
film says the government helped members of bin Laden's
family leave the United States after the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001.
The
confrontational Moore won an Oscar for his 2002 documentary
Bowling for Columbine, about the Columbine High School
shooting and US gun control policy.
The
film earned $US21.6 million at the box office, making
it the highest-grossing documentary ever. He is also
known for the 1989 film Roger & Me, which explored
the effects of General Motors on his hometown of Flint,
Michigan.
Fahrenheit
9/11 will have a high-profile screening as one of
18 films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival,
which begins May 12.
Moore
ran into similar interference with his book Stupid
White Men, which almost never made it to print. Publication
was postponed after September 11, and publisher HarperCollins
considered cancelling the book or editing its criticisms.
After
lengthy discussions, Stupid White Men came out uncensored.
It almost immediately sold out a first printing of
50,000 and went on to top the New York Times nonfiction
best seller list.
Links:
Official
websites
The
Walt Disney Company
Miramax
Films
Michael
Moore official website
Websites
The
Walt Disney Company Index Page
Articles
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