Michael Moore's an Angry Man, Again

By Andrew Gumbel, The Independent UK. Posted May 6, 2004.

Michael Moore, the establishment-bashing film-maker, accused the Walt Disney Company of political censorship on Wednesday because it is refusing to distribute his latest documentary, which attacks the Bush administration's handling of national security since September 11.

Controversy over the film, entitled Fahrenheit 911, erupted on the front page of The New York Times just days before Mr Moore is due to take the film to the Cannes Film Festival for its world premiere.

In an open letter to his supporters, Mr Moore accused Disney of trying to kill the film, which is being produced by the Disney subsidiary Miramax, because the company was worried about its business interests in Florida and did not want to offend Governor Jeb Bush, the President's brother.

"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," he wrote. "For nearly a year, this struggle has been a lesson in just how difficult it is in this country to create a piece of art that might upset those in charge." Disney officials appeared to be caught off guard by this onslaught and denied that the company's decision was motivated by political interests in Florida. They also pointed out that the company had made clear a year ago that it wanted no involvement with Fahrenheit 911, which was picked up by Miramax against the wishes of its corporate parent.

Both The New York Times and Variety, the entertainment industry trade paper of record, suggested the flap over Mr Moore's film could drive a further wedge between Michael Eisner, the Disney chairman, and the Weinstein brothers, who run Miramax. The Weinsteins and Mr Eisner have been at loggerheads for some time, and speculation is rife in Hollywood that Miramax may prefer to find a new corporate sponsor when its contract with Disney comes up for renewal later this year.

Matthew Hiltzik, a Miramax spokesman, remained guarded on these issues, saying only: "We're discussing the issue with Disney. We're looking at all of our options and look forward to resolving this amicably."

The flap gave rise to two competing interpretations yesterday. One, that Mr Moore is indeed a victim of an attempted corporate muzzling, and the other that he is deliberately creating a controversy where little or none exists to generate publicity for the film and trigger a bidding war for the US distribution rights, which have yet to be settled.

Either way, the documentary-maker has once again put himself front and center of a political row likely to inflame partisan passions on all sides. In 2001, he fought with his publishers, Harper Collins, over the publication of his anti-Bush book Stupid White Men, which Harper Collins felt was politically insensitive in the immediate wake of September 11. The book was delayed but eventually released in its original form, becoming an overnight bestseller.

Last year, Mr Moore cried censorship again after his unabashedly political speech at the Oscars – he called Mr Bush a "fictitious" president who had just started the Iraq invasion for "fictitious reasons" – was greeted with jeers and boos.

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