Posted on 05/27/2004 9:26:51 PM PDT by Rennes Templar
May 27, 2004 | Filmmaker Michael Moore filmed an interview with American Nicholas Berg in the course of producing his documentary film "Fahrenheit 9/11" before Berg left for Iraq, where he was taken hostage and killed, Moore confirmed to Salon in a statement Thursday. The 20 minutes of footage does not appear in the final version of "Fahrenheit 911," according to the statement.
Word of the footage reached Salon through a source unaffiliated with Moore or his film "Fahrenheit 9/11," which is reported to feature stark images of U.S. civilians and soldiers grappling with conditions in war-torn Iraq, as well as examining the relationship between President George W. Bush and the bin Laden family. It received the Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's highest honor, on Saturday.
In a statement widely circulated by Moore's people after an initial request for comment by Salon, Moore said, "We have an interview with Nick Berg. It was approximately 20 minutes long. We are not releasing it to the media. It is not in the film. We are dealing privately with the family." Moore's camp declined to comment further on any aspect of the interview. Because the footage is not in the film, a spokeswoman for Miramax Films, the production company behind "Fahrenheit 9/11," said the company had no comment.
It was not clear from Moore's statement whether footage from the interview with Berg had ever been included in early cuts of "Fahrenheit 9/11." Reports about a film industry controversy surrounding distribution of the film first hit the news on May 5, a week before Berg's death. The film officially screened for the public and the press for the first time during the Cannes festival on May 17.
The news that Moore spoke to Berg while he was still in the United States only adds to the mystery surrounding the young man's presence in Iraq and tragic death. The interview was shot before the 26-year-old Berg left for Iraq late last year as a private contractor in the hopes of helping to rebuild the ravaged country. Though it was unclear what Berg spoke about in his interview with Moore, or how the two men met, unrelated reports following his death indicate that he headed for the Middle East with plans to work to improve the country's technological infrastructure and communication abilities. He ran his own company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service, in a suburb of Philadelphia.
Berg did not find employment in Iraq, and when he attempted to return to the United States he was detained by Iraqi police and questioned by American forces. He was released after his family complained. But shortly after, he is believed to have been kidnapped by Islamic terrorists. Video of his beheading was released on an Islamist Web site on May 11. Salon was unable to reach the Berg family for comment before publication.
Moore's film chronicles the United States' military, political and business involvement in the Middle East in the years before and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His previous politically charged films, including "Roger & Me" and "Bowling for Columbine," have created controversy and won him praise (including an Oscar, for "Columbine"). "Fahrenheit 9/11" has already sparked a media storm; in early May, Miramax's parent company, Disney, announced that it would not allow Miramax to distribute the film, which is highly critical of Bush and his administration.
Miramax has yet to make a deal with a distributor, though the film's warm reception at Cannes and the publicity surrounding the film have made it a hot property that is generating a lot of interest in Hollywood. "Bowling for Columbine" grossed $21 million, making it the highest-grossing non-IMAX documentary of all time.
A source close to "Fahrenheit 9/11" said that a new distributor will be announced shortly, and that the film is expected to be released in theaters during the first week of July, as originally planned.
Surely, someone else was around for the interview and why would Moore interview an obscure "communications" worker unless he was on Moore's payroll or something similar.
I guess the real question is: "Did Berg (or Berg's father) knock on Moore's door or visa versa. This is mind boggling.
I find your theory very plausible.
I hope Ashcroft can subpoena the footage. Man... would that be a NEWS story, or what??? I am sure the NY Times would cover it... on page F-26!! Of course there will still be more 'torture' photos of Abu Grhaib and a story that accuses Dubya of secretly stopping by at Thanksgiving and personally administering it!
Sounds plausible to me..
I saw a stand-up did an impression of LHO. I still crack up when I think about it.
Here's my take:
This accounts for where he was an why. It also accounts for the father insisting it was Bush's fault. The FBI interview was the kiss of death.
I could never reconcile the following...
According to Andy Duke, a US businessman staying two rooms down the corridor, Berg was "adventurous, self-secure and knew who he was. He wasn't unaware of the risks of being here". "He was here for the very simple reason that for a telecoms guy this was a golden age," said Duke. "In the month he was here I would estimate he made $70,000." But Berg told his family that his one-man firm, Prometheus Methods Tower Service Inc, was struggling to find work.
$70,000 in one month...or not?
And I'm in the club car grabbing a stiff drink. This is beyondo weird.
I'm with you. I enjoy conspiracy theories, but never buy into them....until now. This is so strange.
Ditto here
Yes, many saw it. The footage of Nick Berg's interview (if it indeed exists) was NOT included in the final cut, but as noted, Moore would not say if it was originally included and then cut after Berg's death, but before Cannes, or if it was just never included at all.
Moore also did not publicly disclose the contact between himself and Nick Berg until this Salon scoop.
I wonder, did Moore make any comments about Nick Berg, in particular, before yesterday?
My take is a little different. He's hired by Moore to help with his schlockumentary, goes over there under the cover of "looking for work" and mingles with the populace. Gets some footage at the prison with willing military. Continues on, meets up with some of the bad guys, who view him as useful, but perhaps not in the way Berg thought. Note the beheading footage where he seems completely calm and unconcerned that he's their "prisoner." No, the beheading was not part of the deal he signed on for--but these people have no loyalty except to themselves.
Most sources said he was broke, and hadn't found work. However, he spoke of plans to visit Turkey for "sailing," among other things. He had money, then, after all. We've all wondered where it came from--my guess? When he got the prison footage and shipped it stateside, Moore gave him a bonus. Moore must have thought he'd struck gold.
No one--to my knowledge--has ever found proof that he "supported President Bush and the war" beyond his father's word. But his father also stated emphatically that his son was the best friends the terrorists had.
LOl. I'm wondering if Rush is going to pick up on this today. I notice he often takes things from FR the night before.
Remember, Nick Berg was seen "working" near Abu Ghraib prison.....
LOL! And now someone has said Kerry called Bergs father!
Thanks for the ping, Ho...n
I'm certainly hoping there is a deep investigation of this whole Berg death. No matter what is discovered in the end, there are easily enough anamolies in this man's life to suspect linkages that have not yet been public. He may not have been anything but an innocent bystander, but somehow he may be a nexus around which an investigation might really turn up some interesting and useful new information.
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A MOST Interesting question...
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But the thing is, the interview was done before the beheading. So Moore is not going to include anything in his film, even if it does advance his depraved cause, that incriminates him.
Makes me wonder whose camera was used for the video footage of Berg's death. And I can come up with all sorts of theories about Berg and his death. Maybe someday we will know the truth. But I doubt it.
Other than his father's repeated statements of this, who else has ever said this, or reported this? (not a hostile question. I truly want to know how widespread this perception was, if at all)
I have been asking this question in nearly every Berg thread I've been involved with. No one has ever cited a single source for that allegation other than his close family maintaining that he was.
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