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.
I am completely mystified by this. I can think of some reasons--maybe the prof couldn't remember immediately, maybe someone jogged his memory--and other less noble reasons. Or maybe I remember the footage or the prof's name wrong--if so, I'm hoping PKM can either confirm what I recall, or help with my recollections. One of the headliners on the newscasts was that no one remembered him. Of that, I am absolutely positive.
Those are fine on this thread; this is our first "investigative" thread and we need all the information we can get on this one so that it can be complied!
That's the way I read that "stockholders" remark; that may not be correct!
I was never able to find it. There is no Prometheus Radio listed by the IRS, either.
Six minutes, Miz. The program continued for six minutes after Andy Card told Bush about the second plane; and Bush has clearly stated that during that time, while he was listening, he was trying to digest what had happened and forumlate his reaction; after all, what HE did was going to set the tone for the entire nation.
I hate these people!
BUSH FLEES IN TERROR!!!!!
We need to store those rants of Moore. They will probably disappear after being posted on Free Republic.
There is some great dateline material there.
I still want to know when Nick was killed. Was he killed before Eisner/Disney pulled the plug on Moore's film on 4 May 2004?
Doug put that up on March 7th as a reminder of WHO we are fighting here at home. It's done ALL the time here.
And the list was copied and pasted WORD FOR WORD from the A.N.S.W.E.R site......it's THEIR WORDS, not Doug.
This has been the rumor that will not die; WE did NOT publish that name and MARK Nick Berg.
That just infuriates me!
Absolutely. In fact, that's what nunya said when he posted the first one.
It's remarkable to me that, with all the garbage on that web site, the words "Nick Berg" do not appear!
I would agree. Disruptive and counterproductive. I think it would be good if there were a research thread where such lengthy items could be archived for those into such research.
Maybe because he wasn't really pro-Bush?
He went to Kenya with American Jewish World Service, also leftist. See this post.
OFFICERS/DIRECTORS AND PRINCIPAL OFFICE CORPORATE ID: 0581329 CURRENT AR# 203-39-1096 DATE 05/30/03 CORP NAME: Prometheus Methods Tower Services, Inc. STREET: 1264 ESTATE DRIVE CITY: WEST CHESTER STATE: PA ZIP: 19380 1263 S C DIR REQUIRED: Y E A OFFICERS/DIRECTORS DISPLAY FOR AR# 203-39-1096 L T NAME TITLE SIGN B NICHOLAS BERG PRESIDENT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - REGISTERED AGENT INQUIRY CORP ID: 0581329 - CORP STATUS: 00 ACTIVE CORP NAME: Prometheus Methods Tower Services, Inc. CURRENT REGISTERED AGENT: NAME: SARA L BERG STREET: 222 CENTRAL PARK AVE STE 1700 CITY: VIRGINIA BEACH STATE: VA ZIP: 23462-0000 STATUS: A ATTORNEY EFF DATE: 01/27/04 LOC: 228 VIRGINIA BEACH CITY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - OLD REGISTERED AGENT: NAME: SARA L BERG STREET: 500 E MAIN ST SUITE 1000 CITY: NORFOLK STATE: VA ZIP: 23510-0000 STATUS: A ATTORNEY EFF DATE: 07/29/02 LOC: 212 NORFOLK CITYSource
Thanks for the ping TT... I was out of town and still have not made it to the end of this thread! Interesting speculation... I'm still looking for facts.
I found several news stories that said Berg went to Israel then Jordan then Iraq.
The only reference to Turkey I found was as a possible point for departure on his way back home, along with Kuwait and Jordan (after having declined the Governments offer for a flight out).
We're at 1277 posts; in case you haven't noticed, this IS the research thread! :-)
Amazing. Your post on Infante is probably the most important finding on this entire thread, IMHO. Thank you for putting all that together.
There's nothing like an engineer and his analytical skills!
Fogot to ask... Is that hugo in the photo?
No! Stop and think about it... If this connection between MM and Berg turns out to have legs, MM will surely pull anything off his website that may have potential clues. The Drama Queen's rantings need to be documented and stored for safekeeping.
Just do what I'm doing: Scroll past it and ignore it.
I don't have the stomach to read it, but it needs to be here for safekeeping, just in case.
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