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'm not "after you", except you made an assertion (which I challenged because the only source for "stolen" and "several students" appears to be this one particular WaPo article which I had not seen before) as if it was established that there was a rash of emails being stolen. Most other stories, including the Ashcroft press conference, indicate Berg gave his email and password willingly--while there are occasional fuzzy references, in yet other articles, to a scenario where Berg in fact let this individual use his computer but did not give the password and/or email address. I would say we cannot say with certainty, as you tried to, what exactly the facts are.
BTW, here is what you stated that prompted my first post on the matter:
There's no evidence of his ever hooking up with Moussaoui, just that he was seen in the company of Arab students, (not known to be contacts of terrorists) and that his e-mail account info was found in the possession of a man the FBI investigated after 9/11 because he was believed to be an acquaintance of Moussaoui.
There were numerous other students whose e-mail account info was stolen at the same time, so the FBI concluded that he was just one of them.
~snip~
Thank you for the great job of analyzing that email! Like you, I thought the content was odd and found many questionable phrases in it. I really need to go read his other emails to get familiar with his writing style. Howlin, you gave a link earlier to nickberg.org. Is that where the email came from?
We don't want to read anything into it that isn't there, but on first reading, I had the same exact questions Miss Marple had about it.
That's interesting. Supposedly, the Prometheus Radio Project receives money from various big foundations. Here's a little blurb from their latest web-page update, btw:
Prometheus Returns from Guatemala!
Many Thanks to H.I.J.O.S and Alianza for Their Hard Work! Prometheus' Technical Director Pete Tridish just returned from building a radio station with the compas of H.I.J.O.S., an organization which represents children of disappeared folks in Guatemala, and Alianza Por La Vida y La Paz, great community organizers outside of Guatemala City. Click here to read more about his incredible experience, and to see some awesome pictures!
Do you want to travel to far-away countries to build radio stations? Learn how you can build, even on a super-tight budget..
Their webpage is here: http://www.prometheusradio.org/
Never mind about the email question. #1235 answered my question.
Subject of Berg interview here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1144406/posts
Cyn, if you'll click the link I gave you with the cite, you will see that it goes to
It just occurred to me you might have thought by "this Washington Post article" I meant your link from the earlier post.
No, right after I say the above I gave a link to another Washington Post article, and THAT was what I was talking about.
Of course I'd already read the link you'd provided.
For reference:
Berg talks of Iraq's business potential on Michael Moore footage
AP, Centre Daily.com ^ | 5/29/04 | JASON STRAZIUSO
Posted on 05/29/2004 12:13:24 PM EDT by Dane
Posted on Sat, May. 29, 2004
Berg talks of Iraq's business potential on Michael Moore footage
JASON STRAZIUSO
Associated Press
In a 16-minute interview shot for Michael Moore's latest film, slain American Nicholas Berg talks about his travels to Africa and the work he hoped to find as an independent businessman in Iraq, Berg's brother said Saturday.
Moore's crew shot the footage at an Iraqi business conference in Arlington, Va., on Dec. 4, David Berg said. Nicholas Berg's decapitated body was found in Baghdad on May 8, and a video of his killing was posted on an Islamic militant Web site several days later.
Moore on Thursday confirmed he had footage of Berg - shot for the anti-President Bush film "Fahrenheit 9/11" - but said he would share it only with the family. Nicholas Berg's brother and sister praised Moore for that, and said they would also keep the footage private.
David Berg said it was "weird seeing Nick talk," but described the interview footage as dry. He said the first thing he noticed was that his younger brother - who was most comfortable in casual clothes - wore a suit.
"It's one of the few times I've seen him dressed up, and he looked really good," David Berg said.
The interview, which was not conducted by Moore, centered on the technical work Berg hoped to find repairing radio towers on behalf of his company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service. Berg, 26 when he died, also talks about humanitarian work he did in Uganda and Kenya.
"Nick seemed to be fairly conscious of using this thing to promote his business," David Berg said. "(The interviewer) does ask him at one point about the money and he said no one's denying there's money to be made. But it's very clear when you watch it, Nick knew he wasn't going to make a lot of money."
Moore said he had considered using some of the footage in his film but that it got edited out, David Berg said. Aware of the footage they had, some of Moore's staffers cried when they heard about Berg's death, the filmmaker told David Berg.
Moore sent copies of the footage to David Berg in New Jersey and sister Sara Berg in Virginia. Their parents will see the video after returning to their suburban Philadelphia home from vacation, David Berg said.
"Fahrenheit 9/11," which recently won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, accuses the Bush administration of stealing the 2000 election, overlooking terrorism warnings before Sept. 11, 2001, and fanning fears of more attacks to secure American support for the Iraq war.
Given Moore's political leanings, David Berg said he was "really nervous" about what the footage of his brother might show. Nicholas Berg was in favor of bringing democracy to the Middle East, his family has said, but David Berg said his brother wasn't overtly political.
"He went to Iraq because he had certain beliefs about helping people in messed up situations, but it's not like he was trying to help the Bush administration," David Berg said.
David Berg said Moore has handled the situation with "dignity, respect and discipline."
"Michael Moore has really been a total class act with this whole thing," David Berg said. "He could have sold this to the media or stuck it in his movie."
JASON STRAZIUSO
Associated Press
In a 16-minute interview shot for Michael Moore's latest film, slain American Nicholas Berg said he was nervous about the security situation in Iraq as he prepared to travel there as an independent businessman, Berg's family said Saturday.
Moore's crew shot the footage at an Iraqi business conference in Arlington, Va., on Dec. 4, brother David Berg said. Nicholas Berg's decapitated body was found in Baghdad on May 8, and a video of his killing was posted on an Islamic militant Web site several days later.
Moore on Thursday confirmed he had footage of Berg - shot for the anti-President Bush film "Fahrenheit 9/11" - but said he would share it only with the family. Berg's brother and sister praised Moore for that, and said they would also keep the footage private.
Berg's sister, Sara Berg, said her brother told Moore's crew he was nervous about his safety in Iraq.
"He recognized it was a concern, and he kind of pointed out that he'd worked in difficult situations before," Sara Berg said. "It's definitely something that he didn't shrug off."
Berg went missing on April 10 and wasn't heard from again until his body was found.
Sara Berg said her brother seemed enthusiastic in the footage. David Berg said it was "weird seeing Nick talk," but described the interview as dry. He said the first thing he noticed was that his younger brother - who was most comfortable in casual clothes - wore a suit.
"It's one of the few times I've seen him dressed up, and he looked really good," David Berg said by phone from his home outside Newark, N.J.
The interview, which was not conducted by Moore, centered on the technical work Berg hoped to find repairing radio towers on behalf of his company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service. Berg, 26 when he died, also talks about humanitarian work he did in Uganda and Kenya.
"Nick seemed to be fairly conscious of using this thing to promote his business," David Berg said. "(The interviewer) does ask him at one point about the money and he said no one's denying there's money to be made. But it's very clear when you watch it, Nick knew he wasn't going to make a lot of money."
Sara Berg, speaking by phone from her home in Virginia, said she saw the video footage as a "gift."
Moore said he had considered using some of the footage in his film but that it got edited out, David Berg said. Aware of the footage they had, some of Moore's staffers cried when they heard about Berg's death, the filmmaker told David Berg.
Nicholas Berg's parents will see the video after returning to their suburban Philadelphia home from vacation, David Berg said.
"Fahrenheit 9/11," which recently won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, accuses the Bush administration of stealing the 2000 election, overlooking terrorism warnings before Sept. 11, 2001, and fanning fears of more attacks to secure American support for the Iraq war.
Given Moore's political leanings, David Berg said he was "really nervous" about what the footage of his brother might show. Nicholas Berg was in favor of bringing democracy to the Middle East, his family has said, but David Berg said his brother wasn't overtly political.
"He went to Iraq because he had certain beliefs about helping people in messed up situations, but it's not like he was trying to help the Bush administration," David Berg said.
David Berg said Moore has handled the situation with "dignity, respect and discipline."
"Michael Moore has really been a total class act with this whole thing," David Berg said. "He could have sold this to the media or stuck it in his movie."
We went on vacation last week a nd I must have missed this VERY important link...can you prvide please?
NO ONE writes like this Normally....NO ONE!! Thanking you in advance!!
Do we know where Hugo Infante was on December 4th?
Well, that kind of makes the "staunch Republican/Bush/war supporter" story look a little weak, doesn't it?
His emails are at the nickberg.org website.
You'll get no disagreement from me... I probably should have put your disclaimer in my post.
I knew the source... therefore I accepted the date as posted (which was the question from tophat to which I was responding).
Thanks for keeping me honest.
And it sure doesn't explain why Moore, the good citizen, only contacted the family after Salon's tipster blew the story, does it?
Or you could scroll up to 1260, where RonDog has graciously linked them.
I'm sorry I blew up like that; that particular lie, along with the "Bush kept reading to children while the towers fell" drive me totally insane.
I've read the same thing. All I can figure is they are a subsidiary of a registered non-profit? I'll have to look into that... if I can EVER finish this thread! LOL.
So what was Moore's crew doing there? Were they were looking to develop contacts who would be in Iraq or looking to expose the evils of capitalism and all those who stood to profit from the war?
These two "explanatory" articles just seem to raise more questions. A few things are clear, however. First, the family is not going to release this footage. Moore has "cover" for not releasing it, and he'll use that cover. In my mind, this suggests things on the footage that would be very damning to Moore, and possibly the Berg family.
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