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.
In an article on another thread, a brother says he wasn't much of a Bush supporter.
Curiouser and curiouser ...
Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, March 21, 2003 pNA
Exiles expect a hero's welcome for `liberators' Iraqis abroad say the time is ripening for their compatriots to topple Saddam.Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2003 Financial Times Information Ltd.
Byline: Jacqui GoddardCoalition troops may feel the force of President Saddam Hussein's bombs and bullets, but they will also be met with bouquets from his people, according to Iraqi exiles.
There's a great fear of war among most Iraqis, but fear of their president is even greater.
"I believe the Iraqi people will welcome these troops with flowers," said Ahmad Kuba, who spent 40 days in a Baghdad jail in 1979, enduring daily beatings and torture for his political beliefs.
"The message from them is: `Please come in and have this war - just do it against the regime and not against us'. They have suffered for a long time under Saddam Hussein, they have paid a heavy price, they have lived in hell," he said.
"They are fearful today, yes, but they are hopeful. They are ready for President [George W.] Bush to bring change."
Now living in St Petersburg, Florida, Mr Kuba escaped from Iraq across the Jordanian border after 30 government agents armed with machine-guns entered his Baghdad home, where he was staying after his release from jail in 1979. The agents rounded up his family, who had been singled out because they distributed anti-Hussein leaflets. He said his parents were arrested and his father later died through torture.
When Mr Kuba left Iraq, he had 1,000 dinars, or US$3,500 (HK$27,000) at the time. Now, 1,000 dinars is worth almost nothing, he said.
"People got poorer and poorer, but Saddam? He got richer. I wish his palaces could be left intact in the bombing so they can stand as a symbol of the evil of this man. He gave his people nothing to eat, but he used all their money to feed his ego."
For Aziz Al-Taee, head of the Iraqi-American Council, yesterday was a day of double irony. As the US-led coalition forces attacked Baghdad, he was marking the 20th anniversary of the day he left his country.
As Shi'ite Muslims, the Al-Taees are a natural target for the Sunni regime. Mr Al-Taee's brother-in-law was hanged, his 16-year-old cousin was mutilated and his brother was tortured to the point of madness.
Apart from his London-based sister, Mr Al-Taee's family is still in Iraq. "But that's just one family," he said. "This situation is bigger than just us - it's about 24 million people."
Some reports from inside Baghdad have told of anger and distrust of the US-led coalition.
But Mr Al-Taee said: "The feedback we are getting from inside Iraq is that the people feel powerless, but they feel that finally they can see some light at the end of the tunnel. They are terrified about what could happen to them, they fear Saddam Hussein could kill them, then blame it on the [coalition] troops."
Though few would mourn the Iraqi president should he be killed, many would prefer to see him brought to trial, he said. "They want to show him a taste of Iraqi justice, then Muslim justice and then American justice," he said. "Then he can die, and face hell's justice."
Both men predict a popular uprising against Mr Hussein when US-led troops advance on Baghdad. Mr Kuba believes many of the Iraqi soldiers and commanders are ready to surrender while strategic leaders will already have been bought off by US agents.
But Iraqi exiles also fear a bloody fight from the Republican Guard. "Saddam paid for their loyalty and he will want his money's worth," Mr Kuba said.
There is also deep concern that Mr Hussein's loyalist henchmen are rounding up potential leaders of any popular uprising.
Through friends who fled Baghdad three days ago, Zainab Al-Suwaij - who left Iraq after the 1991 Gulf war - has painted a grim picture of life there.
"The government officials are brutally treating the people there and they are taking the people who they suspect are against the government to jail . . . Some of the people who the government suspects are going to be taking part in the uprising, they are taking them as hostages," the head of the American Islamic Congress said yesterday.
Her friends, she said, had described how people in Iraq have been listening to foreign broadcasts for news, storing and buying food and filling sandbags to build their own bunkers.
"People are afraid . . . and at the same time, they are very excited and very happy to get rid of Saddam soon," she said. "But they know how stubborn he is."
Recalling the 1991 Gulf War, she said: "After the end of the war, Iraqi people rose up against Saddam Hussein's regime . . . but Saddam gathered his troops back and crushed us.
"So now the time is coming back again, and I think Iraqis are willing to rise up. But this time, they need to see the force there to support them."
Also, was any of this conference shown or referenced in the final cut of the movie?
If so, what was the angle and tone of the coverage of it?
O'Reilly has a poll as to whether he should have MM on his show so he might be a good outlet to target. I sent him an email asking those questions and others.
I'd suggest more folks do the same.
I probably should track that down one of these days... if you come across it again, ping me please.
Thanks for reminding me. ;-) Yet another possibility.
"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.
Thank You!
Very interesting about Kuba and Al-Taee. I guess they weren't Saddam plants, then (or if they were, they were pretty deep plants!).
Chalabi's boys?
My son was here a short time ago and he said there was no housing shortage at OU during that time frame and he NEVER heard of email accounts being stolen. He said there hasn't been a housing shortage since he started at OU and I called my daughter and she said the same thing and she was there two years before Berg.
As for the professors, he called a bunch of people and everyone including one of the editors of the Daily from his fraternity remembers that the profs all said over and over again that they did not remember him even when showed a picture. This is also not the article that he remembers seeing that they were working on either.
There was no housing shortage for incoming students and professors all of a sudden remember this guy perfectly after not remembering him at all.
This defies my believeability meter. Why plant a story like this and what was Berg doing designing a brick when he was into electronics?
At least it is not just us!
That's what my son and I think as well along with some of his fraternity brothers. None of us believe the OK Daily story.
GREAT RESEARCH! This all gets more bizarre by the hour!
Our Student Union is not near the dorms -- The Student Union is located on N. Asp off Boyd and the dorms are S. of Lyndsey off of S. Asp and the two Asp streets do not connect.
I only saw the same info you saw. I don't know where the proof exists. Didn't the "grieving" father himself speak of the ideological differences with his son?
This seems to be leading us deeper and deeper into the "Through the Looking Glass" world of Iraq. Is it any wonder even our government has trouble trying to figure out what to do there?
At this point I don't have any clear ideas about who Berg may have been involved with, but he was definitely involved with somebody. I've changed my mind from my former opinion that he was just the most naive person ever born. However, he may not have truly known who they were or who their allies were (even perhaps when it came to his own father). I was about to say that he had gotten in over his head...
I'm thinking that nick berg was not a Bush supporter.
No,but a Roseann look-alike. ;^)
I agree. There are a lot of different players in this 'game'. My guess is that he thought he was helping free the Iraqi people (a common goal)... but then took up with the 'save the people from the evil imperialists' crowd, i.e the Soros or Prometheus or Michael Moore type gang. Him, believing he was doing an honorable thing, instead getting caught in the midst of true evil.
marked to read new page later...
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