I wonder if this will be a Director's cut?
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 was thinking the exact same thing! The CIA should give that tubby effer a visit.
join the party ping
I wonder if this will be a Director's cut?
History will show that I posted my suspicions about berg and Moore immediately after the beheading. The only thing left is to find out how they got together and why. Was he working for Moore?
I remember that. And I have NEVER believed that Berg was a Bush supporter.
You surely don't realize what you said. A director's CUT? :o)
This sure is one weird, tangled web!
That's like the other guys...4 I think...that were dragged through the streets...set on fire, I think...and also tied and dangled from an overpass. Weren't those guys some kind of contractors? (maybe another Michael Moore film crew...<8^\....)
Translation: It has no anti-American or anti-Bush propaganda value, so we're not gonna air it.
And I'm in the club car grabbing a stiff drink. This is beyondo weird.
I'd surmise that Nick Berg was on Moore's payroll, sent to Iraq to film and gather info on the ground for the film. At least that's how it's starting to look. Didn't Moore say he had someone in Iraq? Seems to me that Nick's Dad should be blaming Moore for his son's death, since it's looking moore and moore (couldn't resist), that he was sent there and financed by the fat one.
The FBI will undoubtedly investigate this, or the administration is afraid of him. The film could provide clues as to whom he was in contact with, what his intentions and frame of mind were.
Moore now will also need to dislose who the camera crew was that did the interviewing, for they may also provide leads to Berg's killers.
Nick Berg (jr) was a known supporter Bush and his actions
>>>>>
Do we have another source besides his father for this statement? I suspect that everything we "know" about Nick Berg is spin at this point.
This is all a little beyond bizarre. First Berg is associated with Moussaoui and he somehow ends up in Iraq with anti-semitic material and the Koran in his possession. Then he's amazingly picked from millions of people in this country, to be interviewed by Michael Moore sometime before he heads overseas? People used to think the coinky dinks in Clinton's scandals were outrageous, but this is enough to raise even the eyebrows of the left.
Just in case you haven't been pinged to this thread yet...
Moore probably turned over the pro war Berg interview to the terrorist before Berg got there. Moore wanted to warn his friends that Berg was coming to Iraq and to not trust him. Moore is scum who should be locked up for sedition.
I would like to see it
Especially after all this news.
Good dot-connecting. From the looks of this, Berg wasn't over there for the reasons stated, nor was he--as claimed--a "staunch Bush supporter."
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