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 have to say I totally agree with you as far as being extremely skeptical about conspiracies. It is pretty easy to conjecture links about most things and provide surprisingly short steps between people and events. This NB thing, though, really strikes me as exceptional.
How many coincidences does it take before we prove it is a conspiracy? A very good question, but given the info and speculation I watched take form on this thread, as well as those others linked in:
Nick Berg Links (by backhoe)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1133927/posts
there's definitely something worth a deep look by professional investigators...
.
It is not beyond imagining that Moore, knowing that Nick Berg's father has been vehemently and publicly denouncing President Bush, cooked up this scheme and appraoced Mike Berg to get some publicity for his film.
We all know that Michael Moore is an extremely publicity savvy opportunist snotling, but the Berg connection is way too bizarre for this to be a good publicity move. Remember, Moore was forced to reveal the connection only when pressed by Salon.com. The only way Moore could view this as a good thing is if he had footage of Nick Berg praising George Bush and the war effort; but if Moore had such footage, he surely would include it in his film rather than sit on it with his earth-sized posterior.
Honest to goodness, I had that thought the first time I clicked on that website.
This entire thing has given me more creepy tin-foil thoughts than anything I've ever seen at FR. And for me, that's saying a lot!
A minimum of two people sharing a secret is all that is required for a conspiracy. Tinfoil hats aren't always required to believe they exist.
Short answer...a creep at CBS.
Add me to the ping list please!!
Why isn't Rush bringing this up? He's behind the curve!
LOL! That was pretty good, Carolinamom.
Who's that Freeper whose home page analyzes the NB incident? Anyone remember? I'd like to see it again, assuming he's keeping it updated.
He won't bring this up until it makes major news, and I don't mean the one statement. He often discounts "tin-foil" and won't discuss it. Now if the FBI subpoenas Moore, he might. Until then, don't hold your breath.
Please add me to the Berg ping list.
Please put me on your Nick Berg ping list. This story just gets more amazing all the time.
On the first threads about Nick Berg, one freeper (name of Skywalker? Can't remember exactly) was all over the place supporting the fact that Nick was a GWB and Iraq war supporter. Kind of strange. I read all the threads I could find, and the only source I could see of N.Berg support of GW was his father's insistence. I know ultra liberal families, and a conservative offspring is anathema to them. Because the father is a treasonous sick in the head ANSWER man, I don't trust anything he says. If he claims Berg Jr supported GWB, it may very well be a lie, and spoekn only for propaganda purposes.
The whole thing stinks, and this M. Moore connection is very creepy as well. Moore would NOT have interviewed Nick Berg as a GW supporter, I'd bet a lot of money on that.
Berg was acting as Moore's agent, trying to setup interviews with AQ bad guys. (Makes as much sense as anything else.)
I'm adding your names as you post.
"I posted a notice you are starting a ping list to everyone on backhoe's links thread I listed in #558."
please add me too.
I sent this thread to Michael Wilson at http://www.michaelmoorehatesamerica.com--he's trying to make an expose-type of film about Michael Moore. Perhaps he has some information that can be added to the mix.
Suppose NB was actually anti-Bush and was simply trying to create an image with this one man.
We truly need more info than this single-source stuff.
Hmmm....if he was already part of a conspiracty at OU, then he would have already been working to conceal that by the time he worked with Hollister. .
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