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.
Did you hear O'Reilly tell her that her book only sells to a certain "niche?" He was looking down his nose at her; he is obsessed with that book!
"Good points -- what did Eisner know? I was shocked when he pulled the plug!"
Eisner is no friend of America, conservatives, republicans and GW. Disney is hurting for money. If he thought that Disney could have made money on Moore's lies and spin without some severe potential problems, he would not have backed on the film.
Moore probably got the video from the same people that gave the RATs.com and other websites detailed information on the President's visits as what intersection he would be at at what time. That happened during more than one of his visits and on the Florida visits.
You could read absolutely detailed scheduling that only USSS and local police would have on the Internet. But then how did someone get the codes for AF One to use on 9-11?
My guess is that a Clintonite worked in the office where video's and the like are made and got Moore a copy.
What happened to skywalker? That was flat out weird when I kept reading what he was posting. He was way out in left field from the rest of us.
I believe that the 2nd rally Aziz spoke at in D.C. was sponsered by Citizens United, co-sponsered by the D.C. Chapter, and after the rally, the freepers left to go counter protest the ANSWER people. Was this the huge April 2003? rally that Michael Berg attended? ANSWER bused in tons of people. This gives me chills.
I don't remember that. You need to ping some of the DC Freepers that attended that rally. You have their names on the thread you posted re Berg's buddy.
I still wonder why Moore never even told the family he had the video until Salon busted him.
Thank you. I need to run but intend to get back to your site later this evening. I didn't have time to see if his mention was related to the second time he was picked up in Iraq. The first time he was picked up I do remember that he talked about the Iraqi authorities looking for Iranians crossing the border.
I guess it's 'rest period.'
Going to plant some flowers....I may take my rage out on Mother Earth!
"Here in America, Aziz was the highly visible spokesman for a group he'd
founded called the Iraqi American Council and appeared frequently on major
media outlets like Fox News Channel calling for the military ouster of
Saddam Hussein.
Aziz' outfront role also included speaking at pre-war, pro-troop rallies. It
continued even after it was reported the inner-city electronic entrepreneur
had pleaded guilty in the crack-vial case in 1994 and later had legal
run-ins involving stolen computers and bootlegged CDs.
Aziz told the Associated Press that Berg had contacted him by e-mail
sometime after attending a two-day conference in Virginia on business
opportunities in Iraq last December. Aziz agreed to give him some space in
an office he had in Baghdad to form a partnership seeking communications
work.
"The Bergs last heard from their son April 9, when he said he would come home by way of Jordan, Turkey or Kuwait. But by then, hostilities in Iraq had escalated. Suzanne Berg the family had been trying for weeks to learn where her son was but that federal officials had not been helpful.
"I went through this with them for weeks," she said. "I basically ended up doing most of the investigating myself."
And yet they didn't send out an email to family and friends until May 7???
Do you remember this guy: Aziz Al-Taee, Chairman, Iraqi American Council? There is a story about him and his connection to Nick Berg at post #829.
Michael Moore Film Nears Release as Disney Sells
Yahoo! News ^ | Fri, May 28, 2004 | Peter Henderson
Posted on 05/28/2004 6:00:49 PM EDT by facedown
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Moore (news)'s controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" moved a step closer to U.S. theaters on Friday as Miramax film studio founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein personally bought rights to the picture from Walt Disney Co. .
Miramax had funded the film but Disney, which owns the art-house studio, had declined to distribute the movie, saying the documentary and its criticism of President Bush (news - web sites)'s war on Iraq (news - web sites) were too politically charged.
After more than three weeks of talks, the Weinsteins bought rights to the film for costs to date, estimated at about $6 million, and will arrange for theatrical and home video distribution, both sides said in a statement issued on Friday.
By clinching a deal now, the movie could still be on track to get into theaters by the middle of this summer, despite a crowded field of U.S. releases, distributors have said.
That fast-track release would capitalize on the recent surge of interest in the film and give Moore a chance to influence the November presidential election with his unflattering portrait of Bush.
The Weinsteins would probably turn to a third-party distributor to handle the film, and talks with such companies already were under way while the brothers negotiated with Disney, one distributor said.
Moore sparked interest in the film in early May by saying Disney had backed down from distributing the documentary out of fear of political repercussions.
Disney hotly denied that charge and in turn accused the director of the anti-gun documentary "Bowling for Columbine" of staging a publicity stunt to promote his film.
"Fahrenheit 9/11" won this month the Palme d'Or, the highest award of France's Cannes film festival (news - web sites), with its portrayal of families affected by the war and U.S. government policies in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that felled the World Trade Center.
It is also expected to meet or beat the box-office performance of "Columbine," which set a record for a U.S. documentary with $21.6 million in ticket sales.
Talks are already under way between the Weinsteins and U.S. distributors, with top contenders seen including Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Focus Features, a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal., and privately held Newmarket Films. Smaller ThinkFilm is also in the running for the U.S. rights and deals have already been made for releases outside the United States.
Disney said that it could still profit if the film did well but that it would donate any profit to charity. It did not name the charity.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but a person familiar with it said that the charity component assured that neither Disney nor the Weinsteins would do better under the deal than if Disney had distributed it.
That was my thought about Eisner -- what ever was in the movie was going to cause major problems for Disney IMHO!
Because he really doesn't give two hoots about Berg or his family, AND he knows that the video is really just so much agit-prop. The video doesn't do anything to further Moore's or Michael Berg's agenda and, given the horrible developments, could implicate Moore and possibly Michael Berg in Nick Berg's death (in a roundabout way). None of this is going to help Moore get where he needs to be with public opinion.
The only reasons I can think that NB wouldn't mention the interview to his father (and/or family) would be:
1) He wasn't interviewed by MM and had little background on what the project was and/or whom was behind it.The relationship between the father and son would be helpful to understand. If they were close, the father would know of the interview. If they were estranged, the father wouldn't know.2) He was interviewed by MM and knew that it would upset/energize his father.
3) He kept it a secret so that when/if it aired it would be suprise to his father and/or family.
The answer should be easy to find in press details. Whether they shared the same address, how close was their partnership, etc.
He presents well, but now he sounds like such a scammer!
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