"Fahrenheit 9-11" Michael Moore Claims Bush-Bin Laden tie

WRAL-TV ^ | 03/28/02 | WRAL-TV

[CanisRex]

While he caused a big furor at the Oscars Sunday with his controversial remarks about President George W. Bush, documentary filmmaker is hardly finished with taking the commander in chief to task.

According to Variety online, the filmmaker is putting together a deal with actor Mel Gibson's production company to finance "Fahrenheit 911," a documentary that will trace the roots of terrorism against the United States.

[CanisRex]

Mel Gibson's production company is financing this?!?!? What the....?

[WomanofStandard]

Sure doesn't sound like the kind of thing Gibson would embrace.

[dawgmeat9]

Freep against Moore.

http://petitiononline.com/nooscar/petition.html

[muir_redwoods]

I had hoped that the autobiographical "Stupid White Men" apparently written about Michael,his father and brothers, was the last thing we would hear from this human colon.

More flatulence abounds apparently.

[bybybill]

Can`t see this happening

[freekitty]

Shame on Mel Gibson: unless, of course, Moore is lying or whoever wrote this.

[CanisRex]

FROM "VARIETY"

Michael Fleming - Dish

By MICHAEL FLEMING


Michael Moore, who didn't endear himself to the Oscar audience, will doubtless arouse further ire with his next documentary.
Project will depict the murky relationship between President Bush's father and the family of Osama bin Laden. And it will suggest that the bin Laden family was greatly enriched by that association.

Moore is making a deal with Mel Gibson's Icon Prods. to finance "Fahrenheit 911," a docu that will trace why the U.S. has become a target for hatred and terrorism. It will also depict alleged dealings between two generations of the Bush and bin Laden clans that led to George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden becoming mortal enemies.

While the words "fevered auction" and "documentary" should never be used in the same sentence, they fit the post-Oscar bidding battle orchestrated by Endeavor. Gibson and Bruce Davey's Icon won with a bid worth eight figures in upfront cash and potential backend. Deal comes as Moore's Oscar-winning "Bowling for Columbine" moves toward the $40 million worldwide gross mark. The $3 million film is one of the most successful documentaries ever. "The primary thrust of the new film is what has happened to the country since Sept. 11, and how the Bush administration used this tragic event to push its agenda," Moore said. "It certainly does deal with the Bush and bin Laden ties. It asks a number of questions that I don't have the answers to yet, but which I intend to find out."

Moore has put a year's worth of research into the film. He'll finish it in time to be submitted for Cannes, 2004, and released in time for the presidential election that fall.

The Bush-bin Laden tie, if only circumstantial, begins with a business relationship between the former president and Mohammed bin Laden, the Yemeni-born father of Osama who was a Saudi construction magnate. He died and left his future terrorist son about $300 million that has been used to finance global violence. The young bin Laden was among the freedom fighters propped up by the CIA as they battled the Soviets in Afghanistan when the elder Bush headed that agency. And bin Laden's Al Qaeda campaign began after Bush put U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War. A decade later, bin Laden's Twin Tower attacks made the battle against terrorism the prime focus of George W.'s presidency.

"The senior Bush kept his ties with the bin Laden family up until two months after Sept. 11," Moore said. "The bin Ladens invested heavily in the Carlyle Group, which has its hands in a number of pies and is the 11th largest defense contractor even though it mostly buys failing defense companies and sells them for profits."

The mood in Hollywood was mixed over whether Moore would be ridden out of town after his anti-war speech. He admitted his passion was partly fueled from the research he's done on the new movie and said public and industry reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

"I'd always watched and felt a little odd seeing actors win an Oscar and go off on some tangent cause. I'd just been given a standing ovation and an Oscar for a movie that deals not only with American gun violence, but how Bush manipulates the public with fear and how we are violent to people around the world. I expressed exactly what was in the film and instead of being blacklisted, I've not only gotten a deal to fund 'Fahrenheit 911' but offers on the film after. Presales on ("Columbine's") video release ran ahead of 'Chicago' this week, and my book is returning to the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list. It's because the majority of Americans agree with me see the economy in the toilet and didn't vote for George W. People are now realizing you can question your government while still caring about the soldiers. We are all still filled with rage over Sept. 11 and have every right to seek vengeance on the bad guy. But not any old bad guy."

Moore said he was mildly surprised by the speech reaction, since it was a carbon copy of what he said at the Spirit Awards the previous day: "I didn't write an Oscar speech because I never thought we'd win. The last documentary that was a box office success and won the Oscar was 'Woodstock,'" Moore said.

MOORE DOCU DRAMA: So what was it like to be a documentary runner-up and stand behind Michael Moore when the booing began? For "Prisoner of Paradise" directors Malcolm Clarke and Stuart Sender, confusion is the most apt description. "Michael came to all of us during the preceding commercial break and said he'd love it if we all got onstage if he won," Clarke said. "What was weird for me was, I couldn't hear a word he was saying because the sound projected toward the audience. But if you get onstage with a showman and controversialist like Michael, you have to accept what he does." Clarke and Sender got PBS topper Pat Mitchell to delay a late April airing so they can secure a theatrical release for the story of German-Jewish actor Kurt Gerron, who was pressed into directing a pro-Nazi propaganda film about the concentration camps. Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco, nommed for "Daughter of Danang," were proud that Moore ranted. "I was amazed at the lack of criticism of the war to that point in the event, so it was great to be the first ones expressing what we all were feeling," said Franco, whose pic airs on PBS April 7.

[cfrels]

My money would be on Moore lying....he's a fictional documentary maker..

[Teetop]

I can see the headlines now....

King of the Tin Foil Hats goes public & gets debunked!

Bwaaaaaaaaaahahahaha

Is Michael Moore talking to Michael Rivero now?

[Keith]

anohter great Monty Python bit..."Spot the Looney."

[MizSterious]

I'd like to see some sort of proof from Icon and Gibson before I go on the warpath. I checked Icon's website (there was a link on another thread on this topic) and there was no mention of this project. Knowing Moore's "truthfulness"--I just don't trust this press release.

[Cicero]

It's hard to believe that Mel Gibson could be that stupid. He would offend millions of his most loyal fans for a movie that would be a very doubtful moneymaker.

This is being reported all over, but that still doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. It sounds as if it's coming from Roger Moore, a congenital liar, rather than Mel Gibson.

[doug from upland]

I have contacted the Academy and sent them info about the "documentary." Have the rest of you done anything? He needs to have his Oscar taken back. Go to THIS THREAD and help.

[Rocko]

Mel Gibson's production company is financing this?!?!? What the....?

I'm skeptical; I don't think Mel would go for this, or even consider it. With his "respect for the truth," Moore could easily connect the "shady dealings between Jeb Bush and Janet Reno."

[StarfireIV]

Be sure you let the creator of that petition know that there are Left-wingers attempting to sabotage his effort.

[BfloGuy]

Anyone who believes this gives new meaning to the term "sheeple".

[Ditter]

Moore says Bush the elder is friends with bin Lauden the elder? So what? It is Osama who is the evil one here, not his entire family. I remember after 9 11 Osama had family living in the US that had no connection to 9 11. Moore needs to be sued for slander.

[Theresa]

Michale Moore is in orbit around Saturn. The Bush presidency has driven him right over the edge. There is no way he can harm Bush. The more he hurls himself against Bush the more he batters his own credibility. It could not happen to a more deserving Commie.

[ShotgunWillie]

TOO many people pay TOO much attention to Hollywarped. Who gives a tin-plated CRAP what those fools think?

As true FREEpers, we should be concerning ourselves with people whose opinions matter. The movies ALL suck anyway. If you want a good movie, make sure it was made before 1990.

BTW, I'm 37, so I've seen a slew of "good" movies come and go since 1990, and I don't miss a stinking, wretched one of them. If I really must see it, I'll rent it when rentals are a buck at the local video shop. Those stars,along with their producers (Moore included) can kiss my rosy red ass.

[isom35]

Moore may be correct.........


Title: Bin Laden family to end ties to Carlyle , The Times, Oct 23, 2001
Database: Newspaper Source




Bin Laden family to end ties to Carlyle



Section: Business, pg. 30


The family of Osama bin Laden is close to ending its relationship with the
Carlyle Group, the US investment group backed by George Bush Sr, the former
President, and John Major, the former Prime Minister.

It is understood that Carlyle Group and the Saudi Binladin Group, the Middle
Eastern conglomerate owned by the family of bin Laden, have decided to part
company by "mutual consent".

The end of the relationship comes in spite of the fact that Osama bin Laden,
the terrorist blamed for the September 11 attacks against the US, has been
disowned by the family. The family has distanced itself even further from the
al-Qaeda leader by using a different spelling of its name.

It is also thought that Mr Bush has signalled his determination to remain an
adviser to Carlyle, whose interests in the defence industry make it the
eleventh largest military contractor in the US.

Mr Bush has been accused by political activists of indirectly profiting from
the war being waged against the Taleban by his son, George W. Bush.

Carlyle's involvement with the Binladin Group, one of the biggest companies in
the Middle East, is natural given the company's extensive interests in the
region. The former President's close relationship with the Saudi Royal Family
has helped Carlyle to attract rich investors from the Middle East.

The Binladin family, whose empire generates annual revenues estimated at $5
billion (Pounds 3.5 billion), has been dubbed "Saudi Arabia's answer to the
Rockefellers". The Binladin Group has been involved in projects ranging from
expanding the mosque in Mecca to building military support facilities for US
forces in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.

After the September 11 attacks, 11 members of the Binladin family fled the US,
leaving only one behind, Abdullah Binladin. Mr Binladin is thought to be living
under around-the-clock protection from the FBI.

Asked whether members of the Binladin family were still investors in Carlyle,
a source close to the company replied: "They are still investors, but they are
probably not going to be investors that far into the future." The source added
that the Binladin family was an investor in certain Carlyle investment funds,
but not the company as a whole. The size of the family's investment is not
known, although it is thought to be less than $10 million.

Asked why the Binladin family would end its relationship with Carlyle, the
source said: "I am not party to those conversations, but it would be a mutual
thing."

It has also emerged that Carlyle, a diversified investment group, is
considering scaling back its $657 million European venture capital fund. About
23 per cent of the fund has been invested so far, but the results are thought
to have been disappointing.

Copyright (C) The Times, 2001

---

Source: The Times, Oct 23, 2001
Item: 7EH3862019630