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Federal election officials will have a hand in writing the script on Sen. John Kerry's plans to become a movie producer. The Federal Election Commission meets Thursday to consider Kerry's request to use $300,000 from his campaign funds to invest in a documentary about injured Iraq war veterans. The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee wants to be an executive producer for a movie tentatively titled "Keeping Faith," by White Mountain Films. Kerry would not be paid, but he could get up to a 120 percent return on his $300,000 investment, according to a March 16 letter he sent to the FEC...

Investors sue filmmaker over `Long War of John Kerry' NEW YORK Two investors who say they thought they were backing a commercial movie are suing the makers of a documentary about Senator John Kerry. The federal lawsuit was filed in New York by brothers Marc and Russell Abrams. They contend they were misled about the film's goal by longtime Kerry friend George Butler and the film's producers. The brothers allege the film "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" was intended primarily to boost the Massachusetts Democrat's chances in the 2004 presidential election. The brothers' lawyer says they're asking...

'NEW YORK (AP) _ Two investors have sued filmmaker George Butler, saying they were misled about the plans for a documentary on the life of his friend and presidential candidate John Kerry. The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, says brothers Marc Abrams and Russell Abrams were misled to think Butler and producers were trying to make a commercially successful film. Instead, the Abrams brothers allege in their lawsuit, "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" was intended primarily to influence the 2004 presidential election in favor of the Democratic Massachusetts senator.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The director of a documentary about John Kerry's Vietnam service sued Sinclair Broadcast Group on Thursday, accusing it of illegally copying his photographs in a controversial anti-Kerry movie it plans to air portions of this week. George Butler filed the copyright infringement suit one day before Sinclair, one of the largest U.S. television broadcasting companies, plans to broadcast part of "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal" in a one-hour television program discussing allegations about the Democratic presidential candidate's anti-Vietnam War activities in the 1970s. Published reports said Baltimore-based Sinclair backed off its original plan to air...

<p>The hourlong special program, produced by the news department at Sinclair, a major financial supporter of Republican candidates and which regularly features conservative commentary on its newscasts, included as many backers of Mr. Kerry as critics.</p> <p>Sinclair's producers seemed to go out of their way to create a balanced political collage in the special, called "A P.O.W. Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media."</p>

Katrina Tauchen listened to what was said last night about John Kerry, his military service and the importance of the upcoming presidential election. But the University of Missouri-Columbia freshman said later that what she was thinking was, "Wow, cool, it’s Brad Pitt." Pitt, a Missouri native and MU-student-turned-actor, returned to Columbia last night to promote a movie, but not one he’s starring in. Instead, Pitt promoted a documentary about the Democratic presidential nominee and encouraged the capacity crowd in Jesse Auditorium to cast an informed vote on Nov. 2. "It’s great fun to be home again," Pitt told the mostly-female...

GOING UPRIVER: THE LONG WAR OF JOHN KERRY is an extraordinary inside look at a politician, where he has come from, and how these roots have driven him forward in his public life.

"During this scene, Butler includes a photograph of Kerry shoving his ribbons through the fence"

In all the Bush-bashing or Kerry-promoting movies that I have seen during this election season — ever wonder whose side Hollywood is on? — I hadn’t until now seen one that I thought might sway the election. Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 is great propaganda, but only if you come to it (as of course so many now do) already persuaded that your President is a really bad and/or stupid guy. The slightly more disguised messages of The Day After Tomorrow or The Manchurian Candidate or Silver City can’t emerge effectively, it seems to me, from three such artistic disasters. And...

As a movie buff living in Illinois, I went about my usual Friday newspaper check to find out movie times and new releases for this weekend. To my surprise, I found at least 5 "local" theaters are going to have showings of the new pro-John-Kerry "documentary" called, "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry." I guess it shouldn't have been as big of a surprise as it was; I mean, after all, my local AMC Theater was still showing "Fahrenheit 9/11" until about two weeks ago, despite the obvious empty theaters at that time. But it still leave some...

Kerry film shows Vietnam, ignores facts By MAGGIE BERNARDI The State News The question raised by "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" isn't if it's an unbiased account of presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's service during the Vietnam War. Of course the film is biased for Kerry. In this time of political mud-slinging, the real questions are: Is the film factual? Can we trust it? For the most part, yes. Sure there's some skimming over of dates and places and hard facts about Kerry's actual service, but overall, director George Butler's film seems to be an honest account...

Despite strongly supporting and promoting a new movie touting Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry and his service in Vietnam heavily to its members last week, liberal political action group MoveOn.org had very little effect on the box office totals and saw the movie bomb in its opening weekend. The new pro-Kerry movie which hit theaters on Friday just one month before the presidential election is called "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry." MoveOn.org had high hopes this film would perform well over the weekend. "It's a great new movie," MoveOn.org gushed to its supporters in an e-mail...

Bloomfield Hills - In a 330-seat Bloomfield Hills theater Sunday afternoon, five loyal supporters of Sen. John Kerry turned out for a showing of a new documentary about the Democratic presidential nominee's involvement in the Vietnam War. Directed and produced by Kerry's friend, George Butler, "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" describes the Massachusetts senator's experience as a Vietnam War soldier and as a war protester when he returned home. The 90-minute film is showing in four locations in Michigan: Livonia, Bloomfield Hills, Ypsilanti and Sterling Heights. "It was wonderful and inspiring," said Detroit resident Bob Boyer, 63....

Of all the dirty tricks in this unhappy presidential campaign, the most outrageous has been the ad campaign by the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," attempting to discredit John Kerry's service in Vietnam. Supporters of the malingering Bush have shamelessly challenged the war record of a wounded and decorated veteran. Their campaign illustrates the tactic of the Big Lie, as defined by Hitler and perfected by Goebbels: Although a little lie is laughed at, a Big Lie somehow takes on a reality of its own, through its sheer effrontery. "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" is a matter-of-fact...

But movie gives doubters a chance to judge whether he was war hero or target of malicious Bush supportersJust when the great big sucking chest wound that was Vietnam had been, if not exactly healed, at least bandaged over, along came U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kerry to rip it open. He's been attacked for that, maliciously and dishonestly, and then blamed for fragging himself by reminding Americans of their last illegal, pre-emptive war.Throughout August, and again last week, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have been producing ads, gleefully replayed on cable talk shows, which lie about Kerry's service...

Going Upriver: Kerry doc plays like campaign ad Christy Lemire Canadian Press Wednesday, September 29, 2004 John Kerry, right, talks to his friend David Thorne at a Vietnam Veterans Against the War demonstration in Washington, D.C, in April 1971. The image is from a documentary film by George Butler titled "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry." (AP /THINKFilm, George Butler) Review: Going Upriver: The Long War of John KerryRating: Two and a half stars out of fourNot that you'd expect a documentary to be fair and balanced -- the whole point of the genre is to shape...

Going Upriver hits theaters this Friday. It's a great new movie -- a moving and powerful film about John Kerry and the Vietnam War. Together, we can make sure it opens big in theaters nationwide this Friday. Watch the trailerFind the film at a theatre near you Order the DVD Dear MoveOn member,On Friday, an exciting new movie hits theaters -- one that has the power to change the way we see John Kerry forever. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is a beautiful and inspiring portrait of Kerry and Vietnam, but it's bigger than that: it's...

NEW YORK -- It is an image from the Vietnam era that most Americans have never seen: a somber John Forbes Kerry, then 27, speaking with a fellow veteran in 1971 about the violence of warfare that both men had participated in. ... snip Yet the film, which is set to open in the United States on Oct. 1, arrives at a time when many voters are skeptical of the hagiography that envelops Kerry's wartime experiences in "Going Upriver," an expression for going into battle. The movie was conceived long before a group of veterans began attacking Kerry's combat record...