West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Train of Thought => Topic started by: S.J on May 20, 2004, 08:21:09 AM
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10 REASONS BUSH WANTS TO BAN MOORE FILM
May 20 2004
..like it could make him lose the next election
By Ryan Parry
A NEW film is sending shockwaves through the United States in general and the White House in particular - and it hasn't even been released yet.
Fahrenheit 9/11, which this week got the longest standing ovation in Cannes Film Festival history, tells what its director Michael Moore sees as the truth behind the war in Iraq and on terror.
It is said to be so powerful it could tip November's US presidential election against George W Bush. As Moore says: "We were able to get film crews embedded with American troops without them knowing it was Michael Moore. They are totally f***ed."
Disney has refused to distribute the film in the States, saying its content could upset the presidential elections. Moore says that's precisely why the public should see it.
These are the 10 killer questions the film poses.
1, AFTER the 9/11 attacks, why was the only plane to fly out of the US carrying 24 members of Osama bin Laden's family?
IN the wake of the attacks, the US became a no-fly zone. Moore asks: "Why did Bush allow a private Saudi jet to fly around the US in the days after September 11 to pick up members of the bin Laden family and fly them out of the country without a proper FBI investigation? Might it have been possible that at least one of the 24 bin Ladens would have known something?"
2, ARE the media covering up abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the disillusionment of American troops?
MOORE'S film shows soldiers hooding and mistreating Iraqi detainees, and even shows troops taking it in turns to sexually abuse a drunk elderly man.
He says: "This occurred outside the Abu Ghraib prison walls. The media is there every single day. Why haven't they seen this? I don't think we've heard American soldiers in the field talk as they do in this film about their disillusionment and their despair; about their questioning of what was going on."
3, IS Bush deliberately creating a culture of fear to get poor American youth to fight his war?
MOORE accuses the Bush administration of deliberately creating a climate of fear, particularly by the instigation of the Department of Homeland Security, to increase numbers signing up for the armed forces. He calls this "the immoral act of sending kids to war on the basis of a lie".
4, HOW deep does the connection between the Bush family and bin Laden family actually run?
MOORE exposes business links between the bin Ladens and the Bushes over the last 25 years. Bush Snr became a highly paid consultant for the Carlyle Group, one of the nation's largest defence contractors. One of the investors in Carlyle - to the tune of at least $2million (£1.2m) - was the bin Laden family.
The campaigner says: "The bin Laden family have extensive dealings with large companies in the US. They have donated $2m to Bush's alma mater, Harvard. They own property in Texas, Florida and Massachusetts. In short, they have their hands deep in our pants."
5, JUST how sinister was the White House's doctoring of Bush's military record?
MOORE suggests that, far from being simply an exercise in proving that Bush attended to his Texas Air National Guard duties, the White House version also sought to hide evidence that Bush and his associates had close ties with various Saudi oil companies. He also suggests that a former military pal of Bush's, James R Bath, once sold a plane to the bin Laden family.
6, DID Bush miss an opportunity to nail bin Laden during secret talks with the Taliban?
MOORE claims that while Bush was governor of Texas he built a relationship with the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan. They met in Texas to discuss a project to build a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and into Pakistan.
Representatives of the Bush administration met the Taliban in the summer of 2001. Moore says they ignored the bin Laden issue and were pre-occupied with oil. He asks: "Was Bush discussing their offer to hand over bin Laden? Was he threatening them with force? Was he discussing a new pipeline?"
7, WHY does the Bush family have a "special relationship" with the Saudi royal family?
"MORE than 1.5 million barrels of oil needed in the US daily from the Saudis could vanish on a royal whim, so we begin to see how not only Bush, but all of us, are dependent on the House of Saud," says Moore. "This can't be good for national security."
Moore also refers to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the US, who is nicknamed Bandar Bush because of his close links with the president. Despite increasing evidence linking the September 11 atrocity to Saudi militants, Bush still met Prince Bandar for dinner two days later.
8, WAS Bush spending too much time on holiday to concentrate on terrorism?
BUSH was on holiday for 42 per cent of the eight months before September 11, letting his guard down, according to Moore. At a 9/11 commission hearing, CIA director George Tenet admitted he had known since August 2001 that Zacarias Moussaoui, the only man charged in connection with 9/11, had been taking lessons on how to fly a 747. Tenet claimed he didn't tell Bush because the president, "was on vacation".
9, DID Bush panic when he was told about the attack on the twin towers?
ON the morning of September 11, President Bush was posing for cameras at a children's literacy event in Florida.
Moore has previously unseen footage showing the rabbit-in-car-headlights expression on the president's face when he is told about the second plane hitting the twin towers.
A stopwatch appears in the corner of the screen, as the minutes tick by and the president keeps reading My Pet Goat, not knowing what to do without his advisers to tell him.
Moore says: "Was Bush thinking he should have taken reports the CIA had given him the month before more seriously? That he had been told al-Qaeda was planning attacks in the US and planes would possibly be used. Or was he scared witless?"
10, DID Bush manipulate the major US media companies to fix his 2000 election win?
BUSH'S cousin John Ellis, a Fox News executive, was instrumental in "calling it" for Bush/Cheney on election night and cowed the other networks into joining in. This confusion helped set the scene for the debacle that ended in his election despite Al Gore winning the popular majority.
At the start of Fahrenheit 9/11, the major players are seen smirking and preening themselves. "Here they are," Moore narrates, "the whole corrupt gang who fixed the 2000 election."
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im dying to see it. I hope it gets released and gets great promotion and anybody will have the chance to see it before the elections. american people have a right of knowing who they support. america is a free country and everybody has a right to express his opinon and his art. it's against the constitution to ban this movie.
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dam that looks interesting if it came out before the election bush will be fucked!
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hopefully it has more FACTS than bowling for columbine
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every point he made up there and im sure most of the movie is all stuff he talked about in his book "Dude! Where's My Country?"....and he makes very very good points. and yeah white boy...it does (the book) have a lot more facts than bowling for columbine. but then again...bowling for columbine had almost nothing to do with george w. bush.
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no george bush is not fucked by this movie and heres the reason why.
the only people that are going to watch this movie are bush haters (there are lots of them)
i know hundreds of people who love bush and will vote for him, but i always questioned why. With all the shit that hes has done....how could you still think so highly of him.
the answer is simple. The people just dont care. The american people dont concern themselves with issues that dont affect them personally.
when 911 came, that affected everyone they all though....am i next? Bush "said" he was fighting terrorism. and yea he bombed a couple taliban camps, so everyones like "cool he faught terrorism" then he said Iraq has WMD. (remember these WMD cant hit america) so from talking with alot of people. Everyone didnt really have an opinion about iraq war. (most people.) because
bush was doing something that didnt really matter to them either way.
The fact that the job market was at a horrible low didnt bother people who had jobs. So why get mad at a president when your doing ok? ive known people who were out of jobs for 2 years and couldnt find one they are pretty pissed at our government.
the fact that bush lowered our pollution standards doesnt affect anyone, because were not seeing any current affects of pollution, so why get mad at bush? theres no horrible acid in rain that melts skin...were doing fine.
Bush' patriot act takes away our constitutional freedoms (one for example.our government can get our personal info without a warrant. they can wiretap without a warrant.) but then again i havent done anything wrong....who cares.
i can go on and on, but you guys get the point. No matter what bush does he will still be loved. Another thing. Bush is a christian man. i know some christian families. They will vote for bush just because he has christian morals. Now im not dissing the religion. But to base a vote just by their religion is just plain fucked up.
in closing. Bush has a chance of winning. Bush is a mutha fucka. I want to see this moore movie. Fuck bush
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see i dont think that the only people that will watch it are the bush haters...only the stubborn bush lovers will be the ones to not watch it and then make comments on it anyway not to mention any names (cough*TRAUMA*cough). but i mean...my boss supports bush all the way but he watches micheal moores movies and he agrees with some of the things moore says as i do agree with some of the things bush says. its the people like the person i didn't mention above who automatically agree with every single thing the president says and wont even listen to anyone else on the matters that are the real downfall of this country. sadly they have no mind of their own.
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moore brings up a lot of good points but also at the same time when watching a michael moore movie u also got to remember it is coming from michael moore. a lot of what moore says is exagerated. He's a master at gettin people to mis-word themselves and say something that didnt mean to say. So take what Michael Moore says with a grain of salt. should be an interesting watch none the less tho
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moore brings up a lot of good points but also at the same time when watching a michael moore movie u also got to remember it is coming from michael moore. a lot of what moore says is exagerated. He's a master at gettin people to mis-word themselves and say something that didnt mean to say. So take what Michael Moore says with a grain of salt. should be an interesting watch none the less tho
perfectly said... like he mixes a LOT of Facts with a LOT of bullshit... throws it in a blender, makes a video easy enough for any ass to understand,
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Bush will prolly just have Moore whacked or something.
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some of you people must be bored as hell...looking forward to a moore movie just so he can talk shit about someone you don't like. you already hate bush, and you're gonna buy or rent a movie with your money, and make some dude's pocket fatter to listen to shit you already know or suspect.... why not just come to this board and i'll make up shit, and you can donate the money to seer
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That's funny, I like to think I keep up on the news.
Show me one place where Bush talked about "Banning" this film.
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Friends,
I would have hoped by now that I would be able to put my work out to the public without having to experience the profound censorship obstacles I often seem to encounter.
Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The reason? According to today's (May 5) New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. The story is on page one of the Times and you can read it here (Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush).
The whole story behind this (and other attempts) to kill our movie will be told in more detail as the days and weeks go on. For nearly a year, this struggle has been a lesson in just how difficult it is in this country to create a piece of art that might upset those in charge (well, OK, sorry -- it WILL upset them...big time. Did I mention it's a comedy?). All I can say is, thank God for Harvey Weinstein and Miramax who have stood by me during the entire production of this movie.
There is much more to tell, but right now I am in the lab working on the print to take to the Cannes Film Festival next week (we have been chosen as one of the 18 films in competition). I will tell you this: Some people may be afraid of this movie because of what it will show. But there's nothing they can do about it now because it's done, it's awesome, and if I have anything to say about it, you'll see it this summer -- because, after all, it is a free country.
Yours,
Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com
i read this about a month ago, and figured it was changed since then, but incase you dont want to read this whole thing. Yep those awesome tax cuts working to help the little people.
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You're late rampart...
Moore already admitted that was just a publicity stunt.
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Bush wouldn't want to Ban a film, no matter how bad it makes him look.
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You're late rampart...
Moore already admitted that was just a publicity stunt.
dammit im slow
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You're late rampart...
Moore already admitted that was just a publicity stunt.
When did he do that?
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He didn't "admit" it, but it's obvious that's what it was.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=51890
Moore accused of publicity stunt over Disney 'ban'
By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
07 May 2004
Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it.
The admission, during an interview with CNN, undermined Moore's claim that Disney was trying to sabotage the US release of Fahrenheit 911 just days before its world premiere at the Cannes film festival.
Instead, it lent credence to a growing suspicion that Moore was manufacturing a controversy to help publicise the film, a full-bore attack on the Bush administration and its handling of national security since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
In an indignant letter to his supporters, Moore said he had learnt only on Monday that Disney had put the kibosh on distributing the film, which has been financed by the semi-independent Disney subsidiary Miramax.
But in the CNN interview he said: "Almost a year ago, after we'd started making the film, the chairman of Disney, Michael Eisner, told my agent he was upset Miramax had made the film and he will not distribute it."
Nobody in Hollywood doubts Fahrenheit 911 will find a US distributor. His last documentary, Bowling for Columbine , made for $3m (£1.7m), pulled in $22m at the US box office.
But Moore's publicity stunt, if that is what is, appears to be working. A front-page news piece in The New York Times was followed yesterday by an editorial denouncing Disney for censorship and denial of Moore's right to free expression.
Moore told CNN that Disney had "signed a contract to distribute this [film]" but got cold feet. But Disney executives insists there was never any contract. And a source close to Miramax said that the only deal there was for financing, not for distribution.
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But the fact hasnt changed that Disney wont distribute the film because of the reasons moore gave right?
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It was not a publicity stunt.
Friday, May 7th, 2004
When You Wish Upon A Star… by Michael Moore
Dear Friends,
Thank you for all the incredible letters of support as my film crew and I once again slog our way through the corporate media madhouse. Does it ever end? Are we ever going to get control of our "free press" again? Can you wish upon a star?
The Disney spin machine has been working overtime dealing with this censorship debacle of theirs. I don't think they thought they would ever be outed. After all, they know that all of us are supposed to adhere to the unwritten Hollywood Code: Never tell the public how business is done here, never let them have a peek at the man behind the curtain.
Disney has been hoping for nearly a year that they could keep this thing quiet. As I promised on Wednesday, here are the details behind my sordid adventure with the Magic Kingdom:
In April of 2003, I signed a deal with Miramax, a division of the Walt Disney Co., to finance and distribute my next movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. (The original financier had backed out; I will tell that story at a later date.) In my contract it is stated that Miramax will distribute my film in the U.S. through Disney's distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution. It also gives Miramax the rights to distribute and sell the movie around the world.
A month later, after shooting started, Michael Eisner insisted on meeting with my agent, Ari Emanuel. Eisner was furious that Miramax signed this deal with me. According to Mr. Emanuel, Eisner said he would never let my film be distributed through Disney even though Mr. Eisner had not seen any footage or even read the outline of the film. Eisner told my agent that he did not want to anger Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida. The movie, he believed, would complicate an already complicated situation with current and future Disney projects in Florida, and that many millions of dollars of tax breaks and incentives were at stake.
But Michael Eisner did not call Miramax and tell them to stop my film. Not only that, for the next year, SIX MILLION dollars of DISNEY money continued to flow into the production of making my movie. Miramax assured me that there were no distribution problems with my film.
But then, a few weeks ago when Fahrenheit 9/11 was selected to be in the Cannes Film Festival, Disney sent a low-level production executive to New York to watch the film (to this day, Michael Eisner has not seen the film). This exec was enthusiastic throughout the viewing. He laughed, he cried and at the end he thanked us. "This film is explosive," he exclaimed, and we took that as a positive sign. But “explosive” for these guys is only a good word when it comes to blowing up things in movies. OUR kind of “explosive” is what they want to run from as fast as they can.
Miramax did their best to convince Disney to go ahead as planned with our film. Disney contractually can only stop Miramax from releasing a film if it has received an NC-17 rating (ours will be rated PG-13 or R).
According to yesterday's New York Times, the issue of whether to release Fahrenheit 9/11 was discussed at Disney's board meeting last week. It was decided that Disney should not distribute our movie.
Earlier this week we got the final, official call: Disney will not put out Fahrenheit 9/11. When the story broke in the New York Times, Disney, instead of telling the truth, turned into Pinocchio.
Here are my favorite nuggets that have come out of the mouths of their spinmeisters (roughly quoted):
"Michael Moore has known for a year that we will not distribute this movie, so this is not news." Yes, that is what I thought, too, except Disney kept sending us all that money to make the movie. Miramax said there was no problem. I got the idea that everything was fine.
"It is not in the best interests of our company to distribute a partisan political film that may offend some of our customers." Hmmm. Disney doesn't distribute work that has partisan politics? Disney distributes and syndicates the Sean Hannity radio show every day? I get to listen to Rush Limbaugh every day on Disney-owned WABC. I also seem to remember that Disney distributed a very partisan political movie during a Congressional election year, 1998—a film called The Big One… by, um… ME!
"Fahrenheit 9/11 is not the Disney brand; we put out family oriented films." So true. That's why the #1 Disney film in theaters right now is a film called, KILL BILL, VOL. 2. This excellent Miramax film, along with other classics like Pulp Fiction, have all been distributed by Disney. That's why Miramax exists -- to provide an ALTERNATIVE to the usual Disney fare. And, unless they were NC-17, Disney has distributed them.
"Mr. Moore is doing this as a publicity stunt." Michael Eisner reportedly said this the other day while he was at a publicity stunt cutting the ribbon for the new "Tower of Terror" ride (what a pleasant name considering what the country has gone through recently) at Disney's California Adventure Park. Let me tell you something: NO filmmaker wants to go through this kind of controversy. It does NOT sell tickets (I can cite many examples of movies who have had to change distributors at the last minute and all have failed). I made this movie so people could see it as soon as possible. This is a huge and unwanted distraction. I want people discussing the issues raised in my film, not some inside Hollywood fracas surrounding who is going to ship the prints to the theaters. Plus, I think it is fairly safe to say that Fahrenheit 9/11 has a good chance of doing just fine, considering that my last movie set a box office record and the subject matter (Bush, the War on Terror, the War in Iraq) is at the forefront of most people's minds.
So what will happen to my movie? I still don't know. What I do know is that I will make sure all of you see it by hook or crook. We are Americans. There are a lot of screwed up things about us right now, but one thing that most of us have in common is that we don't like someone telling us we can't see something. We despise censors, and the worst censors are those who would dare to limit thoughts and ideas and silence dissent. THAT is un-American. If I have to travel across the country and show it in city parks (or, as one person offered yesterday, to show it on the side of his house for the neighborhood to see), that is what I will do.
More to come, stay tuned.
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
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It was not a publicity stunt.
What is it then?
Here's Moores M.O.
1. Wait for the tragic murder of people (high schools or office buildings, either will work)
2. Make politically biased, misleading, and fraudulent documentaries playing on the general ignorance and cynicism of the American public.
3.PROFIT!!
"If you're going to dedicate your career to ranting about the excesses of American capitalism, you probably shouldn't weigh 450 pounds." -Greg Giraldo on Michael Moore