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Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Disney buries movie to save tax-breaks

According to the New York Times, Disney has killed the distribution of Michael Moore's new movie, Farenheit 911, which traces the links between the Bush family and Saudis like Osama bin Laden.


Mr. Moore's agent, Ari Emanuel, said Michael D. Eisner, Disney's chief executive, asked him last spring to pull out of the deal with Miramax. Mr. Emanuel said Mr. Eisner expressed particular concern that it would endanger tax breaks Disney receives for its theme park, hotels and other ventures in Florida, where Mr. Bush's brother, Jeb, is governor.


"Michael Eisner asked me not to sell this movie to Harvey Weinstein; that doesn't mean I listened to him," Mr. Emanuel said. "He definitely indicated there were tax incentives he was getting for the Disney corporation and that's why he didn't want me to sell it to Miramax. He didn't want a Disney company involved."


NYT Link

via [Boing Boing] and others...
Does this piss you off yet??


posted by jeremy at 09:13 AM | On This Day: 2003 2002

visitor chattering

this makes me very mad. I think its so funny that the right keeps refering to the Liberal Media, when the "Liberal Media" won't even release a movie that might be critical of the president. I honestly fear for this country on that path that it is on.

posted by: bill on May 5, 2004 10:28 PM

Hmmm. Not quite. Moore admitted today he knew last May that Disney was not going to release the movie. He made all of the fuss yesterday, he now says, for a P.R. stunt.

So, you can go back to sleep now.

posted by: Kevin on May 6, 2004 5:53 PM

On a completely different topic (although, as a filmmaker, I have found this narrative about Moore very interesting), I'm wondering about your photos of Italy... I'm researching infor on Pisa, Pontedera etc for a doc that will air on Cdn Public Television and have been asked to dig up photos of the area. Yours look beautiful... Can we talk?

K-R

posted by: K-Roo on May 11, 2004 7:24 PM

He won't have any problem finding a distributor now that his film has won Cannes film festival's Palme d'Or award. I can't wait to see it. He's hoping for a July 4th release.

posted by: Sandy on May 31, 2004 4:57 PM