Big Picture
Good Morning, Nicki! Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (700)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (606)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (504)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (399)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (397)
- Twitter Name Change: Introducing @Ted_Casablanca (300)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (223)
Top 10 Stories
- Whitney Houston's Funeral: "Totally Opposite" of Michael Jackson's
- Oscar Winner Marcia Gay Harden Files for Divorce
- Matt Bomer Comes Out as Gay: "So Proud of Him," Says White Collar Costar
- So True? So False? Is Jessica Simpson Really Going on The Biggest Loser?!
- Kids' Choice Nominations Are In: Harry Potter, Tim Tebow, Taylor Swift and More Score Nods
- Teen Mom's Amber Portwood Headed to Halfway House Drug Program
- Did Stephen Colbert Shut Down Report Due to Mother's "Serious Illness"?
- One Tree Hill's Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols Break Up
- Awkward Alert: Jon Stewart's Underwear Joke Hits Close to Home With David Letterman
- Jennifer Lopez Tweets, Then Deletes, Steamy Casper Smart Shot—Check It Out!
Fashion Police
Our Partners
Moore Keeps Lid on Berg Footage
Here's a switch: Michael Moore is going out of his way to avoid controversy.
The gadfly filmmaker, whose latest hot potato of a documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 won the Cannes Film Festival's coveted Palme d'Or last week, announced that he has unused interview footage of Nick Berg, the American hostage beheaded earlier this month in Iraq by Islamic extremists.
Moore said that the "footage is approximately 20 minutes long" and he had no plans to release any of it to the media.
"It is not in the film. We are dealing privately with the family," he said in a statement.
The death of Berg, a 26-year-old contractor from West Chester, Pennsylvania, who was working independently in Iraq, caused a firestorm when a video of his beheading turned up on an Arabic-language Website.
Moore's camp declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the interview or its contents. Berg's parents could not be reached for comment.
In Fahrenheit 9/11, the writer-director links the Bush family with the family of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and offers a blistering indictment of the President's policies before and after September 11 and in the months leading up to the Iraq War.
Walt Disney Company backed out from distributing the picture through its Miramax division. CEO Michael Eisner said the Mouse House did not want to release a political film in the heat of an election season and offend its core family audience.
That prompted Miramax co-chairs Harvey and Bob Weinstein to buy the film from Disney.
In a joint statement Friday, Disney and Miramax said the Weinsteins had been granted control over the film's release, including home video rights. According to reports, the Weinsteins paid about $6 million for the film.
Disney and Miramax said any proceeds they receive will be donated to charity.
This isn't the first time the Weinsteins have had to take over a film from gun-shy Disney. They previously had to secure new deals for Kevin Smith's Dogma, which Lions Gate distributed, and Larry Clark's Kids, which they distributed themselves independent of Miramax.
The Weinsteins have decided to go the latter route this time, even though Lions Gate, Focus Features and Newmarket had reportedly made offers to be the U.S. distributor of Fahrenheit 9/11.
Moore's polemic--which drew a 20-minute standing ovation at its Cannes screening--already has distribution deals in every major market outside the U.S., including that box-office hotspot, Albania.
Moore has said he hopes a distribution deal is done soon and he can release the film over the July 4 weekend, but the Weinsteins say the film won't likely be released until mid-July.
0 Comments
Now loading...