INDEX - AMERICAN POLITICSwww.islandbreath.org ID# 0407-12
SUBJECT: MEDIA CONGLOMERATIONPOSTED: 5 May 2004 - 1:00pm
As always, Disney is afraid of Free Speech
Michael Moore asks a US Congressman to volunteer for military duty in Iraq
MoveOn.org is helping get out the news about Disney decision
Oscar-winning director Michael Moore has finished his latest documentary, but The Walt Disney Company is refusing to let the American public see it.
The film, "Fahrenheit 911," is critical of President Bush's actions before and after Sept. 11 and describes Bush's relationships with powerful Saudi families, including that of Osama bin Laden.
According to the New York Times, Moore's agent says embattled Disney chief Michael Eisner feared the documentary could endanger the company's tax breaks in Florida, where Bush's brother, Jeb, is governor.
We can't let corporate favors for politicians dictate what movies we see. Tell Disney to show us Michael Moore's documentary:
Louis Meisinger
Executive Vice President
The Walt Disney Company
Phone: (818) 560-1000
If the line is busy, call a Disney store near you. The salespeople aren't responsible for this decision, but ask them to pass your concerns on to the manager. To find the Disney store nearest you, click here. Finally, if you own any Disney stock, call:
Wendy Webb, Investor Relations
The Walt Disney Company
Phone: (818) 560-5758
Let us know that you've called:
http://moveon.org/disney_moore.html?id=2791-604822-BJsZNtIqb0gbkYhXUf7YpA
The documentary, which heads to the prestigious Cannes film festival next week, was expected to be distributed by Miramax this summer. But Disney, which owns Miramax, blocked the plan. Denying allegations of political favoritism, Disney said it doesn't want to be involved with a partisan film.
Moore responded, "If this is partisan in any way it is partisan on the side of the poor and working people in this country who provide fodder for this war machine."
The film details financial connections between the Bush family and powerful Saudi Arabian families over the last thirty years, including the evacuation of Osama bin Laden's relatives from the United States two days after Sept. 11. Also included are American soldiers in Iraq describing their doubts about the justification for war.
Michael Moore has commented, "At some point the question has to be asked, 'Should this be happening in a free and open society where the monied interests essentially call the shots regarding the information that the public is allowed to see?' "
Pau