Fahrenheit 9/11 update

Michael Moore's sensational documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 
has been bought personally from the Walt Disney Co. by the 
founders of Miramax film studio, Harvey and Bob Weinstein.

Miramax had funded the film but Disney, which owns the art-house 
studio, had refused to distribute the movie, saying the 
documentary and its criticism of President Bush's war on Iraq 
were too politically charged.

Miramax will arrange for theatrical and home video distribution 
and are thought to have paid Disney US$6 million for the rights.

The movie might still show in US theatres well before the 
November presidential election with its unflattering portrait of 
Bush. Conservatives fear that it will influence the election 
outcome against Bush.

Fahrenheit 9/11 won this month the Palme d'Or, the highest 
award of France's Cannes film festival, with its portrayal of 
families affected by the war and the Bush government's policies 
following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade 
Centre.

Interest in the film around the world is so great that it is 
expected to meet or beat the box-office performance of Bowling 
for Columbine, which set a record for a US documentary with 
US$21.6 million in ticket sales.