FAHRENHEIT 9/11

A scene from Fahrenheit 9/11: Michael Moore is stopped by the secret service outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington, D.C.

Miramax toppers Harvey and Bob Weinstein has been given the greenlight to privately buy back the rights to Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 from Disney, ending speculation about the fate of Michael Moore’s latest film, at least for now. (The film, which premiers this Monday in competition at the Festival de Cannes, has yet to secure a U.S. distributor.)

“We are very happy that Disney has agreed to allow Bob and Harvey to buy back the company’s entire financial interest in Fahrenheit 9/11,” Miramax senior vp of corporate communications Matthew Hilzik is quoted as saying in Variety.

Disney had previously vetoed the release of the film, saying “it was not appropriate for Disney, a family entertainment company, to be the distributor of a politically charged movie in an election year.” (However, as Moore has since pointed out, Disney and its various TV and radio channels do air programs featuring Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson.)

Fahrenheit 9/11 is reportedly critical of President Bush’s handling of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and connects the Bush family with Osama Bin Laden’s.

Meanwhile, Michael Moore complains on his Web site: “This morning, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal — who has not seen the film — has decided, instead, to review a ‘synopsis’ of the film. That’s right, a ‘synopsis’ from a fax of an early version of a press release someone gave him from the studio. Based on this, he accuses the film of being inaccurate. But guess what? Everything he says about the film in his column is completely false. I mean, seriously, NOTHING of what he describes is in the film!

“Most real journalists would be embarrassed to do such a thing. What’s next — ‘I can’t see the film, I can’t see the synopsis — so I’m reviewing the poster!’ I worry that Fahrenheit 9/11 is already driving otherwise sane people to lunacy.”