Saturday May 19, 2007, 12:30 am
Friends,

It's a wrap! My new film, "Sicko," is all done and will have its world premiere this Saturday night at the Cannes Film Festival. As with "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," we are honored to have been chosen by this prestigious festival to screen our work there.

My intention was to keep "Sicko" under wraps and show it to virtually no one before its premiere in Cannes. That is what I have done and, as you may have noticed if you are a recipient of my infrequent Internet letters, I have been very silent about what I've been up to. In part, that's because I was working very hard to complete the film. But my silence was also because I knew that the health care industry -- an industry which makes up more than 15 percent of our GDP -- was not going to like much of what they were going to see in this movie and I thought it best not to upset them any sooner than need be.

Well, going quietly to Cannes, I guess, was not to be. For some strange reason, on May 2nd the Bush administration initiated an action against me over how I obtained some of the content they believe is in my film. As none of them have actually seen the film (or so I hope!), they decided, unlike with "Fahrenheit 9/11," not to wait until the film was out of the gate and too far down the road to begin their attack.

Bush's Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, launched an investigation of a trip I took to Cuba to film scenes for the movie. These scenes involve a group of 9/11 rescue workers who are suffering from illnesses obtained from working down at Ground Zero. They have received little or no help with their health care from the government. I do not want to give away what actually happens in the movie because I don't want to spoil it for you (although I'm sure you'll hear much about it after it unspools Saturday). Plus, our lawyers have advised me to say little at this point, as the film goes somewhere far scarier than "Cuba." Rest assured of one thing: no laws were broken. All I've done is violate the modern-day rule of journalism that says, "ask no questions of those in power or your luncheon privileges will be revoked."

This preemptive action taken by the Bush administration on the eve of the "Sicko" premiere in Cannes led our attorneys to fear for the safety of our film, noting that Secretary Paulson may try to claim that the content of the movie was obtained through a violation of the trade embargo that our country has against Cuba and the travel laws that prohibit average citizens of our free country from traveling to Cuba. (The law does not prohibit anyone from exercising their first amendment right of a free press and documentaries are protected works of journalism.)

I was floored when our lawyers told me this. "Are you saying they might actually confiscate our movie?" "Yes," was the answer. "These days, anything is possible. Even if there is just a 20 percent chance the government would seize our movie before Cannes, does anyone want to take that risk?"

Certainly not. So there we were last week, spiriting a duplicate master negative out of the country just so no one from the government would take it from us. (Seriously, I can't believe I just typed those words! Did I mention that I'm an American, and this is America and NO ONE should ever have to say they had to do such a thing?)

I mean, folks, I have just about had it. Investigating ME because I'm trying to help some 9/11 rescue workers our government has abandoned? Once again, up is down and black is white. There are only two people in need of an investigation and a trial, and the desire for this across America is so widespread you don't even need to see the one's smirk or hear the other's sneer to know who I am talking about.

But no, I'm the one who now has to hire lawyers and sneak my documentary out of the country just so people can see a friggin' movie. I mean, it's just a movie! What on earth could I have placed on celluloid that would require such a nonsensical action against me?

Ok. Scratch that.

Well, I'm on my way to Cannes right now, a copy of the movie in my bag. Don't feel too bad for me, I'll be in the south of France for a week! But then it's back to the U.S. for a number of premieres and benefits and then, finally, a chance for all of you to see this film that I have made. Circle June 29th on your calendar because that's when it opens in theaters everywhere across the country and Canada (for the rest of the world, it opens in the fall).

I can't wait for you to see it.

Yours,

Michael Moore

P.S. I will write more about what happens from Cannes. Stay tuned on my website, MichaelMoore.com.

Saturday May 19, 2007, 10:37 am
Thanks Helen for posting this! It's a great read . . . and accordingly, is great advertisement for the film as noted by Peter!!! Well done both of you! Go Michael!!! =)

Saturday May 19, 2007, 1:21 pm
Thanx Helen - Great. Noted
Love & Light

Saturday May 19, 2007, 2:17 pm
Big Medicine has deep pockets! Watch your back Michael!

Saturday May 19, 2007, 5:32 pm
US government trying to seize new Michael Moore film, says producer
Harvey Weinstein fires latest shot in battle over healthcare documentary

Charlotte Higgins in Cannes
Saturday May 19, 2007

Guardian

Cannes is smacking its lips in anticipation of filmmaker and provocateur Michael Moore's latest jeremiad against the US administration, which receives its premiere at the film festival today. Sicko, a documentary tackling the state of American healthcare, focuses on the pharmaceutical giants, and particularly on health insurers.
The film has already caused Moore - who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2004 with Fahrenheit 911 - to clash with the American authorities. Now, according to movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Company is behind the film, the US government is attempting to impound the negative.

According to Weinstein, the US Treasury's moves meant "we had to fly the movie to another country"- he would not say to where. "Let the secret service find that out - though this is the same country that thought there were weapons of mass destruction, so they'll never find it." He added that he feared that if the film were impounded, there might be attempts to cut some footage, in particular the last 20 minutes, which related to a trip to Cuba. This, said Weinstein, "would not be good."

In March, Moore travelled to the Caribbean island with a group of emergency workers from New York's Ground Zero to see whether they would receive better care under the Castro regime than they had under George Bush. He had applied for permission to travel in October 2006 and received no reply.

In a letter dated May 2, the treasury department notified Moore that it was investigating him for unlicensed travel to Cuba, or, as the missive put it, engaging in "travel-related transactions involving Cuba."

Now team Moore is hitting back. Weinstein has hired an attorney, David Boies, who has lodged a request under the US freedom of information act to find out what motivated the treasury to begin its investigation. "They have to tell us why they did it and what they did," said Weinstein. "And they are not too happy about it."

Weinstein believes the investigation has a political agenda. "We want to find out who motivated this. We suspect there may be interference from another office," he said. "Otherwise, I don't understand why this would have come about."

Weinstein named no suspects in this putative political interference, but referred to outspoken critics of Moore on the Republican right - who tend to accuse him of peddling propaganda rather than of undertaking serious journalism - including presidential hopeful Bob Thompson.

"Senator Thompson has come out with a tirade against Michael. Michael said he'd debate him, but Thompson turned him down," said Weinstein.

He also said that insurers and pharmaceutical companies had "already sent out letters advising employees how to react when the film comes out".

Weinstein appeared to be enjoying the brouhaha that the film is stirring up before it has even screened. "I've already told the Treasury that they are saving me money on advertising."

In Cannes, the Weinstein Company's offices are decorated with a mural of the rotund Moore sitting in a hospital waiting area flanked by a pair of skeletons, and Sicko sticking plasters are being given away as promotional gifts.

Moore's underlying thesis in Sicko relates to the structure of American society. "Others see themselves as a collective that sinks or swims together," he told Variety.

"It's important to have a safety net and free universal health care. In America, unfortunately, we're more focused on what's in it for me. It's every man for himself. If you're sick and have lost a job, it's not my problem. Don't bother me."

The insurance companies are a negative force, he believes. "They get in the way of taking care of those who are ill. They make it worse. We don't need them," he said.

The health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, may be surprised by Moore's ringing - if strictly speaking, factually inaccurate - endorsement for the NHS. "The poorest Brit is healthier and lives longer than the wealthiest American," he said.

Of his journalistic style, he said: "It's the op-ed page. You don't say that's not journalism. I present my opinion, my take on things, based on indisputable facts. They could be wrong. I think they're right." Moore's biggest hit to date has been Fahrenheit 911, which took $222m (£112m) worldwide. He made Bowling For Columbine, his acclaimed film about US gun culture, in 2002. The rightwing backlash has spawned a number of documentaries questioning his methods, including Rick Caine and Debbie Melnyk's Manufacturing Dissent. Moore has hired Al Gore's former press secretary, Chris Lehane, to help him to deal with "the forces I'm up against".

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

Saturday May 19, 2007, 10:48 pm
´Thanx for that, Sunshine, the original story seems to have gone missing at that link. I wonder why ?

Sunday May 20, 2007, 4:26 am
I gotta see this movie!

Sunday May 20, 2007, 7:45 am
the link goes bad and many are being taken off the web faster and faster when it comes to governments, except mainstream usa media, I always try to post the articlle undernearth for that reason and for the disabled and those with slow computers, also brings it up on the comments board :)

Sunday May 20, 2007, 8:03 am
Michael Moore hiding new film from US authorities: producer

AFP
Thursday May 17, 2007

Michael Moore, the controversial documentary maker critical of President George W. Bush's White House, is hiding his latest movie from US authorities ahead of its screening at Cannes, his producer said Wednesday.

"The film has been placed in a secret location outside the country (outside the United States)," a spokeswoman for the Weinstein Company, Sarah Levanson-Rothman, told AFP.

Moore, who won the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2004 with "Fahrenheit 9/11", is due to present "Sicko", his new documentary which takes a scathing look at the US health industry and its powerful insurance lobby, at the film festival on Saturday.

He is currently being investigated by US authorities for making a February trip to Cuba for a segment in the film in which he takes emergency workers from Ground Zero, the New York site of the September 11, 2001 attacks, to the communist island for medical treatment.


Washington maintains an embargo on Cuba and restricts travel by US citizens there, with exceptions for special cases such as journalists, politicians and those with family on the island. Violators face fines of a few thousand dollars.

Harvey Weinstein, owner of the Weinstein Company, said that a letter sent to Moore by the US treasury department "suggests that the Bush administration is proactively trying to discredit the film," and that his firm had "taken steps to protect the negative of the film.

"We are doing everything in our power to ensure that it premieres in its entirety on Saturday night in Cannes," he said in a statement.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Michael_Moore_hiding_new_film_from__05162007.html

Sunday May 20, 2007, 8:10 am
See the good thing about Prisonplanet.com is if they pull the original story of the net, PP archives it, so they have it on hard drive.
The original link is still good here

http://film.guardian.co.uk/cannes2007/story/0,,2083430,00.html



US government trying to seize new Michael Moore film, says producer

Charlotte Higgins
London Guardian
Saturday May 19, 2007

Cannes is smacking its lips in anticipation of filmmaker and provocateur Michael Moore's latest jeremiad against the US administration, which receives its premiere at the film festival today. Sicko, a documentary tackling the state of American healthcare, focuses on the pharmaceutical giants, and particularly on health insurers.

The film has already caused Moore - who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2004 with Fahrenheit 911 - to clash with the American authorities. Now, according to movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Company is behind the film, the US government is attempting to impound the negative.

According to Weinstein, the US Treasury's moves meant "we had to fly the movie to another country"- he would not say to where. "Let the secret service find that out - though this is the same country that thought there were weapons of mass destruction, so they'll never find it." He added that he feared that if the film were impounded, there might be attempts to cut some footage, in particular the last 20 minutes, which related to a trip to Cuba. This, said Weinstein, "would not be good."
In March, Moore travelled to the Caribbean island with a group of emergency workers from New York's Ground Zero to see whether they would receive better care under the Castro regime than they had under George Bush. He had applied for permission to travel in October 2006 and received no reply.

In a letter dated May 2, the treasury department notified Moore that it was investigating him for unlicensed travel to Cuba, or, as the missive put it, engaging in "travel-related transactions involving Cuba."

Now team Moore is hitting back. Weinstein has hired an attorney, David Boies, who has lodged a request under the US freedom of information act to find out what motivated the treasury to begin its investigation. "They have to tell us why they did it and what they did," said Weinstein. "And they are not too happy about it."


Weinstein believes the investigation has a political agenda. "We want to find out who motivated this. We suspect there may be interference from another office," he said. "Otherwise, I don't understand why this would have come about."

Weinstein named no suspects in this putative political interference, but referred to outspoken critics of Moore on the Republican right - who tend to accuse him of peddling propaganda rather than of undertaking serious journalism - including presidential hopeful Bob Thompson.

"Senator Thompson has come out with a tirade against Michael. Michael said he'd debate him, but Thompson turned him down," said Weinstein.

He also said that insurers and pharmaceutical companies had "already sent out letters advising employees how to react when the film comes out".

Weinstein appeared to be enjoying the brouhaha that the film is stirring up before it has even screened. "I've already told the Treasury that they are saving me money on advertising."

In Cannes, the Weinstein Company's offices are decorated with a mural of the rotund Moore sitting in a hospital waiting area flanked by a pair of skeletons, and Sicko sticking plasters are being given away as promotional gifts.

Moore's underlying thesis in Sicko relates to the structure of American society. "Others see themselves as a collective that sinks or swims together," he told Variety.

"It's important to have a safety net and free universal health care. In America, unfortunately, we're more focused on what's in it for me. It's every man for himself. If you're sick and have lost a job, it's not my problem. Don't bother me."

The insurance companies are a negative force, he believes. "They get in the way of taking care of those who are ill. They make it worse. We don't need them," he said.

The health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, may be surprised by Moore's ringing - if strictly speaking, factually inaccurate - endorsement for the NHS. "The poorest Brit is healthier and lives longer than the wealthiest American," he said.

Of his journalistic style, he said: "It's the op-ed page. You don't say that's not journalism. I present my opinion, my take on things, based on indisputable facts. They could be wrong. I think they're right." Moore's biggest hit to date has been Fahrenheit 911, which took $222m (£112m) worldwide. He made Bowling For Columbine, his acclaimed film about US gun culture, in 2002. The rightwing backlash has spawned a number of documentaries questioning his methods, including Rick Caine and Debbie Melnyk's Manufacturing Dissent. Moore has hired Al Gore's former press secretary, Chris Lehane, to help him to deal with "the forces I'm up against".

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/may2007/190507Moore.htm

Sunday May 20, 2007, 10:13 pm
This movie is a MUST SEE!! Thanks Peter, ad the rest for the articles. NOTED!!

Monday May 21, 2007, 5:45 am
Well, Bush has just ensured that I will do my best to see it when it comes out!

Isn't it time this tyrant was taken down?

Monday May 21, 2007, 6:18 am
Thanks for this Post. You always keep things very interesting. I ejoy all the news from You. Thanks.

Monday May 21, 2007, 11:49 am
The CORRUPT Health Care and EQUALLY CORRUPT Insurance Industries, which are hand-in-glove with the CORRUPT Bush and RepugliCON mis-Administration, are SQUIRMING at being FOUND OUT and NAILED. They will stop at NOTHING to "discredit" the film. A FAVORITE tactic, is to present Michael Moore as an "EGOTIST". Well, WE SURE NEED A LOT MORE EGOTISTS LIKE MICHAEL MOORE!!! Michael Moore is EGOTISTICAL enough, to present himself as a FAR, FAR BETTER HUMAN BEING than the TOTALLY CORRUPT CEOs of the mega-bucks industries he attacks. Those CEOs aren't "Egotists" like Michael Moore, oh no; they are just LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK as they pocket the dollars squeezed out of the poor suckers who are so unfortunate as to get sick and fall into their clutches! Or buy their WORTHLESS insurance that, when push comes to shove, OF COURSE DOESN'T PAY WHAT WAS PROMISED! Suckers! Watch OUT for dangerous "Egotists" like Michael Moore!

Monday May 21, 2007, 5:02 pm
God Bless Mr. Moore for being a champion of truth.

Friday May 25, 2007, 8:00 am
all the power to Mr. Moore

Saturday May 26, 2007, 12:44 pm
I hope Mike gives his biggest slap in the face to Bush yet! Can't wait to see the movie.

Sunday May 27, 2007, 6:39 pm
I agree with Catman Purrfect, Sandra W and Nichole P. Thanks for the film I can't wait to see the movie. Noted