Moore’s Anti-Bush Movie Screened In Cannes

"I’ve always been confident it would be released because I always figured I’d release it myself if worst came to worst. There wasn’t any way I was going to allow this film to be shelved," Moore told Reuters Tuesday, May 18.

The documentary, which savages U.S. President George W. Bush for his decision to invade Iraq , was the most sought-after screening at the festival, which has put it in the basket of 19 movies vying for Cannes ‘s prestigious Palme d’Or prize.

The Walt Disney corporation has blocked the distribution of the movie, fearing its involvement could affect tax breaks the company gets from the state of Florida , where Bush’s brother Jeb is governor, reported the Guardian Thursday, May 6.

"We started working on it before the Iraq war, and as the war started to take shape, the movie also followed that" Moore said.

For him the film’s real usefulness will not be an award but rather in prompting Americans to overwhelmingly vote Bush out of office in the November elections.

"I’m trying to fix the problem, and the problem is in the White House," the bearded director told journalists.

His new film, he said, is "like a mystery unraveling, it will be like Toto pulling back the curtain".

‘Most Dangerous Film’

Moore accused right-wing politicians close to Bush of trying to keep the film from being screened in the United States before the November poll.

"I’ve known since the beginning that there was going to be potential conflict between [Disney CEO] Michael Eisner and [Miramax co-chairman] Harvey Weinstein," he told Reuters.

"The fundamental reason we don’t have a distributor was because the report that Eisner received from the Disney executive [who saw the film on April 23] is that this film isn’t just going to stir up the choir, it’s going to reach other people, and the word the executive used in describing it to Eisner was ‘explosive.’ Harvey said to me, ‘It’s the most dangerous film he’s ever released’," added Moore .

"Americans, when they see ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’, will see things they have never seen before, because the U.S. media in Iraq are not doing their job."

In a statement on his website, Moore , 50, said: "I would have hoped by now that I would be able to put my work out to the public without having to experience the profound censorship obstacles I often seem to encounter".

"At some point, the question has to be asked, ‘Should this be happening in a free and open society where monied interests essentially call the shots regarding information that the public is allowed to see?’"

The two-hour documentary starts with the incredulity created by Bush’s ascension to the presidency four years ago, then moves on to the 9/11 attacks before looking at the invasion of Iraq and the pain it is causing in that country and in the U.S., according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

All of it is told with Moore ‘s folksy narrative and deft juxtaposition of images and music to get his view across with humor and the occasional shock.

It touches on the Bush family’s ties to the family of Saudi-born Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The collapse of the U.S. case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, the deaths and disillusionment of U.S. soldiers have also been covered.

The film includes evidence of Bush’s links to Saudi oil money and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners — even though Moore shows nothing as damning as the torture photos that have recently come to light.

It features, as well, footage of Bush on vacation, staring blankly or frequently misspeaking to provide amusement.

"This time I was the straight man and Bush spoke the funniest lines," said Moore, who won his Oscar for his previous movie "Bowling for Columbine".

Moore used his Oscar winning speech on March 23, 2003 , to launch a diatribe on wartime Bush, saying that "fictitious election" results in "fictitious presidents", referring to Bush’s controversial 2000 election victory.