A very short file, but no fan wants to miss this one for sure! Spreeblick has it! DOWNLOAD FOR FREE! WHEW! By the way, I thought that For love of the film (great idea!) and The Sith Apprentice, winners of the Star Wars fan film-contest in Cannes, were really funny!

Ok, I liked it, it's funny, but then again Romeros "Dawn of the Dead" was kind of funny too.

"In Summer 2005, Terry Gilliam's project The Brothers Grimm is to reach cinema screens.(...) Guy Dyas, the film's Production Designer, shares with us many of his Grimm sketches and provides a commentary on each one." The Terry Gilliam Fanzine Dreams has more

"Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino still has a mighty dream: for Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger to join his BIG world war II epic film Inglorious Bastards. Tarantino: 'I've said it once and I am going to say it again. I want Bruce, Sly and Arnold for my World War II epic. I have always dream of having these 3 superstars together in a movie. Initially Inglorious Bastards was suppose to be in production way back in 1998 with these casts but I shifted my attention on my other projects such as Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction and Sin City. And right now I think it's the best time to have them. I am very well free right now to focus on this big project that I have had in mind for quite a number of years,'said Tarantino. 'I am very well getting this into production this year for a 2006 release'. When asked about Arnold being governor, Tarantino said: 'Yes he is Governor and he has his movie coming up by 2006 called The Kid and I... so I hope he can make it for my movie too. We'll see. Maybe during the holidays. We'll shoot the movie quickly. It's possible." The only cast that has officially joined Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards is Michael Madsen."

Thanks to The Arnold Fans

"I am very excited to spend time here," said Natalie Portman at the press-conference in Berlin on the 7th of March. "I have only been here for two days and have been working a lot so I haven’t had a chance too see anything substantial although I have had two very good restaurant experiences so far. Weird German food I don’t know about because I’m vegetarian, so it’s sort of limited to how weird I can get, but anything that is vegetarian I am willing to try. Otherwise I am really looking forward to checking out the city, it has such an incredible history and all the people I’ve met here have been really, really, really wonderful, so I’m looking forward to spending time here."

The Wachowski Brothers and Joel Silver, the people that brought you "The Matrix", are in town to make a film out of Alan Moore’s and David Lloyd’s comic book, V FOR VENDETTA. The director is James McTeigue and the main characters are played by Natalie Portmann and James Purefoy, who might be the new James Bond. V FOR VENDETTA is sort of based on the Guy Fawkes November 5th gunpowder plot. The nazis won the war, England has a fascist regime and the masked terrorist V is the only hero out there. It's one of the best comicbooks ever written and influenced a whole generation of writers. But why does Hollywood like the studios in Babelsberg so much? Maybe it's because of the state funding for movies they can get in Berlin-Brandenburg. "We’ve had cooperation at all levels really," said producer grant Hill. "From the first time we came here to Babelsberg we've been helped through the process. We’ve had application to and been successful with the media board [Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg], we were given a subsidy of 635,000 Euros [approximately US$840,000] and we also have an application with the federal people. We were a film that was in a sense like a lot of these films, looking for a home at one point, we had looked at other options, Babelsberg became available, and a deal was put together that worked very well for us and with the aid of all the tradespeople here it has been fantastic." So, everyone has a good time and the actors enjoy their stay in big, bad Berlin. Hollywoodstars eating pizza in Kreuzberg! "I think it’s very important to have an apartment, said James Purefoy. "You go to make a movie in a city and you’re there for a long time, don’t stay in hotel. You can stay in hotels that feel like every other hotel in the world. It is very important to stay in an apartment so that you can involve yourself with your local community there."

V FOR VENDETTA - The official site is open

Amazing film with an amazing cast, songs by David Bowie sung by various people with acoustic guitars in diferent languages, a beautiful set that looks like a stage and stop-motion candy crabs. Criterion, the "rolls royce of DVD's" has a 2-Disc edition coming up in May.

Another one of those geeky brick films, but "Batman - New Times" has the voices of Adam West (Batman), who played the one and only caped crusader in the 60s show, Mark "Skywalker Hamill (Joker), who did the clown prince of crime on the Batman Animated Series already, Dick van Dyke (Commissioner Gordon) and Courtney Thorne-Smith (Catwoman). Brickfilms.com currently hosts the "Heroes and Villains" contest for Lego filmmakers.

Cool site with tons of graphics to have a look at. A lot of nice stuff by Ken Adams

Pixar can do without Disney. "FOX News reported on Disney's problems getting a Toy Story sequel produced. It sounds like no one wants to direct, write, or possibly star in Toy Story 3. Disney has the right to make sequels to all the Pixar movies it distributed, including "Toy Story," "The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo," etc. But there's a hitch — since Pixar developed all the animation materials to create the movies, it also gets to keep them.

In other words: Disney is now trying to hire another team of animators to recreate Buzz Lightyear, Woody and all the other "Toy Story" characters so that they look the same. It will have to start from scratch to reproduce Pixar's creative work. The next step, of course, is to find a writer and director for the project. With Lasseter gone, FOX reports, "Every single animator of note has turned down the director's job. They don't want to cross Pixar. They've become the only deal in town." -stolen from Luxo - The Pixar Blog

That's all Disney can come up with, sequels to movies that were originally produced by a studio that doesn't wanna work with them anymore. And then they also do "Bambi 2"! The only success Disney had in recent years was "Pirates of the Carribean". It wont take much longer and the kids wont even know who Donald Duck is. But everyone is aware of the magic that Pixar can do and the studio has become what Disney used to be for a long time. Brandchannel's fourth annual Readers' Choice Awards for brand of the year had Pixar on No. 5 after Apple, Sony, Ikea and Al Jazeera. Pixar rose up from the eighth place in 2003 and 31st in 2002."

(Hm, the Statue of Liberty seems to be still intact in the movie, but the imagery already worked for Planet of the Apes...)

Manhattan is a prison and the president got lost right in the middle of it. Just saw it again on TV last night and it’s still great. The ending is actually much better than I remembered. It’s not just that Snake Plissken destroys the ultra-secret tape while walking away. Before that he can ask a favour from the president and all he asks for is a simple answer to a simple question: "A lot of people have died. What do you think about that?" The president tries to smile and tells him that he’s gotta get ready for his big TV-appearance. Plissken is obviously referring to the war going on in the background and not to his adventure in Manhattan. This one answers the questions about the characters motivation and why everyone in Manhattan knew his name. He is a military veteran, but at some point he switched sides. In the opening, we also learn about a militant group of socialists which has highjacked the "Air Force One" and crashes it in New York City. Plissken is a cynical bastard. "What president", he asks when he is told about the crash. But the reactions he gets from the criminals in Manhattan tells a different story. He is a legendary figure with a shady past, but everyone is impressed by his appearance. A worthy remake of Rhett Butler in a way, but not just another Han Solo. Snake Plissken is an anti-hero on his own.

There was a potential to have another look at his political background and his connections in the underground. But then there was "Escape from L. A."! Let’s forget about it. It’s definetely the worst sequel ever made and a movie that should be destroyed forever. The original is an impressive low-budget-film that looks like it costed ten times more. Worth stuying for anyone working in production design. Dystopian New York was filmed in a part of St. Louis which had just suffered from a big fire. Was it St. Louis? Not sure, too lazy to look it up now. Go and listen to the audio-commentary on the dvd then!

In Europe only a lousy version seems to be available though... But there is a Special Edition Box with two discs in the US (MGM, code 9, remastered,anamorph, 2.35:1, sound in English (5.1) and French (mono), subtitles also in Spanish). It sounds like you can finally enjoy the look and feel of the movie the way it should be if you can get your hand on it. Disc 2 has a the legendary alternative bankrobbery-opening showing how Snake got caught, two audio-commentaries which are supposed to be great, a featurette called "Return To Escape From New York, photo-galleries, the trailer and a comic-book. There is another dvd-version without these features sold in Sweden and Denmanark which has a documantary called "Snake Plissken - Man of Honour" on it instead. Then there is the videogame and a comic called Snake Plissken Chronicles from Hurricane Entertainment and CrossGen Comics.

And there is still this anime-project: Facts: Production Company: Production IG (Ghost in the Shell) Director: Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) Screenwriters: Corey Mitchel, William Wilson (John Carpenter & Debra Hill are also involved) Producers: John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Kurt Russell Composer: John Carpenter (rumour) Voices: Kurt Russell (true), John Carpenter (rumour) etc Release Date: Summer of 2005 Misc: The first-ever true collaboration between a Japanese Production company and an American company on an anime film.

Snake Plisskens fanclub will keep you informed...

What’s John Carpenter doing nowadays? Looks like you missed the big contest over at creativescreenwriting.com last year:

"This free contest is looking for the "next, great John Carpenter film." That means it is only open to suspense scripts -- great stories that build slowly to a shattering conclusion. Think Halloween, think Escape From New York, think John Carpenter's The Thing. THE PRIZE: The winner will receive a $500 option on their screenplay (enough to pay their attorney) against a six-figure purchase price, and the winning script will be read by writer/director John Carpenter."

Well, how about "Escape From Hollywood? Kurt Russell is desperately looking for a comeback too, come on!

"Schultze has spent his whole life in a small town in Saxon-Anhalt near the river Saale. Schultze's life, divided between work and the pub, the allotment, folk music and fishing, is rudely interrupted when he and his mates Manfred and Jürgen are made redundant. As entropy sets in and maintaining the daily routine deteriorates into a farce, Schultze discovers a life on the other side of the hill."

This is such a great movie! Check out the homepage for Schultze gets the blues. It's finally >out on dvd

Cook it like Schultze!

Jambalaya a la Schultze:

ingredients: 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper and black pepper 11/2 tsp thyme 2 filet of chicken breast without skin, cubed 2 tbsp vegetable oil 3 celery, hacked 2 medium size onions, hacked

2 medium size green paprika peppers, hacked 2 garlic glove, finest 100 g gammons, cut to pieces 150 g piquant sausage, cut to pieces 450 g tomatos, cored and hacked 225 g ketchup from can

a movie by Niko von Glasow

Deutsche Version

Cologne-Ehrenfeld, 10th of November 1944. Fourteen people, among them eight teenagers, are openly hanged by the Gestapo. The youngest one of them is fourteen years old. The US-Army is only 70 miles away from the city, but the nazis are still mercyless against any kind of resistance. The "best people" of the Gestapo follow the trails of a teenage group called Edelweisspirates. They wear the alpine plant as a symbol on their jackets. The Edelweisspirates are an unorganized subculture active in all mayor cities of Nazi-Germany. By intuition they resist. They fight the Hitler Youth in the backyards of bombed out buildings and hide Jews and deserters. A small group from Cologne goes even further. With the help of Hans Steinbrück who has escaped from a concentation camp, they plan to blow up the Gestapo-headquarter. "Bomber Hans", as he is known among his friends in the criminal underworld, convinces the young people that they have to do more against the regime than hiding escapees like himself. The plan never happens. Bomber Hans and the Edelweisspirates get arrested and tortured before they are hanged in public to scare off other members of the resistance. The Edelweisspirates have not been recognized as members of the resistance by the german gouvernment until two different parties started researching the history of the Cologne chapter. Even though the state of Israel honoured them in 1972 already, they were still considered criminals beyond the end of the 20th century. Germany didn’t seem to question the files of the Gestapo.

Director Niko von Glasow and his wife have worked ten years on their unusual movie which fictionalizes the events without compromising. The incredible realism they achieved has not been seen yet in a german movie. Surviving Edelweisspirates like Jean Jülich (78 years old) confess, the movie shows what really happened in an appropiate way. Jülich, who is also the narrator of the movie, has published his autobiography in 2003. The movie is based on his teenage life, even though the 17 years old main character, played by russian teenstar Ivan Stebunov, is called Karl. A fictional compromise. Next to him is his younger brother Peter (Simon Taal), a member of the Hitler Youth who becomes an Edelweisspirate instead later on. Karl is in love with Cilly (Anna Thalbach). She has two kids from Karls older brother Otto who died in the field before marrying Cilly. But Cily falls in love with Bomber Hans (Bela B. Felsenheimer). Hans manages to get hold of weapons and ammunition. He convinces the Edelweisspirates that there is nobody left to take some action. The Gestapo makes it move and Cilly gets arrested. The uneven lovers, Karl and Bomber Hans, try to rescue her, but they fail. The Gestapo is waiting for them already. The group gets arrested. Before their public hanging they are tortured over and over. Only Karl survives by sacrificing his younger brother and making a deal with the Gestapo.

"The Edelweisspirates were the punks of the nazi era", director von Glasow promoted the movie. He found an amazing cast of young amateurs and veterans willing to go through the intense filming in St. Petersburg. The cast includes german filmstar Anna Thalbach and the grand old belgium actor Jan Decleir as the chief of the Gestapo. Bomber Hans is played by Bela B. Felsenheimer, drummer of Germanys favourite punkband Die Ärzte, who has also become a serious actor. So, what else do you need to promote this film in Germany? "Edelweisspiraten", distributed by Cinemavault from Canada, has been sold all over the world already: Thailand, Canada, Belgium, Spain- but nobody in Germany dares to touch the movie. Even after it’s european premiere on the last day of this years Berlinale Festival, Niko von Glasow is still fighting for the movie to be released in his own country. With "The Downfall" (2004) receiving an Oscar-nomination, "Edelweisspirates" isn’t even mentioned in the German media at all. While Hitler, the ultimate villain, is still getting a lot of attention, nobody wants to talk about the underdogs who stood up against the Third Reich. Since "Edelweisspirates" negates the german myth that resistance was impossible during the Third Reich, it challenges the generation of 1944 like no other german movie did yet. But one Sophie Scholl is enough for the history books. There isn’t much room for those who were a little more radical than the innocent heroic virgin Sophie Scholl and the members of the famous "White Rose". The actions of the Edelweisspirates, which Germany still considered to be criminals until a short time ago, prove that more than ten thousand teenagers, young men and women, were actively fighting the system on a day-to-base.

The NS-Documentationcenter is also researching the story of the Edelweisspirates from Cologne where a lot of former members are still alive. They released a package including a cd, a dvd and a book called "Es war in Schanghai" ("It happened in Shanghai", 15 euros at nsdok.de) The cd has old songs by the Edelweisspirates interpreted by contemporary bands from Cologne, an interesting mix of new sounds and dream-like lyrics about the desire to travel the world. A great documentary by Rainer B. Ott and Hacky Hagemeyer shows old pirates and young musicians working on the material and providing an inside look at a forgotten subculture worth having a look at.

Check the english section at edelweisspiraten.com

Hey, movie buffs, you thought you have seen it all, but you haven't seen the lost tapes of the worst filmmaker ever:

"As the 1960s dawned for Ed Wood, Jr., the long-suffering but indefatigable film auteur realized that his professional prospects were more precarious than ever.  Finding investors to back his film projects was becoming increasingly difficult. So Ed Wood did what many struggling actors, writers, and producers in Hollywood have done before him, and ever since.  He turned to smut. Over the next 26 years until his death in 1978 at age 54, Wood would go on to write, direct, and produce nearly two dozen porn films under a variety of pseudonyms. Many of these have never been seen since their original release; the ones that have survived have only been seen via low-quality videotape copies. Over 30 years after they were last seen in their entirety, Fleshbot will be re-releasing newly mastered DVD versions of three of Ed Wood's lost porn films as the first titles in the Fleshbot Films series. "Necromania" (1971) is the first of the lost porn films of Ed Wood to be released under the Fleshbot Films imprint. (...) The plot involves a coven of witches, led by the mysterious Madame Heles, who concoct a series of 'lessons' for a couple whose sex life is less than satisfying. Their teaching methods involve topless chanting, simulated intercourse with painted skulls, and a lot of oral sex. Madame Heles was to have been played by longtime Wood collaborator Maila 'Vampira' Nurmi, who took one look at the script and withdrew herself from the production citing concerns of 'professional suicide'. (...) Launched in November 2003, Fleshbot is a frequently updated and influential web magazine about the pornography—and the sex culture—that digital technology and distribution has made possible. Fleshbot has been praised by the Village Voice as "the perfect way to conceal your animal urges beneath a veneer of geek intellectualism." Get it here and read more...

Very interesting article in The New Yorker

Ed Wood's "Necromania" ("Hot! Hot! Hot!" [hardcore] version), 1971 Regional Code: Zone free Language: In English Audio: Stereo Format: 4:3 Length: (approx) 53 minutes Color Other: Interactive Menus, Chapter Selection Extra material includes an introduction to the films by Fleshbot Editor John d'Addario and the "HOT!" (softcore) version of "Necromania".

Also....

DVD : Ed Wood by Tim Burton (Special Edition)

A modern classic with nice extras on the disc and excellent 5.1-sound for your fancy home cinema system. "Ed Wood" is Tim Burtons best movie and it won him two oscars. Yeah, right, that doesn't say a lot, but Johnny Depp is great as Ed Wood, Martin Landau is Bela Lugosi, Bill Murray and Sarah Jessica Parker are doing a great job. The audio-commentary makes a lot of sense providing some more info on the director who made the infamous "Plan 9 from outer space" which just came out on dvd too. "Ed Wood" is a gem, a touching comedy absolutely worthwhile checking out again in the age of mindless toy-movies.

The Ed Wood Guide
The Ed Wood Appreciation page

Kids, meet the new King of the nerds! he's standing in line for the new Star Wars already and of course he's got a blog!

"Germany's first post-1945 German-Jewish comedy has blossomed into a surprise box-office hit. The film's director says he's tired of seeing Jews portrayed only as victims and that laughter could be the best medicine for ever tense German-Jewish ties. (...) Levy's film is called "Alles auf Zucker!" (Bet it All on Zucker!) and is rapidly on its way to becoming the second-ever ethnic film in Germany to be both a box office and a critical hit." ->As Kosher as Pork Chops (spiegel.de)

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
the dreams in which I'm dying
are the best I've ever had

(from „Mad World“)

What is it with this movie from 2001 which is still getting more and more popular every day? Fact is, it doesn’t get boring, even if you watch it every day. In Germany it got a new following with the Collector’s Edition MC one from Stuttgart put out and even if you don’t care about movies and don’t buy fancy Special Editions to wach over and over late at night, you will have to admit this one is really nice to have: two discs and a booklet in a nice little tin box perfect for putting pencils or drugs in it!
„Donnie Darko“ is a weird little movie open for all kinds of interpretations, a puzzle, a trip, all kinds of things.

Donnie: "Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?"
Frank: "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?"

Donnie Darko, an outsider from a smalltown who has to see a therapist on a regular base, has strange visions about a guy called Frank who is running around in a bunny suit (yeah, bunny suits rule!) and tells him there are only 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds left until the end of the world. That’s all you need to know if you haven’t seen this movie yet.It has a man in bunny suit and Patrick Swayze as an esoteric guru and child molester, Drew Barrymore as the smart teacher you never had, Jena Malone as Gretchen and Jake Gyllenhaal as the faust-like guy with a name out of a superhero-comic. It makes references to Stephen Hawkins, „Back to the Future“ and the Eighties the way they were without being cheesy. Go, get it!

LINKS:

-MC One – Get the Collector’s Edition from Germany with all extra-chairs from the US and the UK plus even more extra-chairs in a nice tin box
-Get the Collector’s Editionfrom amazon
-donniedarko.com - Wonderful site for a rainy afternoon
-donnie-darko.de - Fansite with wallpapers etc.
-"Die Philosophie des Zeitreisens" von Roberta Ann Sparrow(übersetzt von Jonathan Dilas
-Donnie Darko - The script
-Senseofview.de - Rezensionen, Gerede und noch mehr. Gute Filmsite für abseitige Filme
-Donnie Darko Songs [DOPPEL-CD bei amazon.de] -Soundtrack und Score zusammen vereint! Super!
-"Donnie Darko Book bei amazon.de -" Includes the film's screenplay, an in-depth inter interview with writer-director Richard Kelly, and facsinile page from "the philosophy of Time Travel book book that Donnie uses to go back in time, as well as photos and drawings from the film and the artwork it inspired.

Boring shit!

Does anyone remember this movie, one of the cheesiest films ever made? I desperately need a copy! Weltraumherpes, ganz groß!

Is anyone excited yet? Anyway, you gotta register for all kinds of sites to see this trailer, but here is a free version (10.5 MB) you can right-click and download as long as it is there...

The first production-art rocks! Check out the the production diary has alread started. Thanks to Jason for the hint. Kong, Kong, Kong! Fuck, I love the original!

Peter Jackson's script for King Kong
Peter Jackson Online

King Kong Online

America, please grow up! An immature film like this says a lot about the current state of the media in the US. The information provided isn‘t new and the path of the script goes from trying to make Bush and the Saudi Arabians look personally responsible for the tragic events on Sept. 11th 2001 ("Look, Bush is shaking hands with these dirty arabs!) to some lame "war is bad"-approach with crying moms and dads. It doesn’t get beyond the obvious "Don’t vote for"-George W. Bush message any sane person will probably agree with. So, the outcome is a very, very, very american movie for a very, very, very american audience only. You know, people who go to church and believe in "american justice". It says more about it’s potential audience than it says about the issue "Fahrenheit 9/11" is trying to deal with. It also says a lot about Michael Moore, who considers himself a "good american" and tries to point out that "a good american" wouldn’t have dealt with the arabs, wouldn’t have attacked other countries who never meant an harm to the US, wouldn’t have let 9/11 happen. He is using patriotism as a counter-force to prove that "good americans" wont behave the way Bush does. Anyone who reads a newspaper on a regular base can just laugh at this pseudo-journalistic way of making american patriotism something to be proud of again after a bunch of oil-millionaires fucked up.
"Fahrenheit 9/11" provides a simple way of thinking in terms of "good" and "evil" like the world is some sort of Disneyland. But that’s only one of the reasons why Michael Moore has failed this time. His entertainment-approach to journalism doesn’t work when it comes down to looking at the big picture. It’s good for explaining the mechanics of capitalism on a small scale like Moore did in "The Big One" or "Bowling For Columbine". It still works when the director follows army-recruiters around his hometown in Michigan where they hire the underprivileged, looking for a way to pay their rent and feed their kids.
Of course it’s not Moore’s fault that the land of the uneducated needs a movie like this to realize it‘s been screwed. If "Fahrenheit 9/11" helps getting Bush out of the White House, fine with me. But at the same time it‘s scary to see Moore act like he’s giving away some secret information while all the facts in this film should be standard-knowledge for any High School-kid. It’s a shame to listen to soldiers say things like: "Uh-oh, war isn’t like a video-game.it actually hurts." Moore argues the Iraq-war was wrong simply because the US have never been attacked by Iraq. Well, as far as I know the USA haven’t been attacked by Vietnam either. They were also not attacked by Nazi-Germany or all these countries in South America and a ketchup-millionaire is a capitalist too. What’s the point? Moore doesn’t attack american politics, he’s just having a personal war with Mr. Bush which he should have concentrated on. The result is a very simple-minded view of someone who still believes in some sort of "good" capitalism. "Fahrenheit 9/11" is just a lot of whining about the loss of "traditional american values". Moore wants to believe in a president as some sort of daddy who wouldn’t do anything wrong. "The good old days", when things were covered up more properly, yeah, right,... What exactly is it that you wanna be proud of again, Mr. Moore? Capitalism in general, slavery, oppression, militarism, nationalism, racism? Or are we just talking about apple-pie and moms and dads with their holy family-values? On that level "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a typical Disney-movie and the whole controversery about the release was nothing but good promotion. Sad to see the only opposition seems to be a filmmmaker playing hero...

Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy is on the way. Here is the first review!

Get lost, Captain America, here is the ultimate Nazi-skullcracker for the new millennium! This looks like a classic piece of animation, but it's obviously not. Monkeysuit has the trailer. The film will come out as a 2DVD-package with the full score on the extra-disc

The first film by George Lucas is coming out on DVD. I didn't know Robert Duvall was in it. The trailer is hidden on this wicked site

Popcorn, anyone?

Werner Herzog is doing a documentary about the Loch Ness area and he already got a goofy website running. Look at these very reavealing videos! Whew, there is a real monster in dat lake!

Tom Cruise is in town and well-informed sources claim he has already seen 400 locations for the next sequel of M.I. The production had plans for a scene where Cruise breaks through the new glass-dome of the Reichstag, but the parliament refused to cooperate. Cruise wasn't the first one to ask. Wolfgang Thierse, president of the Bundestag, claimed that they couldn't allow one production to shoot in the parliament and ban everyone else. They're not shooting action-scenes in the real oval office either. Some members of the Green party and Guido Westerwelle, head of the liberal party, support Tom Cruise. They claim the movie will be good promotion for the city and all that....

It was obvious, there would be some trouble with Fahrenheit 911, but nobody expected this clumsy interference which will get Michael Moore lots of attention in Cannes and in the rest of the world. Read the official statement by Mr. Moore:

Wednesday, May 5th, 2004 Disney Has Blocked the Distribution of My New Film... by Michael Moore

Friends,

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.

Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The reason? According to today's (May 5) New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. The story is on page one of the Times and you can read it here (Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush).

The whole story behind this (and other attempts) to kill our movie will be told in more detail as the days and weeks go on. For nearly a year, this struggle has been a lesson in just how difficult it is in this country to create a piece of art that might upset those in charge (well, OK, sorry -- it WILL upset them...big time. Did I mention it's a comedy?). All I can say is, thank God for Harvey Weinstein and Miramax who have stood by me during the entire production of this movie.

There is much more to tell, but right now I am in the lab working on the print to take to the Cannes Film Festival next week (we have been chosen as one of the 18 films in competition). I will tell you this: Some people may be afraid of this movie because of what it will show. But there's nothing they can do about it now because it's done, it's awesome, and if I have anything to say about it, you'll see it this summer -- because, after all, it is a free country. Yours, Michael Moore

It's finally gonna happen: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy will finally be turned into a movie. John Malkovich is gonna play Humma Kavula. -> The home of Douglas Adams.