[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Chewbacca: I can guarantee to you, without equivocation, that every fact in my movie is true. Three teams of fact-checkers and two groups of lawyers went through it with a fine tooth comb to make sure that every statement of fact is indeed an indisputable fact. Trust me, no film company would ever release a film like this without putting it through the most vigorous vetting process possible. The sheer power and threat of the NRA is reason enough to strike fear in any movie studio or theater chain. The NRA will go after you without mercy if they think there's half a chance of destroying you. That's why we don't have better gun laws in this country – every member of Congress is scared to death of them. Well, guess what. Total number of lawsuits to date against me or my film by the NRA? NONE. That's right, zero. And don't forget for a second that if they could have shut this film down on a technicality they would have. But they didn't and they can't – because the film is factually solid and above reproach. In fact, we have not been sued by any individual or group over the statements made in "Bowling for Columbine?" Why is that? Because everything we say is true – and the things that are our opinion, we say so and leave it up to the viewer to decide if our point of view is correct or not for each of them. So, faced with a thoroughly truthful and honest film, those who object to the film's political points are left with the choice of debating us on the issues in the film – or resorting to character assassination. They have chosen the latter. What a sad place to be.

This is nothing more than a big spin-job by Moore. Pretending to be "terrified" of the NRA just as he claimed that the LAST thing he wanted for the new film was the controversy of having to look for a new distributer. And I point yet again that - in his interview to CNN - he claimed that Disney had "poured over 6 million dollars" into the film, which led him to believe that Disney was perfectly happy with the film.

But the truth - by his own admission - is that Michael Eisner told him a YEAR ago that Disney WOULD NOT distribute his film. But Moore's agent made a deal with Miramax (against Eisner's wishes) and pursued the film with the Disney subsidiary anyway. I believe Moore was planning the whole time to pull this publicity stunt. His "concerns" about having to seek a new distributor are secondary, because NOTHING sells a "documentary" like the allegation that Corporate America is trying to suppress the filmmakers Right to Free Speech. We've already seen one example on this board of a person saying "Well, I wasn't interested in the film until all this hullabaloo started...now I might just have to go see what all the fuss is about." THIS has been Moore's intention from the very beginning (in my opinion, of course ).

I've mentioned several times already that Moore's statement about "Disney pouring money into the film" is technically correct (since Miramax is a subsidiary of Disney), however, the funding NEVER came from the Disney Corporation directly (as Moore implies) and he has known from the very beginning that Disney was not going to distribute the film.

So Moore can also claim that every statement he has made about Disney and the distribution of the new film is also "indisputable fact", but the misleading nature of his statement about Disney's funding of the film is easy to see.

So I don't buy his claims that "every statement" in BFC is indisputable fact either. Moore likes to portray himself as just an ordinary Joe trying to make a little film about an important topic. He also pretends to be frightened or intimidated by Disney and the NRA, when the cold hard fact is that almost all of his films have generated some level of controversy. And those that didn't generate it on their own got a little "boost" from Moore to increase the interest in the film.