Palme D'Or Winner Michael Moore Returns Home Triumphantly

Many important stars are rallying around Michael Moore to support the distribution of his controversial new documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11". Matthew Perry, Sharon Stone, Jack Black, Chris Rock and Drew Barrymore attended a screening in Hollywood last week where the audience gave the Academy Award winning filmmaker a standing ovation. Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Gere, Mike Myers, Tim Robbins, Martha Stewart, Laurence Fishburne, Glenn Close and Eve Mendes will attend another showing tonight in New York.

The Fellowship Adventure Group, a union of Miramax, IFC and Lion's Gate Films will distribute "Fahrenheit 9 /11" in the United States starting on June 25. The film accuses the Bush administration of stealing the 2000 presidential election, ignoring terrorism warnings during the summer of 2001 and then using the public's fear of more attacks to get support for the war in Iraq. It also tracks the relationship between the Bushes and important Saudi families including the Bin Ladens.

The making of this film put Moore in a tenuous moral position due to the explosive nature of some of the information he acquired. He had clips showing American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners months before it became commonly known. Torn between what he knew about this abuse and his fear that if he released the pictures first, his detractors would view it as publicity for his movie, Moore chose not to publish what he had until after 60 Minutes (II) broke the story. Also, he interviewed an entrepreneur named Nick Berg who was later kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq. Moore decided to keep that footage out of the movie and later sent a copy to the young man's grieving family.

Having previously won the Academy Award for "Bowling for Columbine" which explored America's love affair with guns, Moore uses a satirical approach in his films which makes his criticisms of the government palatable to audiences which may or may not agree with his conclusions. Described as "touching" and "powerful" in places, Moore's latest movie focuses on the twin tragedies of the 9/11 attacks and the preemptive invasion of Iraq from the human perspective. Interspersed with these profound images of suffering and sorrow, Moore uses outtakes of George Bush mugging for the camera complete with sound bites to present an unflattering picture of the president.

The filmmaker initially ran into problems getting the movie distributed in the United States when Disney got cold feet. Moore maintained that the company feared retribution from the Bush family since Jeb Bush is governor of Florida where Disney has significant holdings. However, after Moore's huge success at Cannes where he received the prestigious Palme D'Or award and a fifteen minute standing ovation, the movie is in hot demand for American distribution this summer.

Although "Fahrenheit 9/11" garnered the respect of critics around the world including The Washington Post, Time Magazine, The Independent and The Telegraph, many in the United States accused Moore of trying to influence the upcoming presidential elections and claim that the win at Cannes was about politics and not the quality of the movie. Quentin Tarantino, the jury president who maintained that it was simply the best movie screened, vehemently denied this allegation.