And to think, that Michael Moore is such a quiet, unassuming chap. Always opens doors for old ladies, recycles and never sets out to create an international media hoo-hah at the expense of the US government. No, wait, that’s someone else. The generously proportioned documentarian, liberal campaigner and full-time Bush-baiter is once again in the firing lines over his new film Sicko, which is promising to be even more inflammatory than 2004 Palme D’Or winner Fahrenheit 9/11.
The documentary, which concerns itself with the travesties wrapped up within the US healthcare system, has dragged both Moore and the Weinsteins into a legal punch-up with Uncle Sam over none other than travel restrictions. The US Treasury claims Moore violated such restrictions over travel to Cuba when he escorted a group of ailing Ground Zero Worker’s to Castro’s backyard in order to get them treated.
Sicko’s scheduled to screen in Cannes on Saturday and the Weinsteins have lined up an phalanx of legal and PR heavyweights to brace themselves against the inevitable fallout.
Props to the ScreenDaily crew for sniffing this one out.