Raising The Temperature

Booed he may have been by the movie establishment at last week's Oscars ceremony, but Michael Moore has been given the go ahead for his next Bush-bashing escapade, Fahrenheit 911. Having struck a deal with Mel Gibson's company Icon Productions, the defiant Oscar-winning documentarian is continuing where Bowling for Columbine left off by concentrating on the murky relationship between Dubya's Dad, the first President Bush, and the family of Osama Bin Laden. Moore will apparently kick off the proceedings with the fact that Bush Sr did indeed have a business relationship with Mohammed bin Laden, the Yemeni-born father of Osama who was a Saudi construction magnate. "The primary thrust of the new film is what has happened to the country since September 11, and how the Bush administration used this tragic event to push its agenda," Moore told Variety. "It certainly does deal with the Bush and bin Laden ties. It asks a number of questions that I don't have the answers to yet, but which I intend to find out." Tracing why the US has become a target for hatred and terrorism, Moore will depict alleged dealings between the two generations of the Bush and bin Laden clans which apparently led to Dubya and Osama becoming mortal enemies. And, as he told Variety, he will even show that "the senior Bush kept his ties with the bin Laden family up until two months after September 11." How well this will go down with those over the pond with war in Iraq remains to be seen. But despite his less than warm welcome at the Oscars, Moore is jubilant about what he sees as an overwhelmingly positive reaction to his film. "I expressed exactly what was in the film and instead of being blacklisted, I've not only gotten a deal to fund Fahrenheit 911 but offers on the film after. Presales on Bowling for Columbine video release ran ahead of Chicago this week, and my book is returning to the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list," he commented. "It's because the majority of Americans agree with me, see the economy in the toilet and didn't vote for George W. People are now realizing you can question your government while still caring about the soldiers. We are all still filled with rage over September 11 and have every right to seek vengeance on the bad guy. But not any old bad guy."