5/29/2004

in

Miramax may turn to multiple distributors to release the documentary

Heather Monley

According to the deal Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein are making with their parent company Disney over the rights to "Fahrenheit 9/11," Miramax will have to find a third party company to distribute the controversial Michael Moore documentary. As the brothers search for such a distributor, it is becoming clear that the film's U.S. distribution is surrounded by more and more complications. The most likely possibility will give the theater, DVD, and television rights to separate companies.  
  
Michael Moore hopes to release the film in U.S. theaters July 4, and then onto DVD in October, in order to allow the maximum number of Americans to view the Bush-critiquing documentary before the November presidential elections. This tight schedule means larger production companies, who might already have other movies planned for a summer release, would not be able to take on the last minute project, while a small production company may be free of other commitments. A smaller company would also allow Miramax more clout behind the scenes. This strategy worked with "Dogma," another film Disney objected to, which was publicized as a Lion's Gate film but received a lot of direction from the Weinsteins. However, Miramax might turn to a larger company for the DVD release in order to achieve maximum sales.  
  
Difficulties in finding a distributor may come down to personal reasons, since the temperamental Weinsteins and the outspoken Moore may make problematic business partners. But however it finally ends up happening, it's clear at this point that someone will release the film in America. With all the publicity the documentary is getting from the Miramax/Disney disagreement, and with the acclaim it has received at the Cannes Film Festival, where it appears to be a front-runner in the race for the Palme d'Or, American audiences will surely be clamoring to see the controversy for themselves.