NYT-Citing Politics, Studio Cancels Documentary

[LiviaOlivia]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/movies/02film.html

September 2, 2004
Citing Politics, Studio Cancels Documentary
By SHARON WAXMAN

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 1 - Warner Brothers has decided not to distribute the director David O. Russell's new antiwar documentary when it re-releases his 1999 Gulf War movie, "Three Kings," this fall, judging it "totally inappropriate" to do so in a political season, a studio spokeswoman said.

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In an interview with The New York Times last month, Mr. Russell said he made the documentary because "I thought I could perhaps make a difference before the election, let people see the situation, how Iraqis wanted to get rid of Saddam, but also show what war does to people."

That prompted Warner Brothers to ask its lawyers if the documentary might run afoul of Federal Election Commission regulations, or constitute a so-called soft money political contribution. Though the legal opinion was unclear, the studio decided not to release a film that might be construed as partisan ahead of the election. The president of Warner Brothers, Alan Horn, is an active Democrat and wanted to avoid the perception that he was using the studio to support his own political convictions, studio executives said. Ms. Brogliatti said Mr. Russell would try to come up with other additional material more closely related to the movie. If he can, she said, the studio will stand by its plan to re-release "Three Kings" as a DVD and in about a dozen theaters, probably next month.

Mr. Russell said he would still try to distribute the documentary before the election, possibly through the political grass-roots organization Moveon.org, which has promoted other political documentaries this year, including "Outfoxed," a critique of Fox News.

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