Screen politics given top billing as Moore hijacks Cannes to knock Bush

Michael Moore accused the United States government of making every effort to stop the release of his new film, which blasts the Bush administration and its response to the al-Qaeda attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre.

Moore, talking over the weekend about Fahrenheit 9/11, said the film had release dates in every country except the US, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. "So everyone can see it except the Americans," he said. Although he had a contract in place with Buena Vista, part of the Disney Group, for the distribution of the film, the company had reneged on the agreement.

He accused Disney chief Michael Eisner of stifling "freedom of speech" in the run-up to the election. Miramax, a Disney subsidiary which normally uses Buena Vista to release films in the US, is seeking an alternative outlet. Even before Miramax came on the scene, Moore said that Mel Gibson’s company, Icon, had pulled out of financing it after pressure from the White House.

"They were told there would be no more invitations to Capitol Hill if they continued an association with the film," said Moore, who was last in Cannes two years ago for his Oscar-winning documentary about the gun lobby, Bowling for Columbine, which became a world-wide hit.

Moore, who described himself as "a most patriotic American", despite criticisms to the contrary, said he was hopeful that the lure of profit would ensure a distribution deal. "It’s a no brainer, really, and even more so now after all the publicity. Bowling for Columbine made a profit of $10 million."

He tantalised audiences and critics, who will see the film for the first time today, with hints that it contains some explosive material, including footage from camera crews which he had managed to embed within the US military in Iraq. In fact, half of the film is devoted to the war. Moore praised the French for their act of friendship in trying to stop the conflict "because often that’s what friends are for - telling you what you don’t want to know".

The film will be shown in the UK in July. Moore revealed that he is already planning the release of the DVD, which will contain the full story about his battle with Disney and the rows over the cinema release. If the US release coincides with the date that Moore has envisaged, it will clash with the 4 July opening of Spider-Man 2.

The film was finished only hours before Moore jumped on a plane for Cannes, where he won a special jury prize for Bowling for Columbine.

Moore cuts an unlikely figure as one of America’s most fearless political activists - overweight, and always appearing unshaven with his trademark baseball cap, glasses, and baggy jeans. But whether as a best- selling author, stand-up comedian, film-maker or journalist, the 50-year-old has never shied from controversy.

He was born in the town of Flint, Michigan, which was then dominated by a massive General Motors car plant. His anti-corporate, left-wing politics developed at an early age when as a boy he watched most men in his town, including his Irish father and grandfather, lose their jobs when GM relocated to Mexico.

He first came to prominence as a film-maker 15 years ago with Roger and Me, a documentary showing his attempt to interview GM head Roger Smith, about the economic decay left in Flint after the company left.

The film defined Moore’s populist, guerrilla-style journalism - confronting corporation bosses head-on with his camera crew.

In 1996 he had his second taste of popular success this time as the author of Downsize This, a political commentary which became a best seller. He followed up his success as a writer in 1998 with Adventures in a TV Nation, in 2001 with Stupid White Men and last year with Dude Where’s My Country.

But it is his powerful documentary Bowling for Columbine for which he is best known. The film about the high school shootings and American gun culture won an Oscar for best documentary.

Moore’s rousing acceptance speech, in which he called George Bush a "fictitious" president who had started the Iraq invasion for "fictitious" reasons is now etched in American history despite booing from many sections of the Oscar audience.

Brought up in an Irish-Catholic household, Moore was taught to believe that we will be judged by the way we treat the least fortunate in society.

This value has informed his career as a formidable crusader striving to spread enlightenment and change mind-sets. He considers himself, however, first and foremost as a film-maker. If he’d wanted to sermonise he would have become a priest, he asserts. And if he’d wanted to tub-thump, he would have gone into politics.

With a website that registers 12 million hits a month (www.michaelmoore.com) he has put himself in a position to make a difference not only in changing gun laws but also the destiny of his nation.

He has denied reports that he has whipped up the storm of difficulties simply as a way of hyping his film.

"Disney decided to the drop film two weeks ago, not a year ago as they tried to suggest," he said.

Meanwhile, the cross-dressing comic Eddie Izzard is to make a revealing feature-length documentary about his life.

Diva 51 will explore the subject of his transvestism - he once described himself as "a lesbian trapped in a man’s body".

Cameras have followed him for the past three years as he has risen to become a star on both sides of the Atlantic. Combining footage of his shows, backstage scenes and interviews, it will provide an intimate portrait of the comedian and actor.