Posts by Ray Skyhorse

71

Freedom of speech, cousin Jeb and the Bin Ladens

by Simon in

well, despite not having the much touted "freedom of speech" that america enjoys, we will get to see micheal moore's new film "farenheit 911" whereas america, for now, won't.. the film links president bush with powerful saudi families including the bin ladens.. seems disney (based on florida) have blocked the distribution because they are afraid of losing tax breaks by way of retaliation ... handy having cousing jeb as governor isn't it?.

still think you have freedom of speech?.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3689121.stm.

Ray Skyhorse

Rem-

Classic Ad Hominem attack. Please critique the argument.

Ray

71

Freedom of speech, cousin Jeb and the Bin Ladens

by Simon in

well, despite not having the much touted "freedom of speech" that america enjoys, we will get to see micheal moore's new film "farenheit 911" whereas america, for now, won't.. the film links president bush with powerful saudi families including the bin ladens.. seems disney (based on florida) have blocked the distribution because they are afraid of losing tax breaks by way of retaliation ... handy having cousing jeb as governor isn't it?.

still think you have freedom of speech?.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3689121.stm.

Ray Skyhorse

MICHAEL MOORE REPLYS TO HIS CRITICS:

Friday, May 7th, 2004 When You Wish Upon A Star? by Michael Moore

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all the incredible letters of support as my film crew and I once again slog our way through the corporate media madhouse. Does it ever end? Are we ever going to get control of our "free press" again? Can you wish upon a star?

The Disney spin machine has been working overtime dealing with this censorship debacle of theirs. I don't think they thought they would ever be outed. After all, they know that all of us are supposed to adhere to the unwritten Hollywood Code: Never tell the public how business is done here, never let them have a peek at the man behind the curtain.

Disney has been hoping for nearly a year that they could keep this thing quiet. As I promised on Wednesday, here are the details behind my sordid adventure with the Magic Kingdom:

In April of 2003, I signed a deal with Miramax, a division of the Walt Disney Co., to finance and distribute my next movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. (The original financier had backed out; I will tell that story at a later date.) In my contract it is stated that Miramax will distribute my film in the U.S. through Disney's distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution. It also gives Miramax the rights to distribute and sell the movie around the world.

A month later, after shooting started, Michael Eisner insisted on meeting with my agent, Ari Emanuel. Eisner was furious that Miramax signed this deal with me. According to Mr. Emanuel, Eisner said he would never let my film be distributed through Disney even though Mr. Eisner had not seen any footage or even read the outline of the film. Eisner told my agent that he did not want to anger Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida. The movie, he believed, would complicate an already complicated situation with current and future Disney projects in Florida, and that many millions of dollars of tax breaks and incentives were at stake.

But Michael Eisner did not call Miramax and tell them to stop my film. Not only that, for the next year, SIX MILLION dollars of DISNEY money continued to flow into the production of making my movie. Miramax assured me that there were no distribution problems with my film.

But then, a few weeks ago when Fahrenheit 9/11 was selected to be in the Cannes Film Festival, Disney sent a low-level production executive to New York to watch the film (to this day, Michael Eisner has not seen the film). This exec was enthusiastic throughout the viewing. He laughed, he cried and at the end he thanked us. "This film is explosive," he exclaimed, and we took that as a positive sign. But ?explosive? for these guys is only a good word when it comes to blowing up things in movies. OUR kind of ?explosive? is what they want to run from as fast as they can.

Miramax did their best to convince Disney to go ahead as planned with our film. Disney contractually can only stop Miramax from releasing a film if it has received an NC-17 rating (ours will be rated PG-13 or R).

According to yesterday's New York Times, the issue of whether to release Fahrenheit 9/11 was discussed at Disney's board meeting last week. It was decided that Disney should not distribute our movie.

Earlier this week we got the final, official call: Disney will not put out Fahrenheit 9/11. When the story broke in the New York Times, Disney, instead of telling the truth, turned into Pinocchio.

Here are my favorite nuggets that have come out of the mouths of their spinmeisters (roughly quoted):

"Michael Moore has known for a year that we will not distribute this movie, so this is not news." Yes, that is what I thought, too, except Disney kept sending us all that money to make the movie. Miramax said there was no problem. I got the idea that everything was fine.

"It is not in the best interests of our company to distribute a partisan political film that may offend some of our customers." Hmmm. Disney doesn't distribute work that has partisan politics? Disney distributes and syndicates the Sean Hannity radio show every day? I get to listen to Rush Limbaugh every day on Disney-owned WABC. I also seem to remember that Disney distributed a very partisan political movie during a Congressional election year, 1998?a film called The Big One? by, um? ME!

"Fahrenheit 9/11 is not the Disney brand; we put out family oriented films." So true. That's why the #1 Disney film in theaters right now is a film called, KILL BILL, VOL. 2. This excellent Miramax film, along with other classics like Pulp Fiction, have all been distributed by Disney. That's why Miramax exists -- to provide an ALTERNATIVE to the usual Disney fare. And, unless they were NC-17, Disney has distributed them.

"Mr. Moore is doing this as a publicity stunt." Michael Eisner reportedly said this the other day while he was at a publicity stunt cutting the ribbon for the new "Tower of Terror" ride (what a pleasant name considering what the country has gone through recently) at Disney's California Adventure Park. Let me tell you something: NO filmmaker wants to go through this kind of controversy. It does NOT sell tickets (I can cite many examples of movies who have had to change distributors at the last minute and all have failed). I made this movie so people could see it as soon as possible. This is a huge and unwanted distraction. I want people discussing the issues raised in my film, not some inside Hollywood fracas surrounding who is going to ship the prints to the theaters. Plus, I think it is fairly safe to say that Fahrenheit 9/11 has a good chance of doing just fine, considering that my last movie set a box office record and the subject matter (Bush, the War on Terror, the War in Iraq) is at the forefront of most people's minds.

So what will happen to my movie? I still don't know. What I do know is that I will make sure all of you see it by hook or crook. We are Americans. There are a lot of screwed up things about us right now, but one thing that most of us have in common is that we don't like someone telling us we can't see something. We despise censors, and the worst censors are those who would dare to limit thoughts and ideas and silence dissent. THAT is un-American. If I have to travel across the country and show it in city parks (or, as one person offered yesterday, to show it on the side of his house for the neighborhood to see), that is what I will do.

More to come, stay tuned.

Yours,
Michael Moore

71

Freedom of speech, cousin Jeb and the Bin Ladens

by Simon in

well, despite not having the much touted "freedom of speech" that america enjoys, we will get to see micheal moore's new film "farenheit 911" whereas america, for now, won't.. the film links president bush with powerful saudi families including the bin ladens.. seems disney (based on florida) have blocked the distribution because they are afraid of losing tax breaks by way of retaliation ... handy having cousing jeb as governor isn't it?.

still think you have freedom of speech?.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3689121.stm.

Ray Skyhorse

What are some of the factual errors that Michael Moore has made in his movies?

54

Peak Oil

by DanTheMan in

jw
friends

.

i don't know why i read stuff like this, but i just can't seem to stay away from it.. sometimes i really really really wish i could figure out a way to end my life without hurting my family.

i do not want to witness what the next 20 years is going to bring.. http://www.totse.com/en/politics/economic_documents/lifeaftertheoi172879.html

Ray Skyhorse

The gist of this mainstream article supports the idea that the our energy supplies are vulnerable. It discusses both peak oil and political instability in Saudi Arabia.

27

ANOTHER CALL TO ACTION: Newspaper ad's?

by 2escaped lifers in

jw
friends

i have been thinking about this for a while, and a couple recent events here on the board have solidified my thinking.

first, seattleniceguy's triumph with the un posting a letter regarding the wts affiliation with the un.

it just shows that with a little combined effort we can accomplish alot.

Ray Skyhorse

I think billboards across the street from convention centers are the way to go.

Especially if they are brief and get your attention. Something like "Got Cults" with a web address (kinda like the Got Milk ad campaign.)

Plus, you would only need to rent it for a short duration.

It would be so humiliating for the Borg.

Gotta luv it.

Ray

2

Looking for a good family law attorney

by Ray Skyhorse in

can anyone recommend a good family law attorney practising in northern california (humboldt county)?

i need to get a divorce and it will probably get messy since child custody will be an issue.. thanks,.

ray

Ray Skyhorse

Greetings,

Can anyone recommend a good family law attorney practising in Northern California (Humboldt County)? I need to get a divorce and it will probably get messy since child custody will be an issue.

Thanks,

Ray

118

Would some of us be better off as Witnesses?

by Jerry Bergman in

i have often wondered if many people would be better off if they stayed witnesses.

some people i have known have really gone off the deep end after they left the watchtower.

most all of my family have left now (not due to me as i was cut off from them for years) and many others i know who have left are now bitter atheists or have become pagans and worship stones or new ageers playing with crystals.

Ray Skyhorse

Jerry,

What is your interpretation of this recent news article in from the BBC? Would you say that this "mutation" is a new species? This article and a followup article can be found at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2290491.stm

and

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2290491.stm

I interpret this as support of Darwin's theory on the origin of species.

Regards,

Ray Skyhorse

23

can the marriage work

by DIAMOND in

jw
friends

is it even remotly possible that a marriage can work if the wife is a jw and the husband who has been one for over 30 years is on his way out.

is there any advice on how this can work or is it just doomed for divorce!!!!

i love my wife and kids but she's not handeling this very well at all.

Ray Skyhorse

I used to think that a "mixed marriage" could work if both parties tried to make it work. I have a couple of friends, he is Catholic and she is Jewish, and they are able to make things work. But being married to a JW is different than other mixed marriages; it is like a Jew being married to a Nazi...it's a real long shot that it will ever work. They might be able to stay together for whatever reason, but the marriage will never thrive or be enjoyable.

I'm married to a JW and my marriage is dying.

Ray

1

Statistical Analysis re Leaving Cults

by Ray Skyhorse in

jw
friends

does anyone know where i can locate any studies that provide a statistical analysis of the demographics of persons that have exited cults?

basically, i'm interested in seeing demographic breakdowns that answer the following questions:.

are women more likely to leave cults or are men?

Ray Skyhorse

Does anyone know where I can locate any studies that provide a statistical analysis of the demographics of persons that have exited cults?

Basically, I'm interested in seeing demographic breakdowns that answer the following questions:

Are women more likely to leave cults or are men?

Are persons born into a cult more or less likely to leave it than an indivual who joined it?

What is the relationship between the number of years a person has been in a cult and the likelihood that he or she will stay in the cult.

Are divorced persons more likely to leave a cult?

What is the relationship between the age at which a person joins a cult and the likelihood that he or she leaves it?

I realize that not all cults are the same, therefore it would probably be useful if the authors of the studies ranked the severity of "cultishness" of the group based upon predefined cult criteria. How would the Watchtower rank on such a list?

On a more personal note, I'm trying to figure out the statistical probability of my wife leaving the Borg. How many more years is she likely to be in the Borg. If I could figure out the likelihood of her exiting the cult, it would make my decision about whether to seek a divorce more rational one.

Thanks,

Ray

9

Wollersheim v. Scientology: Implications for WTS?

by expatbrit in

jw
friends

wollersheim v. the church of scientology was a 22 year court case, finally settled in may of 2002 with the payment of $8.6 million by the church of scientology.

it raises interesting issues of freedom of religion, and how responsible cults must be for the results of their actions.

case history summary.. in 1980, lawrence wollersheim filed suit against the church of scientology of california (csc), claiming damages for intentional and negligent infliction of severe emotional distress.

Ray Skyhorse

Thanks for the post. That was very interesting.

Ray