Which is more likely? A publicity stunt? In Hollywood!? Or Moore being 'silenced' by a vast conspiracy? We'll ignore, for the time being, the NYT's charge of 'censorship.' Last time I checked, there was no constitutionally guaranteed right to have your film distributed by Disney.
This whole 'scandal' has emerged right before the Cannes Film Festival due to some comments by Michael Moore's agent/publicist. Doesn't that cast some doubt on the motivation behind the claims? Does the cornerstone company of the $21 billion Florida tourism industry receive tax breaks? Sure, of course. Is Jeb Bush the governor of Florida? Yes. Well there you go, that obviously proves that Bush and Eisner are in bed together. Classic Moore -- open-ended implications based on circumstantial evidence.
Why don't I believe that Eisner is intimidated by the Bushes? I don't know, maybe it's because he's donated money to John Kerry, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Patrck Leahy, Barbara Boxer, Fritz Hollings, Bob Kerrey, Jean Carnahan, Dick Gephardt, Dianne Feinstein, Bill Bradley, Frank Lautenberg, and Barbara Mikulski. (
www.opensecrets.org). Shall we dissect Weinstein's donation portfolio? How would it make any sense for Disney to finance Moore's movie through its subsidiary Miramax if they had no intention of releasing it? They knew exactly what Moore was making and chose to finance it.
Why won't Disney release it? Because they don't want to politicize the flagship brand. The film is sure to ignite a firestorm of front-page controversy that they don't want to be in the middle of because they don't want to alienate half of their potential customers.