Disney's refusal to distribute Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11, apparently on the grounds that it might cause them to lose lucrative tax breaks in the state governed by the President's brother, provides a vivid example of how labelling the media as liberal or conservative often misses the point. While most directors, actors, screenwriters, documentary filmmakers, journalists, and other creative types tend to skew liberal, they all work for massive multinational corporations staffed by studio executives who are overwhelmingly conservative.

The interesting part is that Icon Productions was originally slated to finance Farenheit 9/11, but backed out for unspecified reasons. My theory is that Icon passed the project along to Miramax with full knowledge that Disney would balk at the movie's political consequences and create headlines. The plan: Icon picks up the movie for distribution, sends Michael Moore on the talk show circuit (which is now national news, because of the Disney angle), and rides the wave of controversy and free media coverage to a massive opening weekend. Sound familiar? It should, because Icon is Mel Gibson's production company, and that's the same strategy that turned The Passion into the highest-grossing independent film of all time.

Even if this isn't a conscious strategy, the flak over Disney will only increase this movie's potential viewership, which is presumably a good thing.