The Weinstein brothers areclose to buying back Fahrenheit 9/11from The Walt Disney Co, but they are no nearer to deciding on a third-partydistributor. Which is curious because the brothers require that the MichaelMoore movie hits US theatres in six weeks time on July 2.

Word on the Croisette has itthat the Weinsteins are planning the ultimate "coalition of the willing",splitting up the rights of the sale between a number of companies both tocreate separate revenue streams, and to prove that other giants in corporateAmerica are not, like Disney, afraid of freedom of speech.

So not only are Moore andMiramax talking to independents like Lions Gate Films, Miramax's partner on Dogma and O, but also other studios.

That means that should, say,Focus, Paramount/Showtime, Sony Pictures or HBO win a strand of rights - be ittheatrical, TV or DVD/home video -NBC/Universal, Viacom, Sony Corp and AOL TimeWarner respectively would be implicated in the dissemination of the filmthroughout the US.

Take that, Michael Eisner.