The White Houseput pressure on Mel Gibson's Icon not to back Farenheit 911, Michael Moore claimed yesterday.

Moore, whosedocumentary premieres in Cannes, revealed that his agent received a call fromIcon boss Bruce Davey last year saying "I'm in a big jam here, you've got tohelp me. I know we have a signed deal. I know the money is already flowing intothe film but Mel (Gibson) got a call from someone connected to the White Housesaying 'don't expect any more invitations from the White House if you're goingto fund this film.'"

This latestrevelation is bound to raise yet further the heat surrounding the film. Twoweeks ago, it emerged that Disney would not be allowing its subsidiary Miramax- who replaced Icon on the project - to release Farenheit 911 in the US. Moore strongly denied the allegation thathe had known about the Disney decision for over a year. He stated that"everything" Michael Eisner had told an LA-based trade paper about the dispute"simply isn't true."

On April 23rd,Moore revealed, Disney production executive Brad Epstein had seen the film. "Inone viewing by a low-level production executive and a report back to Eisner,who still hasn't seen the film, suddenly the film has no distribution."

Farenheit 9/11 features footage from the Iraq war which Moorebelieves may be highly damaging for the Bush administration. "I've been able tosneak crews into Iraq. We were able to get crews embedded with the US militarywithout them knowing it was Michael Moore shooting," he said.

Moore isdetermined to ensure US audiences have the chance to see Farenheit 911 before the US elections. "By hook or crook, peoplewill see this film," he said. "If it means breaking the law or committing anact of civil disobedience, I'll do that too'thank God for digital."