xt documentary bankrolled by Miramax, Reuters reports.

The Walt Disney-owned studio will provide the backing for Fahrenheit 911, Moore's new polemic that purports to link the Bush family with Osama bin Laden, the most wanted terrorist in the world and the person believed responsible for orchestrating the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Miramax honchos Harvey and Bob Weinstein reportedly agreed to step in and save Fahrenheit 911 by putting up several million dollars in what is called "bridge" financing after Mel Gibson's company, Icon Productions, pulled out of the production.

The studio originally flirted with the idea of distributing the writer-director's next incendiary film after Bowling for Columbine went on to gross $40 million worldwide, making it the top-grossing documentary of all time, but Icon beat 'em to the punch.

No word why Gibson's company bailed on the project, but one thing's for certain, Fahrenheit 911 won't be getting a thumbs-up from the White House.

Moore described the documentary as "in part the story of twin errant sons of different oilmen," in an interview with New York Times columnist Frank Rich last month.

Moore said he plans to investigate the historical ties that the Bush family had with the bin Ladens for many years via the Carlyle Group and the little-publicized report that the Bush administration allowed 24 bin Laden family members to leave the U.S. on a private Saudi jet before the FBI could question them in the months after 9-11.

Though the Roger & Me helmer noted that such talk alleging a link between Bush and bin Laden may ultimately "mean nothing," he believes it's worth bringing up.

"Here's one question I want to pose," Moore told the Times. "What if on the day after Oklahoma City, Bill Clinton, suddenly worried about the safety of the McVeigh family up in Buffalo, allowed a jet to pick them all up and take them out of the country, not to return?"

The title of Fahrenheit 911 alludes to Ray Bradbury's classic sci-fi tale Fahrenheit 451, about a frightening futuristic society where firemen don't put out fires but instead burn books because their content is deemed dangerous.

Speaking of which, Moore's own writing has been as incendiary as his movies and speechifying. In the aftermath of 9-11, HarperCollins Publishing threatened to shelve his Stupid White Men before it was even published. It wasn't until one concerned librarian emailed her associates at the American Library Association about the potential threat of censorship that Moore was able to get a reprieve.

Stupid White Men went on to top the New York Times Bestseller List for nonfiction; it again shot to number one following his Oscar rant.

Miramax has scheduled Fahrenheit 911 to hit theaters in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election, just as President Bush will be running for a second term.

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