Waging War in Tinseltown

WASHINGTON - Hollywood's liberals have long been known for promoting a left-wing agenda on the silver screen.

But now several groups are starting to fight back, producing and promoting films that come from not so politically correct viewpoints.

The premiere of one such movie kicked off controversy in the nation's capital.

Mine Your Own Business -- the Dark Side of Environmentalism purports to show how environmental activists have done all they can to stop mining from going on in a Romanian town -- mining that would bring money and modern life to the poor city.

The documentary-makers charge environmentalists would rather keep citizens in Third World poverty if it can stop development.

"They don't want change," said Martin Wolf, a Financial Times associate editor. "Environmentalists really are against growth."

"Their conclusion in this film is that environmentalists really don't seem to care about the poor," said Thor Halsvorssen of the Moving Picture Institute (MPI).

MPI co-produced and premiered the film in Washington last week, but Greenpeace tried to get the showing shut down.

"This is a propaganda film by a mining company," said Kert Davies, a research editor for Greenpeace.

He said, "They want to mine for gold in a poor community in Romania. In that community, they want to put 2,000 people off their land, and uproot churches and cemeteries and schools."

MPI's Halvorssen says the Greenpeace protest shed light on environmentalism's dark side.

"I myself have seen that in the last couple of days as some of these groups have tried to shut down the screening," said Halvorssen

Halvorssen's organization is just one of several new groups backing and promoting filmmakers who refuse to follow the politically-correct, left-leaning agenda of Hollywood's liberal elite.

In MPI's case, it's dedicated to promoting the ideals of liberty and freedom through film.

Halvorssen said, "We really are interested in films that further the principles of American freedom."

But Davies at Greenpeace said to look at who the corporate backers of the MPI are to get a feeling for MPI's real agenda.

"They're funded by people who are very anti-regulatory," he said. "Libertarian groups like the Competitive Enterprise Institute are associated with them."

Davies says in their world "we would not have seat belts in cars, we would not have airbags, we would still have lead in gasoline."

But Halvorssen brushes off Davies' charges, saying look to the films that the MPI is helping to produce to see the organization's heart.

"One of these films is about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and co-produced with Quentin Tarantino and the superstar actress Lucy Liu," said Halvorssen. "We co-produced a film called "Hammer and Tickle" about the power of humor under authoritarianism."

Halvorssen says while many people talk about freedom, few are the films anymore that show it and promote it. He wants to change that.