Michael coveting more than an Oscar

Michael Moore is willing to sacrifice a Best Documentary gong at next year's Academy Awards in a bid to cripple President George W Bush's chances in November's Presidential elections.

Moore wants to air his highly-acclaimed Fahrenheit 9/11 documentary on American television before the elections - so his anti-Bush message can reach as many voters as possible.

But the TV broadcast would make the film illegible for the award - although it would still qualify for the Best Picture Oscar.

But Moore insists Bush's defeat would be a "real Oscar".

The director says: "Although I have no assurance from our home video distributor that they would allow a one-time television broadcast - and the chances are they probably won't - I have decided it is more important to take that risk and hope against hope that I can persuade someone to put it on TV, even if it's the night before the election.

"Therefore, I have decided not to submit Fahrenheit 9/11 for consideration for the Best Documentary Oscar. If there is even the remotest of chances that I can get this film seen by a few million more Americans before election day, that is more important to me than winning another documentary Oscar."

"I told my crew who worked on the film, let's let someone else have that Oscar. It's not that I want to be disrespectful and say I don't ever want to win an Oscar again."