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American Filmmaker To Produce Story Of Islam In Iran
Documentary film director Rob Gardner is filming a three-part series entitled, "Islam: Empire of Faith," that is on the PBS schedule for next fall. He has been filming sequences that involve the life and death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The PBS series will begin with the life of Muhammad (PBUH) and end with the reign of Sulaiman the Magnificent, the 16th-century Ottoman emperor whose era many historians regard as one of the most glorious in the Islamic story.

The director says that he received the help of the Iranian people. "We haven't had a single problem with the mullahs; in fact, they've leant over backward to help us out. I think they've concluded that we can help carry the message of Islam to the world, and as long as we are doing it in a way that's sensitive to their beliefs, they're happy."

But Gardner faced more serious obstacles in Washington. Under American sanctions, imposed at the time of the U.S. Embassy seizure and reinforced later to punish Iran for its alleged support of "international terrorism," the filmmaker needed a Treasury Department exemption to bring computerized American filmmaking equipment to Iran and to pay Iranian costs. The exemption was granted only after Gardner enlisted the support of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat.

Brown & Williamson Considering Suing "The Insider"
Brown & Williamson feels it's being accused of criminal conduct in the docudrama, "The Insider," and is considering filing a libel suit against Touchstone Pictures (a Disney corporation). If Brown & Williamson does take action, it will mark an ironic twist in the relationship between the tobacco industry and the entertainment business.

After the movie opened last week, it started surveying moviegoers to see what impact the film had on the company's image.

This would not be the first time the subject of a docudrama sued. After "Missing," a movie about the death of an American in Chile, then-US Ambassador Nathaniel Davis sued because he felt the movie made him appear involved in the death. He lost the lawsuit.

Washington Post, NBC Announce News Alliance
The Washington Post Co. and NBC News last week announced an alliance in which they will share news stories, create a joint Web site with Newsweek and use both network and local television to promote the work of Post and Newsweek reporters.

MSNBC.com, the Internet arm of the three-year-old cable network, will become the home base on the World Wide Web for Newsweek, a PostCo. subsidiary, creating Newsweek.MSNBC.com early next year. Meanwhile, Washingtonpost.com will provide a limited number of stories to the MSNBC site each day while using certain stories and video clips from NBC. Post readers will see no immediate change in the newspaper.
Analysts in Washington noted that The Post Co. is now in business with a network that is owned by General Electric Co. and partners with Microsoft Corp.

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