Moore 's next film , '' Fahrenheit 9/11 '' , released in 2004 , examines America in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks , particularly the record of the George W. Bush Administration and alleged links between the families of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden . '' Fahrenheit '' was awarded the '' Palme d'Or '' , the top honor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival ; it was the first documentary film to win the prize since 1956 . Moore later announced that '' Fahrenheit 9/11 '' would not be in consideration for the 2005 Academy Award for Documentary Feature , but instead for the Academy Award for Best Picture . He stated he wanted the movie to be seen by a few million more people via television broadcast prior to Election Day . According to Moore , " Academy rules forbid the airing of a documentary on television within nine months of its theatrical release " , and since the November 2 election was fewer than nine months after the film 's release , it would have been disqualified for the Documentary Oscar . Regardless , '' Fahrenheit '' did not receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture . The title of the film alludes to the classic book '' Fahrenheit 451 '' about a future totalitarian state in which books are banned ; according to the book , paper begins to burn at . The pre-release subtitle of the film confirms the allusion : " The temperature at which freedom burns . " As of August 2012 , '' Fahrenheit 9/11 '' is the highest-grossing documentary of all time , taking in over US$ 200 million worldwide , including United States box office revenue of almost US$ 120 million . In February 2011 , Moore sued producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein for US$ 2.7 million in unpaid profits from the film , claiming they used " Hollywood accounting tricks " to avoid paying him the money . In February 2012 , Moore and the Weinsteins informed the court that they had settled their dispute
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Michael Moore