Scene from Fahrenheit 9/11 where Michael Moore is stopped by the Secret Service outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington, D.C.

Miramax Film Corp. has hired The Glover Park Group to handle PR as it hunts for a distributor for Michael Moore’s "Fahrenheit 911."

Walt Disney Co., Miramax’s parent company, decided to back away from the film that highlights Bush family ties to member of the Saudi royal family. The flick also criticizes President Bush’s handling of Sept. 11.

Moore’s agent, Ari Emanuel, told The New York Times that Disney CEO Michael Eisner told him that he feared Walt Disney World (Orlando) could lose tax breaks if the company handled Moore’s film. Jeb Bush is Florida’s Governor.

Eisner, on CNBC, expressed confidence that Miramax will easily find another distributor, saying he "could think of about 11 people who would love to have it." Optimum Releasing, the U.K.’s biggest film distributor, announced today that it would distribute the film in its home country.

The Disney/Moore flap has triggered strong reaction in the media and on Capitol Hill. The Times gave Disney a "gold medal for cowardice," while Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) called for hearings into the "pattern of politically based corporate censorship of the news media and the entertainment industry."

GPG is mainly staffed by members of the Clinton White House. Howard Wolfson, who handles the Miramax account, served as communications director for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Bob and Harvey Weinstein, principals at Miramax, are major contributors to Democrats.