Michael Moore goes 'Sicko"

Writing to an email list of his supporters that his follow-up documentary to "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore says "Sicko" is about three-quarters done and on target for a 2007 release by the Weinstein Co.

Moore writes, "We've spent the better part of the year shooting our next movie, 'Sicko.' As we've done with our other films, we don't discuss them while we are making them," adding that, "If people ask, we tell them 'Sicko' is 'a comedy about the 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on Earth."

Adding that he received 19,000 responses to his February call for letters describing personal experiences with the health care system, Moore says, "I don't think the country needs a movie that tells you that HMOs and the pharmaceutical companies suck. Everybody knows that. I'd like to show you some things you don't know. So stay tuned for where this movie has led me. I think you might enjoy it."

Except for the appeal for health care stories and some mentions while he was promoting "Fahrenheit," Moore has been mostly silent on "Sicko." However, pharmaceutical companies have already mounted plans to combat the doc, including circulating memos to employees warning them not to cooperate with Moore.

Meanwhile, two years after "Fahrenheit" debuted, setting the record for a documentary at the box office, earning $119 million in the U.S., Moore has remained a popular target of conservative commentators, a status he seems to enjoy.

Moore went on to tell Variety, "I realize that my silence doesn't stop the opposition with their weird obsession for me!" adding that, "I have to say I did enjoy Tom DeLay blaming me and Ms. Streisand for why he had to resign from Congress!"

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