DeLay hits the big screen

Tom DeLay must have known that his charm and charisma would one day catch the attention of moviemakers — but we bet he'd rather his film debut not be in The Big Buy, a new documentary set to be released this spring.

The film ... will be distributed this spring by the Hollywood producer and liberal provocateur Robert Greenwald, whose last release was a scathing attack on Wal-Mart sponsored by a variety of labor unions and other groups critical of the retailing giant.

A host of liberal organizations in Texas and nationwide, including People for the American Way, Democracy for America and the Pacifica radio station in Houston, are expected to sponsor the film's release. It will not follow a traditional theatrical rollout but will instead open in a few cities before being made widely available on DVD, as was the Wal-Mart movie, Mr. Greenwald said in an interview.

The film will be shown at hundreds of house parties in May and June — the strategy was to be released today, a "welcoming gift" to DeLay on the day of the primary election, Greenwald said. Filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck spent three years and $100,000 putting the film together; they contend that DeLay has been pursuing a grand scheme to give Republicans a solid majority at federal level, thereby allowing easy passage of corporate-friendly legislation. Though the distribution strategy is aimed squarely at DeLay as he heads into the November election (if he wins in today's primary, of course), DeLay supporters say they don't expect it will have any effect.

Greenwald, you may remember, is no friend of conservatives — he produced and directed Outfoxed, which attached Fox News and corporate media. But the makers of The Big Buy said it won't matter much who distributes their film: "You could broadcast this on 'Masterpiece Theater,' and we'd still be Satan's messengers to Tom DeLay and his friends," Schermbeck said.

See The Big Buy trailer at the film's website.