BROCKTON — Army reservist Peter Damon, the Brockton soldier who lost parts of both arms in the war in Iraq, was surprised to find out recently that he appears in the scathing anti-war film, “Fahrenheit 911,” his wife said Wednesday.
A brief film clip of the hospitalized National Guardsman talking to an off-camera interviewer is shown in Michael Moore’s documentary, which won the prestigious Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
“He’s in there,” his wife, Jennifer Damon, said. “I saw it and I told him that he should probably go see it too.”
Peter Damon lost his right arm near the shoulder and his left arm above the wrist when a tire he was helping change on a Blackhawk helicopter exploded in Balad, Iraq, on Oct. 21. He now is recuperating at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Damon said neither she nor her husband knew film footage of him would be used in Moore’s film. “Prior knowledge? No,” she said.
Peter Damon planned to see “Fahrenheit 9/11” today and declined comment until afterward.
The footage of Damon was taken from an interview he granted earlier this year to NBC Nightly News.
In the clip, Damon, with his injured arms in bandages, appears on screen for less than half a minute speaking to an unidentified off-camera interviewer. Moore does a voice-over commentary introducing that part of the film.
"Fahrenheit 9/11” was released June 25 in U.S. theaters and has been a box-office blockbuster, with total earnings so far of $80.1 million. The film is poised to become the first documentary to take in more than $100 million.
The film denounces the Bush administration’s military action in Iraq, shows graphic footage of bodies of U.S. soldiers in Iraq being burned and includes a lengthy segment of Moore interviewing the mother of a soldier who was killed in the war.
The film also outlines Bush family and associates’ ties with prominent Saudi Arabian families, including that of Osama bin Laden, believed to be the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Moore has publicly stated he would like to see Bush defeated in the November election.
Jennifer Damon said she saw “Fahrenheit 911” on the Fourth of July, after learning her husband was shown in the film from John Gonsalves, founder of Homes For Our Troops, which is working to build the Damons a home.
Gonsalves said he learned of Peter’s film appearance from a neighbor.
“I was shocked. I would have expected if Peter was in the movie that someone would have at least talked to him about it, which I thought was kind of unfair,” Gonsalves said. “I think for Michael Moore to portray Peter in there without any knowledge is terrible.”
Calls placed to Ken Sunshine Consultants Inc., the New York City-based firm handling publicity for the film, were not returned Wednesday or this morning.
An NBC News spokeswoman responded through an e-mail about the news organization’s policy on use of its material.
“As all news organizations do, NBC News does license footage that has already aired on NBC programs,” wrote NBC News spokesman Barbara Levin. “As a general rule, most news organizations, including NBC News, do not obtain releases from people who appear on our news programs.
“When we do license footage — as in this instance — NBC includes a provision that it is the responsibility of the licensee, not NBC, to obtain all required consents and releases necessary to use the footage,” she wrote.
Based on that policy, it would have been up to Moore to get any needed clearance.
Gonsalves, who took part in a second interview NBC Nightly News conducted with Damon, said he did not sign any consent form for that interview. Gonsalves said the clip in the film is footage from a first interview NBC did with Damon.
Jennifer Damon deferred comment on the film and the consent issue to her husband. It could not be learned Wednesday night if Peter Damon signed any release form with NBC.
George Tobia Jr., a partner and entertainment attorney with Boston firm Burns & Levinson, said if a person agrees to an interview without signing a release form, there is an implied consent.
“The implied consent is usually good enough for the interview,” Tobia said. “The question is, how far does the implied consent go?
“Unless NBC has a signed document granting them full rights, unless they had those rights, I would expect the filmmakers would want to go back to this guy and get his permission. Otherwise it’s invasion of his privacy for this usage,” Tobia said.
John Taylor Williams, co-chairman of the media and entertainment group at the Boston firm Fish & Richardson, agreed.
“If he didn’t sign that, then he’s got some fairly serious rights about its use,” Williams said.
Both attorneys said the footage from NBC would not be considered part of the public domain.
They also said they could not imagine Moore did not obtain consent from NBC to use its images.
“I would assume he got consent from them. Obviously there’s a lot of money at stake,” Williams said.
After Walt Disney Co. refused to distribute “Fahrenheit 9/11” through its Miramax Films division, Miramax chiefs Bob and Harvey Weinstein distributed it through Lions Gate Films and IFC Films.
Tobia said a company distributing a film would typically do a clearance of the entire film to check on issues such as consent. For example, if a filmmaker wants to use a piece of music in a scene, it has to obtain clearance for it.
“There is more license in a documentary,” Tobia said.
Damon, a member of the Army Guard’s 126th Aviation Unit based at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod, is living at The Malone House at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as he recuperates from his injuries, undergoes therapy to use prosthetics and learns to live independently.
The explosion that wounded Damon killed 19-year-old Pfc. Paul Bueche of Alabama.
The Damons have two children.
Jennifer Kovalich can be reached at [email protected]
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