It's one thing to disagree with somebody. It's another to censor them. That's the central problem with the United Kingdom's decision to condemn The Great Global Warming Swindle, a documentary by Martin Durkin arguing exactly what its title implies.

A response to the global warming awareness popularized by An Inconvenient Truth, Durkin's film was considered disingenuous from the perspective of British broadcast regulator Ofek, which ruled that Channel 4 violated the country's boundaries of impartiality when it broadcast the movie last year. Apparently, Durkin manipulated his subjects in order make them verify his questionable stance that global warming was a conspiracy.

Now, I find it hard to buy into any movie that puts its ugly one-sided argument right in the title, but there's something to be said for freedom of speech in this case. What's the U.K. doing with these nonsensical impartiality laws? Since when do documentaries have to remain objective and avoid agendas? Even your average PBS program takes a side. The ruling suggests a totalitarian mindset where art is subjected to a group think mentality, and that's scary. What if The Dark Knight were banned for condoning torture? Maybe that's an extreme comparison, so try this one: What does Ofcom think about Michael Moore?

From global warming to toasting a presidential candidate? Davis Guggenheim, who won an Academy Award for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, is reportedly working on a film about Senator Barack Obama that will be shown during the Democratic National Convention in late August, according to The Huffington Post.

Guggenheim was seen accompanying Obama during his visit to Butte, Montana, on Friday afternoon. Guggenheim said only that he was traveling with his son and doing some interviews, though a tipster told a reporter the film shoot was on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and the convention. An Obama staff member later told the New York Post that "elements of what [Guggenheim] is shooting may be used," but declined to be more specific.

The Huff Post article says that Davis Guggenheim's father, Charles Guggenheim, chronicled John F. Kennedy, though IMDb shows that Charles Guggenheim won an Academy Award for Robert Kennedy: Remembered, a live action short subject that was compiled from footage that Guggenheim had shot over the years.

An Inconvenient Truth didn't move me as it did many others, but it would be interesting to see if Guggenheim could make something that would liven up the convention broadcast. No word on whether Senator John McCain has recruited any Academy Award-winning documentary filmmakers, though Variety described him as "a major movie freak" back in January 2007; he picked John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate as his favorite political film.

Just when it seemed like Al Gore couldn't reassert his international stature any further comes word that An Inconvenient Truth is getting turned into an opera. Seriously. Currently in planning stages for the 2011 season at Italy's Milan opera house, the new work will undoubtedly carry the same tone of global peril that the erstwhile vice president enforces in the film, although one imagines they'll probably do away with some of the dry Power Point material. It's not the most practical choice for an adaptation, that's for sure: The way it's assembled in the film, Gore's lecture manages to engage a diverse audience, while the guy comes off as assertive and witty, which makes you wonder what sort of president he would have made -- but that singular charm doesn't necessarily translate into the sort of theatrics demanded by a massive stage spectacle.

It's too early to get any sense for the final product, but for now, the conceit sounds like ridiculous fodder for a Saturday Night Live sketch, and it's hard to envision anything but a parody of the source (consider the infamous case of Jerry Springer: The Opera). Personally, I can see the revamped An Inconvenient Truth taking a cue from Wagner's Ring Cycle and setting the stage ablaze around the main character in a horrific look-what-might-happen finale as a team of green-friendly celebrities chant "Give us Gore" from stage left, their pathetic words drowned out by a deafening orchestral surge ... but maybe that's pushing it.

Hey, remember that film that received so much hype and controversy only to be released with a whimper and a lot of negative reviews? I'm talking about Death of a President, a non-comedic mockumentary focused on the (fictional) assassination of George W. Bush. I thought it was a terrible movie, and not because I thought it was tasteless. I actually thought the idea was interesting; I just didn't think it was executed well in the style in which it was done. But plenty of others, including my friends and colleagues, liked the darn thing. It even played for a few months (mostly on Saturday nights) at the Pioneer Theater here in New York. Most astonishing, though, is the fact that it won an Emmy Award the other night. Actually, it was an International Emmy, for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series.

I didn't even know the International Emmys existed until the other night. I was walking down a Manhattan street and saw all these people in tuxedos walking up the red carpet to the ceremony. I didn't recognize anyone, but now, for all I know, one of the monkey-suited gents I walked past was DOAP filmmaker Gabriel Range. Not that I would have told him I disliked his movie -- once he had the statue in hand he wouldn't have cared what I thought anyway. Still, Robert DeNiro was apparently at the event, presenting a special award to Al Gore. Others who not only attended but also won include British actor Jim Broadbent, Dutch actor Pierre Bokma, French actress Muriel Robin and Stephen Fry, who features in the Best Documentary-winner Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive.

Good ol' Al Gore has some such a very long way. After being Bill Clinton's Vice President, he "lost" to George Dubya Bush in his own Presidential bid and slipped off the radar. Who would have ever imagined that a few years later, he'd make waves with a Power Point presentation-turned-super-popular documentary called An Inconvenient Truth, win an Emmy, and Oscar, and now, the Nobel Peace Prize. Yes folks, The Age reports that his Nobel nomination came through with a co-win that he shares with IPCC chairman Dr. Rajendra Pachauri.

He is, of course, "deeply honored" to win the $1.5 million prize, and will be giving his share to the Alliance for Climate Protection, which is a non-profit organization he founded last year. Gore says: "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level."

Not everyone agrees, and Australian Age includes a rather amusing run-down of their own country's political responses. Prime Minister, John Howard refused to watch the documentary and wouldn't take policy advice from films. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said: "There are three places I do not go for advice on climate change," and proceeded to list the Labor Party of Australia, the movies, and "unsuccessful candidates for the US presidency." Obviously, not everyone shares their opinion, and it's pretty impressive to see continued recognition coming from one small film. So, how long will it take for the next round of presidential hopeful buzz to fade, or will this actually convince him to try again?

I was talking with a friend the other day about the shocking decline in the quality of Kevin Spacey's films. It seems as though that Oscar for American Beauty was some sort of horrific curse, sending him into a long run of ill-advised, disastrous movie projects. Look at the man's filmography pre and then post Beauty. It's distressing! But Variety is reporting on a flick that sounds like it might turn things around. HBO Films' Recount will tell the story of the Florida results in the 2000 election, one of the most controversial political events of recent years. As Monika recently told you, Sydney Pollack was supposed to direct but dropped out due to "an undisclosed illness." Jay Roach, a director primarily known for broad comedy (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Meet the Parents, and their lesser sequels), will now direct. Danny Strong wrote the screenplay. The film will document "the legal and political maneuvering from the point of view of both the Bush and Gore camps."

Spacey will star as Ron Klain, "former chief of staff to vice president Al Gore and one of the lead attorneys who challenged the voting results in Florida." In addition to Spacey, Recount has lined up one hell of a supporting cast: Laura Dern will play Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state who certified that George W. Bush had won the state. Denis Leary (what went wrong on this season of Rescue Me, DL?) plays Michael Whouley, a Democrat pollster. John Hurt plays Warren Christopher, a key player for Gore. Tom Wilkinson plays James Baker, brought in by the Republicans to see that the disputed results held up. And two Christopher Guest alums will duke it out in the courtroom. Ed Begley, Jr will play David Boies, the lawyer who appealed the results and argued for the Democrats. Bob Balaban plays Ben Ginsberg, head attorney for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. See what I mean about that supporting cast? You won't have to demand a Recount -- look for the film on HBO during the 2008 presidential election.

Can't get enough of great docs? You may have missed these during their fest runs, but you can still catch them on DVD. Here are seven documentaries from the last couple years that are well worth seeing, if you haven't caught them yet ...

1) Deliver Us From Evil -- Amy Berg's wrenchingly painful documentary about Oliver O'Grady (pictured, above), a pedophile priest who was moved around from parish to parish to prey on unsuspecting families by his boss, Cardinal Roger Mahony , now Archbishop of Los Angeles (who just a couple days ago, announced a $660 million pre-trial settlement of sexual abuse cases involving other priests), in spite of Mahony's knowledge of O'Grady's penchant for raping children, is a must see, and frankly, I'm shocked that more people haven't seen this Oscar-nommed film. It was by far the most powerful film I saw at last year's Toronto International Film Festival last year. If you haven't seen this film, get it in your DVD rental queue post haste.

2) Jesus Camp -- Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing have kind of take the documentary world by storm the past couple of years, with two back-to-back years of being on the feature-length documentary Oscar short list (hey, it's only a matter of time before they win, trust me). In 2005 they made the excellent Boys of Baraka (also worth catching on DVD if you want to have yourself a Rachel-and-Heidi weekend), and then they hit the ball out of the park again with Jesus Camp, about which our own James Rocchi said, "The best horror film I've seen all year is a documentary."

When movies start to matter beyond entertainment value, box office receipts and popcorn sales, is that a sign that the end of the world is nigh? We've been writing a lot lately about Michael Moore and the impact of his latest film, SICKO, Leonardo DiCaprio, who's been relentlessly promoting his environmental film, The 11th Hour. Last year, Al Gore generated a big splash (and cries of "Gore in 2008!") with his end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it slide show turned Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, which I first wrote about at Sundance in 2006, when Gore shocked me by showing up for the Q&A with a passion I'd never seen in the man before. Amy Berg's wrenching Deliver Us from Evil, which played last year at Toronto, brought the issue of the alleged cover-up of decades of sexual abuse committed by priest Oliver O'Grady by the Catholic Church to the forefront. Suddenly, it seems, documentary filmmaking isn't just about informing -- it's about affecting real social change.

I don't mean to sound cynical, but I'm not surprised that the new environmental documentary The 11th Hour timed the release of a new trailer with the recent Live Earth festivities to capitalize on a little free press. The official MySpace page has the theatrical trailer, with an introduction by DiCaprio himself. The 11th Hour was produced by DiCaprio, and he also narrates. Directed by Leila Conners Petersen, the film's 'manifesto' is to "explore how we've arrived at this moment -- how we live, how we impact the earth's ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course". There is also an official site up and running with plenty of educational resources as well as some extra info on the various talking heads that appear in the film. There is a pretty wide spectrum; from Professor Stephen Hawking, to Ray Anderson, an interior furnishings mogul who has become one of the best examples of how industry and environmentalism can peaceably co-exist.

This is probably a pet project for DiCaprio, who has been pretty involved in a variety of environmental causes over the years, and has been a vocal supporter of Power Point presenter extraordinaire, Al Gore. To be honest, the trailer alone has already scared the bejesus out of me -- and strangely enough, it almost looks like a big-budget action picture -- with the added bonus of emotionally scarring images of penguins overrun by trash heaps and shameful footage of Hurricane Katrina victims. While this doesn't exactly seem like a fun night at the movies, it's the kind of film you almost feel guilty about not watching. The 11th Hour is slated to hit theaters on August 17.

If this summer movie season shows us anything, it's that Hollywood has gone sequel-crazy. These greedy studio executives keep demanding more explosions, more superheroes, more Power Point presentations about global warming! Wait...what was that last one? Yes folks, An Inconvenient Truth Part 2 is on the way. It doesn't mention whether former presidential candidate (and, many would argue, rightful winner) Al Gore will be involved again, but I would imagine he'd have to be. According to the Truth's director, Davis Guggenheim, "I'm meeting with Paramount next week to talk about a sequel to Inconvenient Truth. Too early to talk about details." Considering the extremely low-key nature of the original, it was churned out in a mere five months, and that quick turnaround could mean we'll see the sequel in time for the 2008 presidential election.

Guggenheim had been largely a television director before An Inconvenient Truth hit it big. He was behind the camera for episodes of great shows like Deadwood and The Shield. He branches out again for his new movie Gracie, which opens on June 1st. It's a scripted film, stars Dermot Mulroney and Elizabeth Shue, and is about a teenage girl who fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer. Don't know if it will be as powerful a soccer film as the Rodney Dangerfield vehicle Ladybugs, but we shall see. Truth won the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award earlier this year, and also picked up a win for Melissa Etheridge's incredibly average theme song. I thought the movie was very informative and entertaining enough, but I could have gone for a lot less scenes of Al Gore walking around to lame narration. There's still a lot to learn about the environment and where the world is headed, I'd be up for a sequel. I can hear the trailer now: "An Inconvenient Truth 2. The truth...just got a lot more inconvenient."