Anti-DeLay film hits close to home

A documentary following the criminal investigation that led to the indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) will open May 5 at the Angelica Theater in Houston, according to the film’s distributor.

DeLay’s district includes suburban Houston, and the Angelica Theater is downtown.

After the opening, the documentary will be released in DVD form and be distributed in video stores and on a website, www.tomdelaymovie.com. Part of the release plan is to organize thousands of viewing parties in private homes and churches in Texas and across the country instead of a movie-theater release, said the film’s distributor, Robert Greenwald of Brave New Productions.

DeLay faced a primary challenge yesterday, and Democrats have been gearing up for a run at his district in the fall.

Filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck, who self-financed their three-year project, initially planned to follow DeLay around and document his rise. But the pair did not receive any access and shortly after the campaign-fundraising and redistricting scandal started to grow, Democratic Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle granted the filmmakers access to his office.

The documentary, "The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress," is meant to "let people know what actually happened," Schermbeck said. "From the feedback that we get, people say that it is a scandal that they did not understand. We connect the dots. We traced the last four years and put it in such a way that people understand what he is in trouble for."

Politically, Birnbaum is a self-described independent who leans Democratic while Schermbeck said he voted in the Republican primary. Whom he votes for, however, depends on the race, he said.

DeLay has repeatedly criticized Earle for giving the filmmakers access to his office.

"I haven’t seen it and really don’t plan on hanging out with a bunch of liberal activists at a house party in Austin to catch a sneak peak," DeLay spokeswoman Shannon Flaherty said, "but this documentary just offers further proof that Ronnie Earle is more committed to chasing headlines and fulfilling his revenge fantasy than actually upholding the law."