Moore recently shot segments poking fun at Giuliani, but he said
he believes the suit by millionaire Ira Rennert prompted the city to
pull the plug on his Bravo channel show, "The Awful Truth."

Rennert charges that Moore harassed his Park Ave. neighbors and
sent a crew to trespass on his giant Southampton, L.I., estate to
embarrass him.

Julianne Cho, a spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office of Theatre,
Film and Broadcasting, said the city will deny Moore shooting
permits, "pending the results of the court action."

The city has granted thousands of permits to other film makers
facing lawsuits.

Moore, who trashed General Motors in his 1989 film "Roger and
Me" and is known for his ambush interviews, denies Rennert's
allegations.

He told the Daily News last night he might file his own suit to force
the city to let him resume shooting.

"It's an absurd violation of our First Amendment rights," he said.

Moore said the city denied him a permit to interview pedestrians
outside the Barney's store on Madison Ave. on Sunday for a
segment called "Beat the Rich."

The city also refused permission to film a spoof on workfare
yesterday at Jamaica Hospital in Queens and a segment on the
merger of Chrysler and Daimler-Benz today on Wall St.

Moore said he recently filmed a Yankee Stadium segment in front
of Gracie Mansion.

Dozens of Bronx residents tried to give the guards blueprints for
condos that they want Giuliani to build for them next to a new
Yankees ballpark in Manhattan.

Moore said he also filmed a show in midtown that made fun of
Giuliani's crackdown on porn shops.

Giuliani spokesman Jack Deacy said the content of Moore's
program had nothing to do with his permit troubles.

"There's a very simple reason why the city will not issue another
permit to Michael Moore: Because Michael Moore has violated
the terms of [previous] permits that he received," Deacy said.

He said he could not provide any examples.

Moore said city officials have never told him of any permit
violations. He also said he plans to move production of the show's
studio-audience segments from New York City to Chicago.

"This is too much harassment to be shooting this in New York
City," he said.

"I realize that some people don't understand satire, but I wouldn't
have thought Mayor Giuliani is one of those people," Moore said.
"To try and shut down an entire show in a country that has a First
Amendment — last time I checked, this was still the United
States."

Giuliani, who was speaking in Memphis last night, could not be
reached for comment on the flap.

-- Midknight - 11/17/98