LOVE ON FILM

Documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield, whose verite approach has recently produced such work as “Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam” and the new examination of S&M; culture, “Fetishes,” has now turned his cameras on Courtney Love. The rocker-actress serves as his central example in a project he says deals with “media manipulation.”

But in the process, Broomfield says, he’s come up against roadblocks himself, such as an MTV executive allegedly pressuring officials at the Showtime cable channel not to be involved in this project.

Showtime, which like MTV is part of the Viacom conglomerate, had in fact aired some of Broomfield’s past films and was interested in this one, which is being backed in Britain by the BBC. The MTV executive, Broomfield says, was concerned that Love could withhold not only her own work with Hole, but also--as Kurt Cobain’s widow--Nirvana material. Showtime then decided not to be part of this project.

A spokeswoman for MTV said that the company had no response to Broomfield’s claim, and several people who work with Love dismiss the filmmaker’s accusations as self-promotion.

Broomfield was recently tossed out of an ACLU dinner by Mercury Records president and former Love manager Danny Goldberg after taking the podium to make negative comments about Love (who was there to present an award to director Milos Forman).