The incredible media, industry and public interest in Gangs of New York is perfectly understandable. There is always great anticipation for a project by Martin Scorsese, one of the great directors of all time.

But his latest work is particularly special. It features Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel-Day Lewis and Cameron Diaz, was filmed on a 2-mile long re-creation of 1860's downtown New York City and took place in one of the most challenging times in American History--the 1863 Draft Riots. It's a project Marty has been working on for more than 25 years.

Unfortunately, some recent articles and columns about the film have focused on an alleged "brawl" between Marty and myself, yet have failed to tell the real story - the miracle that occurred so this movie could be made. In telling the true story of that miracle, I want to provide an insight into some of the real challenges that arose in completing this project, and how making this movie became one of the highlights of my career.

My first experience with Marty came during the production of "The Grifter" - a film co-financed by Miramax, produced by Marty and Barbara De Fina, and directed by Stephen Frears. I learned so much watching Marty in the editing room, where his input was invaluable to the film.

On another occasion, Marty and I collaborated on an "enlightening experiment". I called a director with a series of edits to her film, all of which she soundly rejected. Six weeks later, when Marty called with the same edits, the director embraced them, made the changes, and the film was a success. We were surprised and pleased that we had independently shared the same opinion.

Now with Gangs of New York, perhaps if we had spoken to those reporters, who chose to write about the alleged fighting between us, we could have corrected the misconception that Marty and I do not get along. In hindsight, we should have done just that.

"Gangs" provided a rare opportunity, like 'Shakespeare in Love', for me to serve in the dual capacity of of being one of the producers of the film, and co-chairman of the studio.Bob DeNiro advised me before I became involved with this project, "Your job is to protect and serve"

So as producer, it was my job to see that Marty had everything he needed to fulfil his artistic vision for the project. To that end, before moving ahead with "Gangs", I sought advice from those who knew Marty well - including DeFina his producer, and Irwin Winkler, who worked with him on "Goodfellas" and other successes.

Miramax first became involved with Gangs when Disney placed the film in turnaround, after they had shopped it around to different studios but still could not get proper financing. Had we not come on board and bridged the deal with Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) and Touchstone, the project would have been shelved. We should get an "A" for ambition for backing Marty on his most cherished project - a film he had fought to make for a quarter of a century and was turned down by every other studio in Hollywood.

We worked hard to provide Marty with the best of everything. We lobbied Daniel-Day Lewis to join the cast, agreed to Marty's request to provide a detailed set portraying Civil-War era New York, hired scores of extras, and supported his decision to shoot the film in lifelike 360 degrees. We also unequivocally encouraged Marty to take as much time as he needed in the editing room and provided HIM with final cut.

Marty made the set into a unique classroom, where the stars and everyone else were his pupils.

He created such a sense of comraderie and family that even after 6 months of shooting, Leo and Daniel agreed to continue working for an extra eight weeks. And Cameron, whose contract was origianlly for less than six weeks work, stayed six months. All three actors took significantly reduced fees to participate in this labor of love.

I fondly remember one particular day in the shoot when I called Leo and Cameron from their dressing rooms, just to see Marty work. We all watched him set up and shoot a spectacular tracking shot on the Satan's Circus portion of the set, one as complicated as the famous tracking shot from "Goodfellas".

Marty captured the attention of everyone on the set as he brilliantly maneuvered the camera, weaving in and out of this busy 19th century gangland club, panning across a wide array of characters before zooming in on Daniel seated at a table playing cards. When Marty finished the shot, the entire cast and crew burst out in applause. But that's what it was like most days on the set - Marty impressing even the most hardened veterans with his magic.

But those unnamed sources who have alleged disharmony on the set of "Gangs" won't tell you those stories. They also never leaked stories about Marty taking the time to answer hours of questions from film students who came to visit the set. And they certainly never recalled the "Saturday Nights with Marty" that rivaled "Tuesdays with Morrie"...so let ME tell you..

Every Saturday night Marty would recommend another film which offered insight into his inspiration for Gangs. The list, which ultimately grew to nearly 80 films, included Visconti's Senso - for its brilliant period design and use of colour; the 1930s film The Bowery - for its recreation of old New York; and others like the silent film The Man Who Laughed and Fred Zinnemann's A Hatful of Rain. My favourite was The Night of the Hunter, starring Robert Mitchum and directed by Charles Laughton.

There were special moments on the set too....like Christmas Eve, when we went to our favorite local restaurant in Rome and Cameron gave carnations to all of the waiters and kitchen staff to celebrate the holiday.

At this stage in my career, nothing ceases to amaze me. But the cynicism of some reporters still saddens me. The unnamed sources "close to the production" who have remained off the record clearly were not a part of the same film-making experience that was enjoyed by the talented cast and crew - Leo, Daniel, Cameron and myself. As a result, none of the true stories of camaraderie, passion and talent have been leaked. Instead, we got misrepresentations of events.

I use this article to challenge reporters to ONLY indulge those naysayers with the guts to complain "on the record" and to offer us the chance to respond.

Any reporter who did the right research would learn that Gangs is a film Marty has wanted to make for decades. Yet not one reporter has asked Marty or me for anything positive about this collaboration - not one question about Marty making his dream movie, nothing about Daniel returning to the screen, nothing EVEN about Leo. It seems they had no interest in anything that went right during this process.

Instead, they prefer to exaggerate a few heated moments over the course of eight-and-a-half months of shooting and almost two years of pre- and post-production, while ignoring the fact that our few disagreements were followed immediately by laughs.

It has shown me that the filmaking world is still so foreign to many of the reporters who cover it. They think it is all about disagreements, escalating budgets, schedules going over, when they could be writing about the collaboration, learning, stretching the budget, and the fun.

The delayed release date for "Gangs" has also drawn criticism. In retrospect, it was wishful thinking that we'd be able to release the film by December 2001. I was the biggest fan of the movie after having spent so much time on the set observing Marty's directorial gifts, witnessing Dante Faretti's incredible production design, and reviewing dailies showcasing Michael Baulhas' stunning cinematography. None of these artists has ever won an Academy Award, so December 2001 meant the possibility of recognition for them. I am guilty of over-enthusiasm for setting such an unattainable date. I pushed too hard. I was wrong.

Also immediately after September 11, we recognised that the film's portrayal of Americans fighting Americans in lower Manhatten during the 1863 Draft Riots might be too painful for audiences so soon after the attacks. The delay afforded Marty additional editing time. After seeing the nearly completed version of the film two weeks ago, less than a year after it completed shooting, we were proud to announce that it will arrive in theaters this Christmas.

Mary recently explained that "we came up with the version we like with a good running time. It's two hours, forty minutes, and I'm very proud of it". When asked whether he might one day release a longer "director's cut" as a DVD release, Marty responded, "I don't think so because this really is the director's cut, the finished version." Any of our competitors who are licking their chops hoping that this project will be a failure and hurt our backers finacially will be disappointed. While much has been made of the film's "enormous" budget, the $97 million total budget (approximately $13 million over the original $84 million projection) is completely along the lines of many star driven studio films. All parties involved made responsible deals to limit the risks, so that no one would particularly suffer should things go badly. We sold foreign rights to IEG for approximately $68m, and they subsequently sold off individual territories. We retained the US domestic rights with Touchstone, splitting equally the remaining $29m in production costs and future print and advertising costs. Considering Miramax's $161m in profits last year, Gangs provides a relatively limited financial risk. The film only needs to gross between $50m-$60m in the US to be profitable for us.

Look, I'm no angel, I have had my share of fights, including a couple of memorable ones with James Ivory. While James recognised that my suggestions on Mr and Mrs Bridge were worthwhile (they did have the approval of Paul Newman), James and I failed to see eye to eye on Golden Bowl. So we agreed to disagree and walked away amicably. But that's not the way I feel about Marty and about Gangs. Marty and I have been friends for over 20 years, and we have always talked out any differences and worked things through. Gangs was a joy for my brother Bob and me - a truly special, memorable experience.