Rage Against The Machine was in New York City on Wednesday to shoot the video for its new single, with activist film director Michael Moore.

The band set up and shot the clip in front of Federal Hall in downtown Manhattan, drawing a crowd of several hundred people, according to a representative for the city's Deputy Commissioner for Public Information.

But after the band broke down from the video shoot, a slight altercation occurred when Rage, Moore, and a camera crew attempted to walk into the New York Stock Exchange, located across the street from Federal Hall.

A media spokesperson for the New York Stock Exchange told MTV News that its security officers denied entrance to Rage and company and suggested that they head over to the Visitor's Center instead.

The band apparently then got into a verbal shouting match with those same security officers, and frontman Zack de la Rocha was shoved away from the entrance after briefly entering through a side door.

As extras from the shoot began amassing outside the stock exchange, the band and crew left once they realized they would not be permitted to shoot inside the facility. City police moved in to secure the scene, and no one was arrested in relation to the incident.

Because of the possibility of a terrorist strike (a point driven home by the 1993 bombing of the nearby World Trade Center) security at the NYSE is extremely tight. Only members of the stock exchange and traders with credentials are allowed into the building.

The NYSE Visitor's Center, however, is open to the public, which can then enter the stock exchange's gallery after receiving security clearance. The New York Stock Exchange is the fourth leading tourist attraction in New York City.

Such forms of confrontation are nothing new to Rage Against The Machine or Moore, who developed a reputation for his

political-minded filmmaking technique on the strength of his 1989 documentary "Roger & Me."

In that film, Moore recorded his fruitless attempts to interview General Motors CEO Roger Smith about the effects of closing down an automobile plant in Flint, Michigan.

Aside from his film work, Moore has also produced several newsmagazine shows for TV, including "TV Nation" and "The Awful Truth," in which he takes aim at big business and big government via his own working class sensibilities.

As for Rage Against The Machine, a spokesperson for Epic Records confirmed that the band was also in the process of editing the footage from its Mexico City concert last October into a home video.

MTV aired a portion of that performance during an hour-long concert special in November (see [article id="1433557"]"Rage Against The Machine Takes Message To Mexico City, Plans New York In-Store"[/article]).

start of its next U.S. tour, tentatively slated to begin in the spring.

The video for "Sleep Now In The Fire" is expected to begin airing next month.

For more on the video shoot, visit www.michaelmoore.com.