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Scientology Ramps Up 'Going Clear' Smear Campaign, Targets Academy Members

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P

Prompto

Banned
The Church of Scientology really doesn’t want Alex Gibney to win an Oscar for his documentary Going Clear.

Since the film — a scathing critique of the controversial church and its celebrity adherents, including Tom Cruise and John Travolta, based on Lawrence Wright's best-selling book — won three Emmys in September, the filmmaker says he has been the subject of an increasingly hostile harassment campaign that has included a Scientology-backed "documentary" and outreach to members of the Academy’s doc branch, the group that selects the Oscar contenders.

"In the last few weeks, Scientology has dramatically ratcheted up its corporate campaign against me and those in the film," Gibney tells THR.

The church has begun making its own film about Gibney and has reached out to several of his peers in connection with a planned profile in a Scientology magazine. Oscar nominee Rory Kennedy (Last Days in Vietnam), who, like Gibney, is a member of the Academy’s documentary branch and sits on the organization’s board of governors, says she recently was approached by a man who requested an interview about Gibney in connection with the Emmy wins. Kennedy says the man, who identified himself as Joe Taglieri, also separately contacted her husband, documentary writer Mark Bailey, and requested he participate in an article. Taglieri did not disclose his Scientology connection, although he has written for the Scientology magazine Freedom. "In this context, to not say [that he wrote for Freedom] was disingenuous, and I thought something was suspect," says Kennedy. "He definitely had an agenda."

Other members of the Academy’s documentary branch who have been contacted by the church include producers John Battsek (Searching for Sugar Man) and Jon Else (The Day After Trinity). While Taglieri did not initially identify what outlet he was writing for, when asked, he said he was a freelance writer working on a piece for Freedom.

Karin Pouw, a spokesperson for the church, acknowledges that "Freedom has been reaching out for some time for a piece about Alex Gibney’s propaganda film." But, she says, "this has nothing to do with the Academy."

Indeed, Scientology has been battling Wright and then Gibney since before the Going Clear book was published in 2013. But as the film has won accolades and taken on a trajectory toward Oscar consideration, the animosity has ramped up, and there has been increased aggression at public events where Gibney and the subjects of Going Clear have spoken. (The film, which received an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run this winter before airing on HBO in March, was rereleased in theaters in September, though church pressure contributed to at least two Florida cinemas refusing to show it.)

On Sept. 28, Gibney was entering the Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles for a talk about his career to the International Documentary Association when a man named Randall Stith approached and told him he was making a movie about him. (According to IMDb, Stith has directed two films: Dead Wrong: How Psychiatric Drugs Can Kill Your Child and Making a Killing: The Untold Story of Psychotropic Drugging. Scientologists adamantly oppose psychiatry and its associated medication.) Stith stayed for the screening of Going Clear, after which he, Taglieri and another Scientologist, Norman Taylor, spoke out during the Q&A session against Taylor’s ex-wife and former Travolta handler, Sylvia "Spanky" Taylor, who appears in the film.
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More at the link
 
A

Any Questions

Member
It amazes me fools can buy into the reptilian over Lord theory....

Still at least I can rely on a bearded vengeful creator who made the world and universe in 7 days I am safe and won't burn in hell.
 
M

Mask

Member
Perhaps their counter-film should be called Sodium? Because they sure have a lot of salt.

All this will backfire for them. They'll go too far, and get noticed a lot more by the government.
 
S

SchrodingerC

Member
Why can't the government shut these assholes down or at least remove their relgious exemptions? With their attacks on people and several deaths linked to their organization you'd think someone would investigate this religion thoroughly.
 
D

Dalek

Member
SchrodingerC said:
Why can't the government shut these assholes down or at least remove their relgious exemptions? With their attacks on people and several deaths linked to their organization you'd think someone would investigate this religion thoroughly.
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The film insinuated that Scientologists had either a) infiltrated the IRS b)was blackmailing high level IRS or c)both.
 
D

DragonSworne

Banned
SchrodingerC said:
Why can't the government shut these assholes down or at least remove their relgious exemptions? With their attacks on people and several deaths linked to their organization you'd think someone would investigate this religion thoroughly.
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Sounds a lot like other religions. Hopefully all religious organizations get harsher government oversight.
 
D

Dogtooth

Banned
Chairman Miscavige welcomes a free exchange of ideas. These reports mischaracterize a very innocent and understandable effort by the church to defend itself against baseless attacks from unhinged individuals.
 
C

collige

Banned
Any Questions said:
It amazes me fools can buy into the reptilian over Lord theory....

Still at least I can rely on a bearded vengeful creator who made the world and universe in 7 days I am safe and won't burn in hell.
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They don't though, the Xenu BS is actually super secret copyrighted lore. Normal people get pulled in by the "free personality tests".
 
L

Lil'DigiOp

Member
SchrodingerC said:
Why can't the government shut these assholes down or at least remove their relgious exemptions? With their attacks on people and several deaths linked to their organization you'd think someone would investigate this religion thoroughly.
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Dalek said:
The film insinuated that Scientologists had either a) infiltrated the IRS b)was blackmailing high level IRS or c)both.
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Im starting to think Scientology isn't even religion based, its just a cover organization for a bunch of people to hide their money tax wise. ("Yearly donations" cough deposits cough)

DragonSworne said:
Sounds a lot like other religions. Hopefully all religious organizations get harsher government oversight.
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They definitely should be investigated but government oversight of religion sounds rather totalitarian, no?
 
A

AuthenticM

Member
I think this is only going to backfire on them. The whole world knows they are shitheads. They really can't do anything but die a slow death.
 
L

LookAtMeGo

Member
Dogtooth said:
Chairman Miscavige welcomes a free exchange of ideas. These reports mischaracterize a very innocent and understandable effort by the church to defend itself against baseless attacks from unhinged individuals.
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Mimosa97 said:
Please be real
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Dogtooth said:
I'm as real as the engrams in your reactive mind.
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tumblr_m8yzc9HrCs1rblup5o1_500.gif
 
Red Mage

Red Mage

Member
DragonSworne said:
Sounds a lot like other religions. Hopefully all religious organizations get harsher government oversight.
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Every. Freaking. Thread.

I really wish people who want to compare Scientology to "other religions" would watch the special or, even better, read the book it was based on.
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
If Gibney is part of the Academy's documentary branch shouldn't he be ineligible for the Oscar to begin with?
 
T

tiredheadcrab

Member
I read a book about how the religion was formed and it was crazy. Hubbard was a very good story teller. I fact the documentary was pretty much the book squeezed into 2 hours. It was a good read and the documentary was really great as well.

I have no problem with religious freedom in this country or anywhere. People should believe what they want but Scientology is something else.

Hubbard and I believe Jim jones both went crazy at the end of their life thinking the cia or fbi were onto them and led them to do some crazy shit.
 
M

Mecha

Member
Any Questions said:
It amazes me fools can buy into the reptilian over Lord theory....

Still at least I can rely on a bearded vengeful creator who made the world and universe in 7 days I am safe and won't burn in hell.
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So brave!! Reliegion has blinded the fundies, but me and you? We are enlightened, our eyes are open, we don't need a magic beard man in the sky anymore!!
 
Z

ZombiePlatypus

Member
Do they not have any self awareness at all? Pretty rich of them to point the fingers at anyone for any wrongdoing considering they shit they themselves pull.
 
S

SchrodingerC

Member
DragonSworne said:
Sounds a lot like other religions. Hopefully all religious organizations get harsher government oversight.
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Except other religions tries to help fellow human beings, unlike Scientology which is mainly about the money and don't expect them to help the poor or run charities. Scientology also has the Fair Game policy which actively encourages harassment of those who criticize the religion, sometimes continuing for years.
 
Bitmap Frogs

Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
I hope that's a troll, otherwise it'd be pretty damn funny if the cult of xenu had an astroturfing account at GAF.
 
S

SkeptiMism

Member
Fenderputty said:
Lol please enlighten us as to why it's not like other religion.
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I'm not gonna get into the argument at least that heavily at the moment (going to sleep soon-ish), but I consider you fairly intelligent so I'm just gonna ask for now, do you really not see any major differences between them?

And if not (or anyway), do you not think it would be good to get rid of Scientology even in short term? Do you have the same opinion on the other religions?

I'll throw my answers to those two: I do think humanity would ultimately be better off realizing we don't need any supernatural imaginary beings (no offense to anyone with that) but it's a long term goal and I don't consider it that important for now (it's happening slowly anyway). But Scientology is in completely different level in my opinion - their whole system is based on still continuing abuse. They really should be stopped as soon as possible.

But I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
 
D

Dogtooth

Banned
Remf said:
How about the "church" taking all of my grandmothers money so she could reach the next level? Freaking brainwashed her and she died penniless.
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I'm sorry, "taking"? Are you suggesting somebody literally stole her money or hacked her bank account or something? Would you say The GAP is "taking" your money when you need khakis?
 
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