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Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After 'Threats' From Church

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After 'Threats' From Church.

Hollywood Reporter: Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After Pressure From Church

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/going-clear-dropped-florida-theater-824627

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by Pamela McClintock

9/18/2015 1:13pm PDT

Clearwater, Florida is home of the world spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology.

A movie theater in Clearwater, Florida — home of the world spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology — has dropped plans to play Alex Gibney's documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief after being pressured by the church, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

However, residents of Clearwater, including former members of the church, still will be able to see Gibney's Scientology movie when HBO Documentary Films re-releases it in theaters. The AMC Woodlands Square 20 in the neighboring town of Olsdmar, some 12 miles from Clearwater, has agreed to pick up the documentary and play it on behalf of HBO Films.

Going Clear was released in only a few theaters on March 13, 2015 before airing on HBO on March 29, scoring HBO's biggest premiere ever for a documentary. Gibney's film, based on Lawrence Wright's book of the same name, offers a damning view of Scientology, including the role such celebrities as Tom Cruise and John Travolta play in furthering the church's efforts. It won three Emmys last Saturday, including outstanding documentary film.

Cobb Countryside 12, which had planned to play the movie, informed HBO Documentary Films in recent days that it wouldn't play Going Clear after allegedly receiving threats from the church, according to sources. It's unclear what those threats were and to whom they were directed. HBO declined to comment and Cobb could not immediately be reached for comment. A representative of the Church of Scientology did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In most cases, major theater chains won't play a film that is available on other platforms. AMC has made exceptions for some specialty films, agreeing to rent, or "four wall," an auditorium. Sources say that is the case with Going Clear.

As awards season gears up, HBO Films is re-releasing Going Clear in roughly 20 theaters in select markets, beginning with New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Washington, Miami and other major cities on Sept. 25. On Oct. 2, it will book additional theaters in other markets, including AMC Woodlands Square.

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Cobb Theatres Twitter
@CobbTheatres
https://twitter.com/CobbTheatres


Cobb Countryside 12 Theatre Webpage
http://www.cobbtheatres.com/countryside12.aspx

Westfield Countryside, 27001 US Hwy 19 N #2100, Clearwater, FL 33761
(727) 683-0011
 
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Enthetan

Master of Disaster
Re: Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After Pressure From Church

The way Scn works it, is they threaten to sue. Then they sue.

It doesn't matter if they don't have a case, the objective is to make the target have to spend money on lawyers.

Theater chain managers aren't interested in getting involved in lawsuits, with a party with a reputation for getting nasty in the courts. People with assets don't like being sued.

That was the case up all over, until the Internet. On the internet, you could spread negative data about Scn, and they have a hard time finding out who you are in order to sue. And then, for each critic they take down, a dozen more emerge.

It's like being a hunter with a high-powered rifle, finding yourself attacked by fire ants. It can be frustrating for them.
 

Little David

Gold Meritorious Patron
Re: Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After Pressure From Church

Maybe Scientology said no Scientologists would go to that theater if they showed Going CLear. Would enough of their customers be Scientologists to make that an effective threat?
 

Boson Wog Stark

Patron Meritorious
Re: Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After Pressure From Church

Maybe Scientology said no Scientologists would go to that theater if they showed Going CLear. Would enough of their customers be Scientologists to make that an effective threat?

My guess is that Sea Org members would not be going to that theater much anyway, but perhaps the theater would not want to antagonize any public Scientology members in the Clearwater area who go occasionally. All businesses in Clearwater have to live a midst the cult, and they don't want to be targeted by the cult.

The backlash of this could be terrible for the cult though, since it has the potential to bring MORE local attention to the film, and is just another example to the world of how Scientology operates.:lol:
 
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lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
Clearwater OSA stat in affluence :happydance:

One terrorized theater inc. won't play Going Clear :omg:


Phew!
The planet will be saved from evil :roflmao:

56553151.jpg
 
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Churchill

Gold Meritorious Patron
Truth in advertising should require that Scientology be renamed The "Church" of Perpetual Censorship.

Scientology exerts iron-fisted information control over it's members, dictating exactly what Scientologists are permitted to read, hear, and watch...on the Internet, on television, radio, in bookstores, and at the movies. This is an essential characteristic of a dangerous cult which John Travolta demonstrated by his response when asked if he planned to see Going Clear.

But when Scientology attempts to extend its censorship efforts beyond its own dwindling membership to the wider society, they mark themselves as a totalitarian, anti freedom of speech, Mafia-like, criminal organization and they should be denounced by the wider society including our elected representatives.


The long, sordid record of human rights abuses perpetrated by this phony "religious" entity needs much, much more public exposure...not less.

And any government that ignores the voices of Alex Gibney and Lawrence Wright and the extraordinary testimony of the whistle-blowers who appeared in Going Clear cannot later claim ignorance as an excuse for inaction.

The word is out. We need elected officials who are interested in upholding the law and the principle of freedom of speech and who will not fold like a cheap camera when Scientology huffs and puffs and bares its rotten founder's teeth.
 
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CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
Mike Rinder has weighed in:

The Latest Scientology PR Foolery

http://www.mikerindersblog.org/the-latest-scientology-pr-foolery/

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Scientology appears to believe they can now tell the citizens of Clearwater what movies they can watch.

Another PR footbullet from scientology.

I wonder if COB Theaters are ready for the backlash for buckling to scientology’s “threats” not to show the film? It’s still on their website even….

Wonder if they might change their minds about being scientology bitches when word gets out?

And I wonder how this is going to effect the Academy Award voters. This is REALLY dangerous territory to be censoring movies. If there was not already a backlash in Hollywood, this might bring it on.

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Operating DB

Truman Show Dropout
Re: Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After Pressure From Church

The way Scn works it, is they threaten to sue. Then they sue.

It doesn't matter if they don't have a case, the objective is to make the target have to spend money on lawyers.

Theater chain managers aren't interested in getting involved in lawsuits, with a party with a reputation for getting nasty in the courts. People with assets don't like being sued.

That was the case up all over, until the Internet. On the internet, you could spread negative data about Scn, and they have a hard time finding out who you are in order to sue. And then, for each critic they take down, a dozen more emerge.

It's like being a hunter with a high-powered rifle, finding yourself attacked by fire ants. It can be frustrating for them.

It's like "Whack-A-Mole" gone wild!
 

Dave B.

Maximus Ultimus Mostimus
I don't know what the problem is for these theaters. They just need to publish every communication they have with $cientology wide and far. Blogs, whatever. Let the world see what $cientology is saying to them. Shine some light on it AMC. Come on now this is 21st century no need to cave in to a crazy kult.
 

George Layton

Silver Meritorious Patron
Re: Florida Theater Drops Scientology Film 'Going Clear' After Pressure From Church

The way Scn works it, is they threaten to sue. Then they sue.

It doesn't matter if they don't have a case, the objective is to make the target have to spend money on lawyers.

Theater chain managers aren't interested in getting involved in lawsuits, with a party with a reputation for getting nasty in the courts. People with assets don't like being sued.

That was the case up all over, until the Internet. On the internet, you could spread negative data about Scn, and they have a hard time finding out who you are in order to sue. And then, for each critic they take down, a dozen more emerge.

It's like being a hunter with a high-powered rifle, finding yourself attacked by fire ants. It can be frustrating for them.

A hunter in a situation like that needs to be careful, he might end up shooting himself in the foot.
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
"Check"

Your only move is to protect the king.

It is not possible for the church to NOT attempt to block the showing in Clearwater and it is not possible for them to stop the backlash and increased interest in the documentary as a result.

The theater is in a win win situation. They have good reason to not show the film under threat of litigation and by complying they put the full burden of censorship and negative PR on the church. If they did show the film I doubt the church would sue but the censorship issue would be much less damaging. In essence, by going ahead and showing the film they could inadvertently help the church avoid the consequences of their own predictable bullheadedness. If the church did sue them, the prolonged fallout would hurt the church even more and benefit the film's notoriety and probably cause an increase in protest loyalty to the theater.

Everyone who wants to see it enough to pony up for a movie ticket is going to see it one way or the other.
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
The funny thing about $cientology attempts to censor any press article or documentary, is that the more they try to censor the more they draw attention on their attempt to censor

People wonder what are they attempting to hide... ????

Since we are living in free countries, why not take your car and go see the HBO documentary,Emmy winner, in another small town nearby????? (it was so easy to watch the documentary on internet) :confused2:

That's curiosity...can't be suppressed..they only success to trigger it :confused2:

I always said that $cientology is the no 1 dammaging agent to $cientology while they think ''wogs'' are stupid dumb they can feed with stupid gross lies and non-sense...

OSA stat = - 5 (covered in several newspapers, websites and certainly local radio) :wink2:
 

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
They have good reason to not show the film under threat of litigation
I've seen nothing that indicates the threat was a threat of litigation. I very much doubt it was. A lawsuit against a single local theater would make no sense when Gibney and his production company have not been sued, and would be even less tenable. It would also be a PR nightmare.

My guess is that the threat was a threat of: (1) picketing by Flag public and local Scientologists holding up signs calling the theater a religious bigot, discriminatory, etc.; and/or (2) a boycott of the theater (and perhaps the entire theater chain) by Flag public and local Scientologists.

I also strongly believe the COS thought this would never become public. Obviously, it was in the best interest of the COS to keep this quiet. It was also in the best interest of the theater chain to keep this quiet if it was going to cave. I suspect an employee of the theater chain who believes in free speech leaked this to get back at Scientology and shame the theater chain.
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
I've seen nothing that indicates the threat was a threat of litigation. I very much doubt it was. A lawsuit against a single local theater would make no sense when Gibney and his production company have not been sued, and would be even less tenable. It would also be a PR nightmare.

My guess is that the threat was a threat of: (1) picketing by Flag public and local Scientologists holding up signs calling the theater a religious bigot, discriminatory, etc.; and/or (2) a boycott of the theater (and perhaps the entire theater chain) by Flag public and local Scientologists.

I also strongly believe the COS thought this would never become public. Obviously, it was in the best interest of the COS to keep this quiet. It was also in the best interest of the theater chain to keep this quiet if it was going to cave. I suspect an employee of the theater chain who believes in free speech leaked this to get back at Scientology and shame the theater chain.

OK, maybe not formal litigation. Could be anything. But what you are describing doesn't sound very quiet. The only chance of keeping this on the down low is if it were blackmail a la PI background research on owners, etc. In either case the theater can tell the church without reservation that they will comply and keep it quiet and then turn right around and leak it to the press. Off the hook with the church, make themselves look like the oppressed and the church the oppressors in one move.

They could do the math - lose Scientology public vs save everyone else. Lets see.........which way is the wind blowing?

Going Clear, Part Deux coming to a theater near you!
 
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