Media now that the HBO documentary has aired

[Northern Shewolf]

and more people are Wiccans than Scientologists, too.

'just sayin...'

And more Jedda knights than $ciloons....

 

[Lulu Belle]

My girl Lainey!



............

http://www.laineygossip.com/


Dear Gossips,

So about Going Clear which aired on HBO on Sunday…

Haven’t written about it because I haven’t seen it. And I haven’t seen it because it didn’t air in Canada. Canadian distributors have decided instead to give the film a proper theatrical run starting on May 8th.

Did you know that before the film’s screening at Sundance, festival volunteers formed a human chain around director Alex Gibney and former Scientology members accompanying him to protect them in case the Church’s protestors got nasty? (Source)

According to The Hollywood Reporter Going Clear was the most-watched HBO documentary in 9 years. With the exception of… BEYONCE. If you really want to call Life Is But A Dream a “documentary”. You’ll recall, that’s the film about Beyonce, directed by Beyonce, in which Beyonce is interviewed by Beyonce. So they’ve classified it as a “concert movie” and the stats about Going Clear still stand.

Going Clear hits theatres in Canada a week after Avengers and a week before Mad Max.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey

...............

Can't wait until she sees it.

Hell, can't wait until I see it.

 

[CommunicatorIC]

[video=youtube;jsKc_JNrQzc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsKc_JNrQzc[/video]

 

[CommunicatorIC]

[video=youtube;833tQKFpl7o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=833tQKFpl7o[/video]

 

[CommunicatorIC]

PJ Tatler: Thinking about Scientology? Might Want to Think Again

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/04/01/thinking-about-scientology-might-want-to-think-again/


* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *

Freedom of religious belief is enshrined in the First Amendment, but that doesn’t mean freedom from criticism of said belief. Some other “religions” might want to think about that.

* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *

 

[Free to shine]

Love this one.

Here’s How Scientology Is Trying (and Failing) To Control the Damage Done by Going Clear

The revelations in Going Clear are too many to count and that very fact is what makes the documentary so overwhelming as an experience. It’s difficult to process as you’re watching it that for decades this cult, which enslaves and regularly tortures its members both physically and psychologically, has not only been able to exist on U.S. soil, it’s been granted non-profit status by the government. This happened after a lengthy back-and-forth in which Scientology just finally wore the feds out. What’s more, some of the most famous people in America have sanctioned and been complicit in the illegal and immoral activities often undertaken by the organization. Tom Cruise in particular could very well now be in a position to lose all the goodwill he managed to regain after his Today show meltdown and Scientology video leak back in the mid-2000s. Gibney’s documentary makes it clear that Cruise has to know that lower members of the church are living lives of anguish to keep him happy and in the fold.

http://thedailybanter.com/2015/03/h...ng-to-control-the-damage-done-by-going-clear/

 

[Lulu Belle]

http://www.technologytell.com/entertainment/60277/review-going-clear-scientology-prison-belief/

(excerpt)

It takes a little while for the concept to sink in: these people are serious. They believe every word they are saying, and if they don’t they have no problem shilling for something that even the most disturbed individual would find outrageous, and perhaps, borderline insane. As the images unfold across the screen, as the large, Nuremberg like gathers generate their own levels of disbelief, you’re faced with an equal crazy idea. Am I watching something from another planet? Has a doorway to a parallel universe opened up, allowing the incomprehensible ramblings of a deranged society to take root within ours?


That’s the feeling one gets after watching the brilliant, aggravating new documentary by Alex Gibney, ‘Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.‘ The title says it all. Using Lawrence Wright’s 2013 bestseller on the subject as a jumping off point, the HBO movie gives a chance for former Scientologists Paul Haggis (Oscar winner for ‘Crash’), Mike Rathburn (the “church’s” former second in command), Mike Rinder (former head of its Office of Special Affairs), Sylvia “Spanky” Taylor (former liaison to current member John Travolta), actor Jason Beghe, along with Tom DeVocht, Sara Goldberg and Hana Eltringham Whitfield.


All tell the same story. It’s one of personal need, spiritual emptiness, cult opportunism, and in most cases, systematic brainwashing and betrayal. All were swept up in the internal discovers their initial sessions with Scientology’s infamous E-Meter and auditing system provided, and many made it to the point in the faith when founder L. Ron Hubbard’s ‘Battlefield Earth’ like creation myth was disclosed. For some, this was the breaking point. For others, it was stances on homosexuality, the Church’s reliance on “slave” labor, and the overwhelming despotism that came when David Miscavige took over for the late, lamented “leader.”


It’s a tale of intrigue and idiocy. It’s a shocking indictment of the so-called “not for profit” organization as well as a wake-up call for all those who believe that, like other organized relions, Scientology is just about bettering one’s self. Sure, ‘South Park’ eviscerated its core principles in a terrific animated spoof, but the reality of what goes on behind the baroque doors of the various organization strongholds puts Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s satire to shame. Take the moment when we learn of Scientology’s desire to become a worldwide message of hope ala “We Are the World” (oddly enough, tied to a victory over the IRS). We are then treated to a music video – yes, a MUSIC VIDEO – which uses members as a choir in melodious praise of the everything it stands for.


There are numerous moments like this: Miscavige borderline incoherent attempts to inform a gathered crowd that L. Ron Hubbard was dead (spin doctors in DC could take a lesson from him). We also get the various PR and recruit video that look like something out of an analogy ‘1984.’ There are surreal interviews with Hubbard himself, a man who seems quite capable of both making a clear and cogent case for his beliefs and, simultaneously, muddying the waters with his crackpot flights of fancy. Indeed, for every rational theory position offered, we are treated to testimony from the former members putting it all into one crazed context after another. By the time Tom Cruise shows up, we’re already convinced something evil is happening here.

 

[Karen#1]

Mike Rinder on Fox TV this evening Kelly Files, minutes ago.

There is a part one and two tonight and the series continue tomorrow.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/41483375...lear/?playlist_id=2694949842001#sp=show-clips​

 

[JBWriter]

Last night, Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) tweeted to his 15.9 million followers...

If I Tweet something critical about Scientology, what’s the worst that could ha

Link to @ConanOBrien Twitter timeline here: https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/with_replies

JB

 

[imSPecial]

Has anyone seen any comment from anyone holding any office anywhere?

I keep looking but I haven't seen one yet. I keep hoping for a comment from Ron Wyden, Oregon's Senator who has requested comment/investigation by the IRS already and wondering why that little tidbit hasn't made it into an article because it sure is pertinent.

 

[Intentionally Blank]

Piers Morgan on twitter calling on Tom Cruise to ditch the cult:

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/583619180089442304

Link to article - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...e-cult-Scientology-Hollywood-ditches-him.html

Excerpt:

After watching both clips, you’re left thinking Cruise is a complete and utter whack-job.For a long time, rumours have circulated about his weird relationship with Scientology.


Now, those rumours have been cemented in a documentary of irrefutably detailed journalistic research and sourcing.
(HBO reportedly had 166 lawyers poring over everything before the film was cleared for broadcast.)



+5





The Church, as it always does, reacted with a vicious public diatribe against the film-makers and HBO – condemning it as a pack of lies.


Denigrating opponents is their default position to any perceived attack.


But this time, judging by the horrified reaction from the public on social media (I was on Twitter when “Going Clear” aired on Sunday night and the fury against Cruise was instant and intense), it won’t work.

 

[imSPecial]

Piers Morgan on twitter calling on Tom Cruise to ditch the cult:

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/583619180089442304

Link to article - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...e-cult-Scientology-Hollywood-ditches-him.html

Excerpt:

This is really a great article! Basically: TC should ditch the cult or Hollywood should ditch him.

 

[JBWriter]

Ever see the film, Matilda?
The title character was played by Mara Wilson.
She's now an adult... who tweets to 183k followers.

@MaraWritesStuff tweeted...

Watched Going Clear. It bothers me when people make light of Scientology. It's not what they believe, it's what they DO

Families have been ripped apart. Lives have been ruined. That's not funny, it's incredibly sad.

Leave the mocking to South Park.

Link to @MaraWritesStuff Twitter timeline here: https://twitter.com/MaraWritesStuff/with_replies

JB

 

[WildKat]

Bumping this great thread. Thanks to all those posting links!

 

[Free to shine]

Great article on Tom Cruise and the effect of Going Clear. Can you imagine reading something like this in mainstream media not that long ago??

Tom Cruise must ditch the vile cult of Scientology NOW before Hollywood ‎ditches him

Now he’s been exposed as a nasty piece of work conspiring with an even nastier cult to treat people like dirt and manipulate their minds.

And it threatens to destroy his reputation and career.

The star, once so verbose in his support about Scientology, has so far remained resolutely silent since “Going Clear” aired.

But that strategy won’t fly with anything like the success Maverick once did.

Tom Cruise is now facing his moment of truth.

Either he cuts off the Church of Scientology with the same ruthless selfishness he seems to have deployed in first selecting and disposing of the women in his life.

Or, in the wake of this factual horror movie, I suspect Hollywood will finally cut HIM off.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...logy-Hollywood-ditches-him.html#ixzz3WCC9TWb1

 

[Free to shine]

A commentary on watching the intro DVDs.

I just watched five hours of Scientology DVDs and here's what I learned

After watching over five hours of Scientology DVDs, I think I’m finally ready to respond. I’m not interested.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/i-watched-five-hours-of-scientology-dvds-2015-4

 

[Free to shine]

This is funny, funny and only a minute long!


Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Scientology


http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/47f96542c7/indiana-jones-and-the-temple-of-scientology

 

[Free to shine]

Another interesting article, and it shows people are starting to get the bigger picture.

Religion is a pyramid scheme: Scientology and the lasting lesson of “Going Clear”

L. Ron Hubbard, or LRH, as he liked to style himself, was an American of unprepossessing origins in search of meaning and money. Possibly he found the first, and is just now cavorting with intergalactic spirits in the sky. Most definitely he found the second, riding a rocket ship of wacked-out ambition to create what is now essentially a tax-free shell company with $3 billion in assets and real estate holdings on six continents.

Gibney doesn’t give us LRH as a madman, or even a simple huckster. The penny-a-word pulp fiction writer could have just been another loser who couldn’t manage to finish college and whose less-than-stellar naval service went awry when he inadvertently used a Mexican island for target practice and was deemed unfit for command. Going Clear traces the young man’s early perambulations through California occultism and various hare-brained moneymaking schemes to the Jersey Shore, where he washed up exhausted and plagued by anxiety. Another man might have just given up. But not LRH.

...

But Scientology may have met its biggest threat in the form of the interconnected digital universe of the Internet. For a long time, the Church was able to seclude its members from news and information from the outside world. Now it’s not so easy, and critics spread stories of what they have witnessed behind the Cosmic Curtain. Scientologists have responded by aggressively buying up Google ads and engaging in various online campaigns to discredit critics and bury unflattering portrayals. But the details of its nefarious practices are seeping out. You can’t audit an entire population.

http://www.salon.com/2015/04/02/rel...nd_the_lasting_lesson_of_going_clear_partner/

 

[Free to shine]

Cool.

A Comprehensive Updated List of Every Celebrity Linked to Scientology

L. Ron Hubbard began Scientology’s “Project Celebrity” in 1955, offering a list of 63 high-profile targets and a “small plaque” as a reward to anyone who successfully brought the likes of Bob Hope and Ernest Hemingway into the church. “There are many to whom America and the world listens...” Scientology’s blustery founder wrote in a newsletter announcing the plan. “It is obvious what would happen to Scientology if prime communicators benefitting from it would mention it now and then.” Sixty years later, was Project Celebrity a success?

http://gawker.com/a-comprehensive-updated-list-of-every-celebrity-linked-1694554276

 

[Free to shine]

I love Russell Brand.

Brand – who appeared with Cruise in the film Rock Of Ages in 2012 – said: ‘He was not interested.

‘He couldn’t give a monkey’s about trying to sign me up. I was gutted.

‘They thought I was a troublemaker probably. I’m p***ed off about that.’ Brand also said he was astounded when no one else appeared to be impressed as the Top Gun legend began channelling his character from Jerry Maguire while the pair shared a car with ex-wife Katie Holmes and daughter Suri. ‘I’m in the back of a car and Tom Cruise is doing that thing and I looked round to see if everyone else was impressed, but they were just looking at their phones… because they were Tom Cruise’s wife or kid or whatever,’ he told podcast audioBoom.

http://metro.co.uk/2015/04/02/russe...ught-i-was-too-wacky-for-scientology-5131748/