Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) on Netflix
NR20151h 59mDocumentary
Eight people who left the Church of Scientology describe how they were first drawn into it. Among them are a former second-in-command and an Oscar-winning filmmaker.
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- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb8.0/1042,687 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes95%
Trailer
Plot summary
Former members of the Church of Scientology, among them a former second-in-command and a onetime head of its Office of Special Affairs, tell how they came into the movement and what they say they saw while they belonged. Their accounts are set against the history of the group and of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, against archival clips of its celebrity adherents, and against dramatic reconstructions. It also covers how the church treats former members who speak publicly against it. The Church of Scientology denounced the film and its interviewees, taking out full-page newspaper advertisements against it before it aired.
Cast
- Spanky Tayloras Self
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Fear of Scientology's litigiousness made American networks refuse to license any material to the filmmakers, so Alex Gibney used burner phones to contact interviewees and set up secret shoots in people's houses.
- The Church of Scientology took out full-page ads in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times ten days before the film's premiere to denounce Going Clear, comparing it to Rolling Stone's retracted "A Rape on Campus" story; Gibney said he was grateful for the publicity and only wished "they'd put in showtimes".
- The Church of Scientology mounted an international campaign of threatening letters to every distributor and festival to block the film; the Sydney Film Festival screened it anyway, but Qantas, which employs Scientologist John Travolta as an ambassador, refused to show it on its aircraft.
- In March 2015, New York private investigator Eric Saldarriaga pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer hacking after illegally accessing at least 60 email accounts for undisclosed clients, reportedly including someone investigating on behalf of the Church of Scientology; targets included interviewees Mike Rinder and journalist Tony Ortega.
- HBO put "probably 160 lawyers" onto reviewing Going Clear in anticipation of legal challenges from Scientology, and HBO Documentary Films head Sheila Nevins said the church's hostility made her more determined: "They really don't want us to do it. All the reason more to do it".
- The Church of Scientology posted short films attacking the filmmakers and interviewees with titles including "Marty Rathbun: A Violent Psychopath", "Mike Rinder: The Wife Beater" and "Paul Haggis: The Hypocrite of Hollywood".
- The film's UK and Ireland broadcast on Sky Atlantic was stalled because Northern Ireland is not subject to the Defamation Act 2013 and Sky cannot differentiate its signal between regions, leaving it open to legal challenge there; it eventually aired in September 2015.
- After the film's Emmy success, the Church of Scientology was reported to have campaigned to deny it Oscar recognition, including producing an anti-Gibney film and approaching Academy documentary branch members; the film was left out of the Best Documentary category at the 88th Academy Awards.
