The Church of Scientology takes on the documentary “Going Clear” once again.
Earlier this year HBO released a hard hitting documentary by Alex Gibney. “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” went on to receive great critical praise… from most people. Those who were not happy about it were the actual Church of Scientology. The documentary is being re-released to cinemas all over the country except now in Clearwater, Florida where a theater called Cobb Countryside 12 has reportedly decided against it. The theater had originally agreed to show it but after allegedly receiving many threats from members of the Church of Scientology, they changed their minds. At the time of this writing, the exact nature of said threats are unknown. However for those in the Clearwater area who would like to still see the movie in theaters, a theater called AMC Woodlands Square 20 in Olsdmar, Florida has agreed to show it.
“..just another of Gibney’s publicity stunts to go along with all of the other phony ‘threats’ he has manufactured to get attention. It is pure fiction just like his film. For the truth about his film, see www.Freedommag.org/hbo.”
– Karin Pouw (Official Spokesperson for the Church of Scientology)
One does have to wonder what exactly the church plans to achieve with this move. The film is available on HBO GO for anyone to see. This move will probably not stop anyone who was curious about the documentary from seeing it.
Supposedly the reason for this re-release is because it’s award season. The documentary has already won many awards from the Emmys. The re-release will be on September 25th for the major cities and October 2nd for other theaters. Another thing people may be wondering is why in Clearwater? Well it may have something to do with it being the location of the “worldwide spiritual headquarters” of the Church of Scientology. They want to keep it out of their home turf as it were. This is most likely not the last we’ll hear from the Church about this particular documentary especially once we get more into awards season and the film starts collecting nominations, which it most likely will.
Do you think the Church of Scientology will have an influence on “Going Clear?”
This was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter