‘Scientology Black Ops’ series with Leah Remini & Paul Haggis spiked by Aussie network

 
On July 2 Australia’s 7News network teased a 10-part series titled ‘Scientology Black Ops’ that would feature journalist Bryan Seymour.

In the trailer, we saw footage of Leah Remini and Mike Rinder, and also of director Paul Haggis, who has not given a TV interview since he appeared on Leah’s A&E series in 2017. And full disclosure, you can also hear your proprietor’s voice in the trailer: Seymour interviewed us in December when he was in New York gathering footage for the series.

When the trailer appeared, we were told by Seymour that the series would be released for streaming, all ten episodes at once, on July 9 at 6 am Sydney time. But then a few days later he let us know that the series had been delayed until July 14.

According to that schedule, all ten episodes of the series should have gone live at the 7News website at about 4 pm on Monday afternoon here in New York.

Instead, not only was the series not released, the trailer at the 7News website has been removed.

 
Seymour did not answer our email asking what had happened to the series. We also sent emails and messages to the network itself, asking if the series has been delayed.

It’s our understanding, however, that “Scientology Black Ops” has not been delayed. It’s been spiked by the network and won’t be aired.

Fortunately, we had downloaded a copy of the trailer before 7News removed it from its website….

 
“This is the Scientology story you’ve been waiting for,” Seymour says in the trailer, and for a person who has done as much good work as Seymour has over the years, that’s a strong statement.

Until we learn more about what happened and why this series that 7News obviously spent a lot of money to put together got axed, we feel obliged to hold back some of what we were told by Seymour would be in the series when he interviewed us.

We’ll say at this point that when he sat down with us in December, he asked us to comment on a couple of stunning new cases of Scientology surveillance and dirty tricks that involved some of Scientology’s biggest names, and he asked us to put that in context of Scientology’s many decades of spying and harassment.

He indicated also that he had spent hours interviewing Paul Haggis about his situation: Haggis is being sued by a publicist named Haleigh Breest who says that Haggis sexually assaulted her in 2013 at his Soho apartment after a film screening. Once news of her lawsuit became public, three additional women came forward, one of whom says she was raped by Haggis, and those three women (who have not been publicly identified) were allowed to join Breest’s lawsuit by the court.

Another full disclosure: We have approached Haggis in the past about a possible collaborative project that, although it did not come together, presents a possible conflict, and so we have been reluctant to cover his court case. It has received plenty of coverage, however, at places like the Hollywood Reporter and the New York Post for those caring to keep up with the litigation.

Based on the trailer, it looked like Seymour was going to wade deeply into Haggis’s story, and with commentary from Leah Remini and Mike Rinder, who have previously said that they suspect the Haggis lawsuit is part of a Scientology operation to destroy the Crash director for speaking out about his time in the church. One of the three unnamed women who were added to the lawsuit denied that she was part of a Scientology operation in an article she wrote for the Hollywood Reporter, calling that accusation “offensive and false.”

We explained our possible conflict to Seymour, and so he did not ask us about Haggis’s litigation. Instead, he had us talk about Scientology’s long and well-documented history of trying to destroy its perceived enemies using the methods that founder L. Ron Hubbard listed in great detail in Scientology policies, mostly spelled out between 1955 and 1967. The most famous of the ensuing operations run by Scientology’s spying wing was the Snow White Program of the 1970s that had the church infiltrating hundreds of government offices and stealing confidential files by the yard until it was ended with a 1977 FBI raid, the largest raid in the agency’s history to that time. Eleven Scientology officials, including Hubbard’s wife Mary Sue, were convicted of conspiracy and spent time in prison.

The new cases of Scientology ‘black ops’ that Seymour had uncovered were truly remarkable, and we hope that those stories can be made public soon. And we hope 7News will explain why, so close to streaming these shows, they spiked the series.

 
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Source Code

“So, somebody trying to understand life sitting down on a mountain top some place in lower Jesus or some place — Jerusalem, excuse me — and he’s contemplating his navel or something, and trying to get the hot dope, he gives you all sorts of things. If he starts to get close to the truth, then the things he utters appear to be idiocies, see. If he gets close to the truth. Like, there really is no universe – Mary Baker Eddy. There is no universe. All is infinite mind. Isn’t it true? It’s very, very, very true but that doesn’t prevent Christian Science from being the leading religious faith you find on the rosters of insane asylums.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 14 1964

Overheard in the FreeZone

“A dwindling spiral of confront has been implanted in all of us, a culture of fear. Well, to hell with all this nonsense and Marcab PR. We are the FREE people. This planet is OURS. Times must change and a new breed of Scientologists must arise from the ashes and rise high like The Phoenix. This time is NOW.”

 
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Random Howdy

“If the ‘tech’ is perfect, how did all these SP’s slip through into the upper echelons of Scientology management in the first place?”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay Spina, Medicare fraud: Sentencing is set for August 27 in White Plains, NY
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for January 12 in Los Angeles

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments set for August 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Hearing on motion for reconsideration set for August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 4 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Oral arguments were heard on March 11 in Jacksonville
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!

Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Is it time for Scientology to replace its cruise ship? If so, we’ve done the shopping.
[TWO years ago] Scientology fundraiser: ‘It was commonplace to lie to church members to get donations’
[THREE years ago] Now that Neil deGrasse Tyson is up against Leah Remini for an Emmy, will he rethink Scientology?
[FOUR years ago] To Scientology’s Emily Jones: We have a message from your mother
[FIVE years ago] Wise Beard Man visits Scientology’s new Fantasyland in Clearwater
[SIX years ago] The Dallas Morning News asks a question about Scientology, and we want your response
[SEVEN years ago] LEAH REMINI BLOWBACK: Kirstie Alley Calls for Scientology Celeb Strategy Session
[EIGHT years ago] Alexander Jentzsch, Son of Scientology’s President, Memorialized At Sea
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s Spies, its Prison System, and Training Jerry Seinfeld: The Spectacular Life of Nancy Many

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 14, 2020 at 01:20

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