The BFI London Film Festival announced today that among the films it has selected for its 59th year will be My Scientology Movie, the highly anticipated BBC-backed Louis Theroux feature that will premiere on October 14.
Produced by Oscar-winner Simon Chinn and directed by John Dower, the film is presented by Theroux, who has made a career out of gently coaxing amazing interviews out of people in some of America’s strangest subcultures. And while he was filming this movie he became the target of Scientology’s camera-wielding crazies, as we reported last December.
In one incident, former Scientology executive Mark “Marty” Rathbun was filming scenes with Theroux at a Hollywood studio when, as they were exiting, they were ambushed by two older Scientologists carrying handheld cameras.
Judging by what the BBC put in a new brochure about the movie, Theroux is making good use of that and similar footage…
Says the brochure: “Louis Theroux is making a movie about the Church of Scientology and, it turns out, the Church of Scientology is also making a movie about Louis Theroux.”
Fun! And we have to admit, that description, and the title of the film, has us remembering John Sweeney’s great 2007 BBC-Panorama documentary, “Scientology and Me,” which featured Scientology’s Tommy Davis and Mike Rinder and people with cameras following Sweeney around.
We assume that Theroux has a lot of fun tricks up his sleeve, and we can’t wait to see the movie. Your proprietor was fortunate enough to be invited by the makers of the film to attend the premiere on October 14, and so we’ll be in attendance and will bring you the scene.
Here’s what the film festival just posted as a description of the film…
‘I find that the most shocking behaviour is motivated by very relatable human impulses,’ comments Louis Theroux as he heads to Los Angeles for his feature documentary in collaboration with director John Dower exploring the Church of Scientology. Following a long fascination with the religion and with much experience in dealing with eccentric, unpalatable and unexpected human behaviour, the beguilingly unassuming Theroux won’t take no for an answer when his request to enter the Church’s headquarters is turned down. Inspired by the Church’s use of filming techniques, and aided by ex-members of the organisation, Theroux uses actors to replay some incidents people experienced as members to better understand the way it operates. In a bizarre twist, it becomes clear that the Church is also making a film about Louis Theroux. Suffused with a good dose of humour and moments worthy of a Hollywood script, My Scientology Movie is stranger than fiction.
The festival’s program was revealed this morning at the Odeon theater in Leicester Square…
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Karen de la Carriere remembers her friend, Stacy Brooks
Karen de la Carriere remembers the harassment aimed at Stacy Brooks after she left Scientology in 1989 and became an important whistleblower and expert court witness…
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Daily Mail covers Paulette Cooper’s London reunion
When we wrote about Paulette Cooper’s emotional meeting with Peter de Hoo, son of the Dutch official who was among a handful of people who rallied to save Paulette and her sister from certain destruction in Auschwitz by bribing a Nazi guard to keep them off a train leaving Belgium, we told you we expected a story on it from the Daily Mail. Well, here it is, with lots of nice photos from here at the Underground Bunker which we posted for people reading our book about Paulette.
It’s great to see such a substantial story about Paulette on a site with such huge readership, and we are grateful that it included a link to our book.
Just a couple of corrections — Ruchla did not smuggle a letter out of the concentration camp after she was arrested. She wrote the note and left it behind when she went out for supplies and was arrested. It was found by a family member. Also, it was not Paulette who wrote the story that de Hoo spotted and then reached out to her. Our story about Paulette in the Village Voice was picked up by a couple of newspapers in Belgium and the Netherlands, and de Hoo was reacting to those stories.
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BOOK NOTES
We didn’t get a chance to include photos in our book, so we’ve posted them at a dedicated page. Reader Sookie put together a complete index and we’re hosting it here on the website. Copies of the paperback version of ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ are on sale at Amazon. The Kindle edition is also available, and shipping instantly.
Tony Ortega’s upcoming appearances (and check out the interactive map to our ongoing tour)…
Sept 15: Phoenix, Barrett the Honors College, Arizona State University, ASU in Downtown Phoenix campus, Walter Cronkite Theater, 5:30 pm
Sept 23: Cleveland, Parma Heights Library, 7pm sponsored by Center for Inquiry – Northeast Ohio
Sept 24: Minneapolis, sponsored by Minnesota Atheists — venue TBD
Sept 27: Portland, Friendly House, 1737 NW 26th Ave, 12:45 pm, sponsored by Humanists of Portland
Sept 28: Seattle, Razzi’s Pizzeria, 7 pm, with Seattle Skeptics and Seattle Atheists
Sept 29: Vancouver, BC, Seven Dining Lounge, 7 pm
Oct 14: London, premiere of Louis Theroux film, ‘My Scientology Movie’
Oct 23: Sydney, Giant Dwarf Theatre (with Sen. Nick Xenophon)
Oct 25: Melbourne, venue secured (announcement coming later)
Oct 28: Adelaide (with Sen. Nick Xenophon)
Oct 30: Perth
Past dates: Santa Barbara (5/16), Hollywood (5/17), Orange County (5/17), San Diego (5/20), San Francisco (5/22), New York (6/11), Chicago (6/20), Toronto (6/22), Clearwater (6/28), Washington DC (7/12), Hartford (7/14), Denver (7/17), Dallas (7/20), Houston (7/22), San Antonio (7/24), Austin (7/25), Paris (7/29), London (8/4), Boston (8/24)
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 1, 2015 at 05:15
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Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield
