In December, we debuted two videos by Tiziano Lugli, a Los Angeles music producer and filmmaker. They were short, witty looks at Scientology’s funny language as spoken by numerous ex-church members and a few actors.
There are no actors in Tiziano’s new video, which he is allowing us to premiere today.
In “The Losing Game,” Lugli has asked ex-Scientologists to talk about what they lost after spending years in the church. You should recognize most of them, including Marc Headley (pictured, right), Jenna Miscavige Hill, Karen de la Carriere, Tory Christman, Michael Fairman, and Mike Rinder.
We think you’ll see why Tiziano wanted to wait some time after his last videos to release “The Losing Game.” It packs a punch.
Give it a look and then please tell us what you think.
Did you recognize everyone? Here’s the list of people, in the order they appear:
Dallas Hill, Christie Collbran, Mike Rinder, Jenna Miscavige Hill, Tiziano Lugli, Joy Grayson, Sky Fairman, Tory Christman, Jamie Sorrentini Lugli, Karen de la Carriere, Marc Headley, Daryl Sorrentini, Claudio Lugli, Kelly Wasserman, Astra Woodcraft, Renata Lugli, Michael Fairman.
Even if you’re new to Scientology watching, you may recognize most of those names, and you’ll know that what they’re referring to is Scientology’s toxic policy of “disconnection.” By leaving the church, their family members who remain in the church are forced to cut off all ties with them. And while we think of someone like Marc Headley doing so well in his life after Scientology, this video helps us remember what he gave up.
Tiziano has another video in the works that really knocks us out. We hope he releases it soon. In the meantime, he’s been keeping himself busy producing new young artists. Take a look at his latest music video, for singer Matt Faze, to get an idea of the kinds of music films he’s making.
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TOM AND KATIE ON THE STAGE
Synthia Fagen tipped us to this one: a stage comedy that is getting some rave reviews in Chicago, and that may be on the verge of blowing up. It’s called “The TomKat Project” and here’s a description of it from a local critic:
Written by Brandon Ogborn, The TomKat Project is a “timeline of media coverage spanning 14 years (1998-2012)” that uses sharp comedy writing to unpack the very public union and breakup of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (TomKat). The show marries celebrity gossip, conspiracy, and comedy; it’s a quick-paced inversion of celebrity journalism. With an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the couple’s relationship, the show mixes verbatim dialogue — which is often the funniest/most out-there exchanges and is signaled to the audience by a handheld sign — with imagined conversations.
Synthia tells us the Scientology material is killer: “The writer told me that they’re talking to the Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles (not the TV network). They (the cast) are currently reading Lawrence Wright’s book. I gave them a signed copy of [Marc Headley’s book] Blown for Good and they were so grateful…The play certainly touches on all that is bad about Scientology: the human trafficking, slave camps, fraud, etc…The guy that plays Miscavige is great and it’s a big part all the way through the show.”
Wow. That sounds like a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, we heard about two other projects that are skewering Scientology on the stage or screen. A brief glimpse during a season preview suggests that Adult Swim’s series The Ventures is going to feature a robotic L. Ron Hubbard (or something) in its upcoming season, and ex-Scientologist Roz Cohn — a member of the Beverly Hills Playhouse — has been developing a one-woman show about her time in the church. A poor-quality video of her show was posted to WWP, but we told Roz we’re going to wait to see what she does with it before we feature it here. She told us she’s considering several different options.
Something tells us we’re on the verge of open season on Scientology in the arts. Save us a seat on the aisle!
On a related note, we have no confirmation of it, but a tipster told us that last Saturday, some Scientologists held a fundraising evening at the home of a church member in Studio City on behalf of Mario Feninger, the 90-year-old piano teacher who was forced to disconnect from his friend and benefactor, Beverly Hills Playhouse CEO Allen Barton. We’re happy to hear that this (possibly) happened, which appears to have been a direct result of our earlier story.
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SMERSH Madness: Sowing the Seeds of World Domination!
As we announced on March 1, we’re joining bracket fever with a tournament like no other. It’s up to you to decide who should be named the new SMERSH, the traditional nemesis of Scientology. Cast your vote for who’s doing more to propel the church down its long slide into oblivion!
Continuing in the first round, we have an interesting matchup this morning.
Mary Rieser may be in some big trouble. She ran the Scientology drug rehab program in the Atlanta area, Narconon Georgia, but a wrongful death lawsuit uncovered stunning documents about the way she ran the place, and the fancy tales she told the public. After a state judge publicly declared her a liar, Mary’s been relieved of her duties, but there’s still a criminal fraud investigation that may ensnare her further. Will she become a symbol of Scientology’s deceptive practices finally getting their comeuppance?
Louis Farrakhan has urged his Nation of Islam followers to take Dianetics training and learn to become Scientology auditors. But so far, we don’t really see the Church of Scientology becoming a part of NOI, or NOI becoming a part of the Church of Scientology. So what gives? All we know is that these two odd groups having anything to do with each other is sure making for some strange news stories.
Go to our March 1 post for the latest tournament results.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 15, 2013 at 07:00
