‘BARE-FACED MESSIAH’ back in print: Our interview with author Russell Miller

Today is Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s 103rd birthday, and do we have a gift for him!

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Vivian Kubrick posts remarkable photos from the sets of her father’s movies

What’s going on with Vivian Kubrick?

In November, we reported that she’d showed up at an Alex Jones rally in Dallas and appeared to be a big fan of the conspiracy-obsessed radio host. Why was that surprising? It was if you knew the backstory: Vivian is the daughter of Stanley Kubrick, and the great filmmaker appeared to be grooming Vivian to follow in his footsteps before his death in 1999: At only 17, Vivian made a documentary, Making ‘The Shining’, then seven years later composed the score for her father’s 1987 film, Full Metal Jacket. Then, sometime around 1995 we believe, Vivian became involved in Scientology. A year later, Kubrick began shooting his final film, Eyes Wide Shut.

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Judge in Laura DeCrescenzo’s case retires, Scientology objects to his replacement

Last month, Los Angeles Supreme Court Judge Ronald Sohigian announced that he’d be retiring in April.

That’s directly affecting Laura DeCrescenzo, who went through so much last year to get her forced-abortion lawsuit against the Church of Scientology through several appeals and then a big summary judgment hearing before Sohigian in October.

Those of you who were with us as we reported that hearing live from Sohigian’s courtroom know that the judge stunned us with his detailed support for the facts in DeCrescenzo’s testimony. He then set a date early in 2015 for trial. And now, he’s walking away, and a new judge will have to learn the case from scratch.

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‘Mad Men’ actress Elisabeth Moss’s record in Scientology is actually easy to obtain

Today at Salon, Daniel D’Addario seized on a New York magazine profile of Elisabeth Moss, in which the Golden Globe-winning actress declined to talk about her involvement in Scientology but complained that it’s “grossly misunderstood” by the media.

D’Addario rightly chastised Moss for wanting it both ways — she criticizes people for not knowing about Scientology, but won’t explain what it is. “Her willingness to slag off people’s genuine curiosity about a matter of serious consequence is as unflattering as Moss’s early-‘Mad Men’ fat suit,” he writes. (And ouch.)

Continue reading ‘Mad Men’ actress Elisabeth Moss’s record in Scientology is actually easy to obtain

Scientology fliers can chase away any case of the Mondays

When our tipsters saw that we were bereft of Sunday Funnies yesterday, they were good enough to send over a few new Scientology mailers and fliers as compensation.

We do love our tipsters.

Also, Karen de la Carriere has sent us another of her educational videos, which you’ll find at the end of today’s post.

So let’s take a look at what’s happening in the neverending pursuit of Scientology fundraising!

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Video Vault: When Scientology basked in the success of giant cucumbers

Our video source is back with a new “quote video” for us today, and another fun slice of L. Ron Hubbard wisdom.

This week, we get a peek at the “Theta Clear Congress,” a series of lectures Hubbard made in 1959.

Here’s a description from Bridge Publications, which sells the lectures for $125.00:

Continue reading Video Vault: When Scientology basked in the success of giant cucumbers

Jon Atack: Why it takes so long to recover from Scientology

Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He has a new edition of the book for sale, and on Saturdays he’s helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on the Internet.

Jon, you’ve really been on a roll lately, and this week is no different. You’ve talked about the difficulties that people face when they leave Scientology, but this week you give us more detail about your own journey, and what convinced you to try to help others.

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BRAD HALSEY, 1957-2014

On Sunday, Brad Halsey took his own life. He was 56.

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Scientology gets the ‘America’s Book of Secrets’ treatment soon!

Hey, we’re a little under the weather today, so we need to keep this short. But we wanted to let you know about something that we’ve been keeping secret for several months.

Now that some promos have begun running on History Channel 2, we can reveal that the new season of America’s Book of Secrets is going to include a show completely dedicated to Scientology. For now, the tentative date for the show is March 29.

We were interviewed at length for the show, and so were a lot of other people our readers are very familiar with. Judging by the questions we were asked, this show may cover a lot of ground.

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Larry Anderson: Scientology’s pitchman becomes a Bunker regular

In the now-it-can-be-told department: We first heard from Larry Anderson back in 2010, but it wasn’t until last year that we finally met the tall LA actor originally from Minnesota.

For Scientologists of a certain era, Larry’s image is branded into their memories from multiple viewings of the Orientation film that they were all required to watch. The 40-minute movie was used to recruit new members and pump up staff workers. It featured Larry talking with Norman Starkey about L. Ron Hubbard’s exploits, visiting a bookstore, and winding up to make a heavy pitch at the end.

Here’s a sample of Larry’s hard sell…

Continue reading Larry Anderson: Scientology’s pitchman becomes a Bunker regular

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