Monday at his blog, Mike Rinder pointed out that the HBO documentary ‘Going Clear’ is now available to watch on Netflix, which should make it accessible to a new audience.
“If you have not seen this, take the time to watch it. If you haven’t watched it since it first came out a decade or so ago, it’s worth re-watching,” he said.
A decade or so ago?
We’ll forgive Mike for being inexact, but gosh, we certainly can’t forget that it was Sunday, January 25, 2015 — nine years, five months, and 21 days ago — when we nervously went to the biggest theater at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah to see this thing for the first time.
Honestly, we really didn’t know what to expect. Alex Gibney, the prolific and amazing documentarian, was turning Lawrence Wright’s excellent book by the same name into a film, and several months earlier they had surprised us by inviting us down to a small studio in Manhattan, where Alex asked us some questions about Scientology on camera.
But as the film premiere neared, we really didn’t know if any of that footage would be used, and we were still trying to figure out who would be the principal figures in the movie. Scientology was guessing too, and was wildly attacking various people who ended up not being in the movie (which showed just how good Alex and Larry were at security).
That morning, on premiere day, we made our final guesses as to who we thought the eight main figures would be, and it turned out we were exactly right: Jason Beghe, Tom DeVocht, Sara Goldberg, Paul Haggis, Mark “Marty” Rathbun, Mike Rinder, Spanky Taylor, and Hana Whitfield.
Demand to see the premiere was so high, the festival had moved it to the largest theater, and there was a green room and red carpet area. Alex and Larry asked us to talk to the press, which we thought was kind of wild. Apparently we were going to show up in the movie after all. Morgan Spurlock was in the green room supporting Larry and Alex, and it was fun to meet him. (And very sad that we lost him recently.)
Once we were in the theater, there were more celebrities who wanted to see the movie. Alec Baldwin was there. Toby Maguire was in the row behind us. Jeff Zucker had also showed up. We could understand why network and Hollywood types were curious about this film.
It turned out that they used your Proprietor quite a bit, and we got to talk about how Scientology had bullied the IRS into giving it tax exemption, and Alex also used us to introduce Tom Cruise to the picture. That was fun.
Afterwards, they invited those of us who had made the trip to the front of the theater to answer some questions. And what we’ll never forget is seeing Marc Headley after the screening with tears in his eyes. He said it was like a miracle to see that story finally told so well. “Finally, this is what we’ve been waiting for,” he said.
Going Clear later made its premiere on HBO that March 20.
“This documentary had massive impact on the way the world viewed Scientology. And paved the way for so much that has come since — including The Aftermath (which is available for free on Tubi),” Mike wrote at his blog. “The story that is told and how it is laid out is brilliant — facts about Hubbard and Scientology and interviews are brought together to paint a devastating picture that is beyond dispute.”
We’re certainly humbled to be included in it, and if you haven’t seen it lately, we encourage you to give it a look.
Bonus items from our tipsters
Says our tipster: “This is new to me. As a kid at Delphi Oregon, we were required to read The Way to Happiness, but there was no ‘workbook’.”
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I recently re watched it. I forgot how powerful it is.
Jan 2015 I had mentally left Scientology for three years, I was still under the radar. My brother Robbie went to the screening. I was thrilled that a movie was coming out exposing the fraud and crimes of Scientology. At the time I had no idea who Alex Gibney was. Since then I’ve seen many of his documentaries and he was an inspiration for my documentary Brothers Broken that Tony and Mike graciously agreed to participate. (https://www.brothersbroken.com) I had been good friends with Paul Haggis and Spanky Taylor while in Scientology. Then I disconnected from them when they spoke out while I was still in. I reconnected with them when I left. And I was now a Spy-entologist feeding Tony and Mike inside information on the cherch.
I’m so glad the Going Clear is accessible on Netflix. A who new generation can watch it. And those who still have not seen it can become aware of the toxic organization that still preys of those trying to get help to improve their lives.