Paul Haggis and the Church of Scientology

What happens when you try to leave the Church of Scientology?
The story of film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis's resignation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/23/try-to-leave-church-scientology-lawrence-wright

I believe I read a similar report a few months back. I can't recall if it was in the NYTimes or another publication.

Why do so many Hollywood power players join Scientology in the first place?

Yes, not so much news, as a new reprint in the Grauniad.

Amazing that anyone ever took Haggis seriously.

Salomé wrote:

Why do so many Hollywood power players join Scientology in the first place?

I always suspected that it comes from a lot of Hollywood players being raised in religious backgrounds but leaving them when becoming popular in Hollywood, but still requiring that belief in a higher power than themselves, but being in Hollywood it needs to be something different and new from their original "normal" background, so Kabbalah or Scientology.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Salomé wrote:

Why do so many Hollywood power players join Scientology in the first place?

I always suspected that it comes from a lot of Hollywood players being raised in religious backgrounds but leaving them when becoming popular in Hollywood, but still requiring that belief in a higher power than themselves, but being in Hollywood it needs to be something different and new from their original "normal" background, so Kabbalah or Scientology.

It's a cycle, too. Hollywood newbie joins Scientology, gets industry connections, becomes power player, helps Hollywood newbie Scientologist become a power player, etc.

It's all about money and influence. Most of these Scientologists were young and gullible when they were first 'chosen'. Ex-hippies like Haggfish. They rejected religion out of fashion, but still wanted some sort of structure to their structureless lives. Gradually they became more successful as actors, writers etc... and thus they could pay more for their expensive courses, and Tommy Davis an co use these people's celebratory status to fund them.

It's a giant web of Thetans.

Hollywood's such a silly place, with such silly people.

Sharky wrote:

It's all about money and influence. Most of these Scientologists were young and gullible when they were first 'chosen'. Ex-hippies like Haggfish. They rejected religion out of fashion, but still wanted some sort of structure to their structureless lives. Gradually they became more successful as actors, writers etc... and thus they could pay more for their expensive courses, and Tommy Davis an co use these people's celebratory status to fund them.

It's a giant web of Thetans.

Essentially yes. I dunno if any of them take it more seriously than Masons did three hundred years ago. It's the same deal -- the cult itself has no real special powers or secrets, it's just that it's basically an elite club that you gotta join if you wanna be a big muckety-muck with the rest of them.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Sharky wrote:

It's all about money and influence. Most of these Scientologists were young and gullible when they were first 'chosen'. Ex-hippies like Haggfish. They rejected religion out of fashion, but still wanted some sort of structure to their structureless lives. Gradually they became more successful as actors, writers etc... and thus they could pay more for their expensive courses, and Tommy Davis an co use these people's celebratory status to fund them.

It's a giant web of Thetans.

Essentially yes. I dunno if any of them take it more seriously than Masons did three hundred years ago.

You'd be surprised. There's a lot of deluded types in the upper echelons of Scientology. And their Mafia-like mentality and tactics are far more dangerous than the Masons ever were. At least in Great Britain.

Travolta rules.

There was a great New Yorker article on Haggis and Scientology not too long ago.

EDIT: Yup, here it is.

Arkadin wrote:

There was a great New Yorker article on Haggis and Scientology not too long ago.

EDIT: Yup, here it is.

Same article. The Gruaniad reprinted it.

ambler wrote:

Arkadin wrote:

There was a great New Yorker article on Haggis and Scientology not too long ago.

EDIT: Yup, here it is.

Same article. The Gruaniad reprinted it.

And condensed it, and dumbed it down.

While I think Haggis is an extremely smug hack, his leaving $cientology speaks well enough of him. It's an evil cult that preys upon young people in Hollywood. Like any cult or religion, it goes after vulnerable people, and a great many artistic types can be needy. Enter these assholes, acting like your friends.

I've never been approached by $cientologists personally, but I've seen people who have been. I had to deal with born again people I know trying to absorb me into this fucking place: http://www.oasisla.org/ It's a Christian church, but it's also something of a cult itself. Imagine a church that looks like a film set or a concert, where narcissistic young Hollywood types dress up like they're going clubbing. On a Sunday morning. It's quite a spectical.

At least Haggfish didn't pollute his Bond scripts with Scientology nonsense.....................he just polluted them with other Haggfish nonsense

Khanners, if you're about, have I got the spelling of Haggfish right? Georgio didn't like us discussing such important Haggfish minutiae on the other site.