In 2009, Paul Haggis, the screenwriter-director who won an Oscar for 2005’s Crash and wrote Million Dollar Baby, publicly broke with the Church of Scientology. He had been a member for 35 years. While high-ranking officers in Scientology have defected from the controversial organization, Haggis at the time was by far the most famous to disavow it. He publicly criticized Scientology for requiring members to “disconnect” from those who have left the church -- a practice it denies exists -- and for publishing personal information about defectors on websites with domains beginning “who is,” as in “Who Is Paul Haggis?” In early July, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news that actress Leah Remini, a second-generation Scientologist, had left the church after she allegedly was punished for questioning the conduct of its leader, David Miscavige, and for being critical of other Scientologists. On July 27, the former King of Queens star, who has not publicly discussed her departure, told People, “We stand united, my family and I, and I think that says a lot about who we are and what we’re about. I believe that people should be able to question things. I believe that people should value family and friendships and hold those things sacrosanct. … No one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can and cannot talk to.” Already “WhoIsLeahRemini.com” appears to have been claimed. Asked for comment, a Scientologist spokesperson said, “Regarding ‘Who Is …,’ the church has never hidden the fact it supplied information for the websites. … [But] let’s be clear: We have had nothing to do with any website about her and have no idea who registered the site. … The church respects the privacy of its parishioners and has no further comment.” As for Haggis, who felt compelled to publicly support Remini, the spokesperson says he is a “status-obsessed screenwriter” whose “ ‘open letter’ is nothing more than a transparent promotional gimmick.”
I didn’t say anything at the time for a number of reasons. I am in Europe and have been working here for the last year and a half, and, disregarding a few friendly e-mails and a couple of tweets, Leah and I haven’t spoken in quite a while. What I knew about Leah is that she was one of two Scientologists who had refused to “disconnect” from me and certainly the only high-profile one when I decided to quit the organization in August 2009. I also thought any comment would be premature and self-serving.
Leah and I were always friendly but never close friends. Despite this, she called me as soon as she heard about my letter of resignation. Unlike the rest of my former friends, she expressed real sadness that I was leaving and concern for me and my family. A few months later, we ran into each other at a school fair. I kept my distance for fear of putting her in an awkward position, but Leah had no such fear. She walked up, asked me why I was being weird and told me she would always be my friend and would never “disconnect” from me. Then she dragged me over and introduced me to her family. Soon after that, I moved to New York, and our paths just didn’t cross, but I was deeply touched by her gesture and genuine concern.
So all I could have said at the time was that, whether it was true Leah had resigned, she had always been a class act and a lovely human being -- but that wasn’t news. Millions of people know that; her character shines through everything she does.
In the last few days, I read some things that really disturbed me. First was the way Leah was being attacked by her celebrity “friends,” who were disparaging her character. [Editor’s note: After actress Kirstie Alley tweeted “the sweetest poison is often served with a smile,” it was widely interpreted as referring to Remini. Alley vigorously has denied that and says she does not criticize anyone’s religious beliefs.] Having witnessed Scientology’s smear tactics, I can imagine how this was being orchestrated, but I was still shocked to see how quickly those friends -- some of whom had known Leah for 20 or 30 years -- jumped on the “malign Leah” campaign, and with such apparent glee. I assumed Scientology’s next step would be to try and plant disparaging stories about her with less-informed journalists and bloggers. And if others who have made noisy exits from the church are to be believed, Scientology would also use their Office of Special Affairs employees to attack Leah indirectly, posting negative comments about her shows and career and abilities under myriad false names, pretending to be disappointed fans or whatever. None of that is new.
What was new to me was the report that Leah had run afoul of the church by challenging Scientology’s leader, David Miscavige, who is held to be infallible. When I was leaving and was visited by waves of angry friends and a phalange of top Scientology executives, trying to convince me to tear up my letter and resign quietly, I made a similar mistake by insisting they look into the charges of abuse detailed by the Tampa Bay Times. I was working on a film about Martin Luther King Jr. at that moment and made the polite suggestion that even great leaders like Dr. King were human and fallible. Two of the senior church leaders leapt to their feet and shouted at me, “How dare you compare a great man like David Miscavige to Martin Luther King!” I ended the meeting at that point, thanking them for coming.
According to what I read on Tony Ortega’s blog, at the 2006 wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Leah asked questions about her longtime friend Shelly, David Miscavige’s wife, who had suddenly disappeared. [Editor’s note: An attorney for Shelly Miscavige told Us Weekly in 2012: “She is not missing. Any reports that she is missing are false. Mrs. Miscavige has been working nonstop in the church, as she always has.”] Unlike her pious friends, Leah refused to accept the easy excuses that were offered. She kept asking questions.
The next thing I learned made me feel terrible. Leah got in trouble because of me, because when I was “declared” a “Suppressive Person” and shunned, she came to my defense -- without me ever knowing it. She had shouting matches with Tommy Davis, then the church spokesman, who had come to try and keep her quiet. The fact that she fought within the system so resolutely for so long, never making her feelings public, is a testament to how much she believed in the basic goodness of her friends and the institution. Finally, according to what I read, she was turned in by a celebrity friend who had noticed one of our few innocuous tweets.
I can’t express how much I admire Leah. Her parents, family and close friends were almost all Scientologists; the stakes for her were so much higher than for me. Her decision to leave was so much braver.
Having been consumed with my movie, I only learned much of what I have written here in the last few days. I also have to confess to not paying that much attention to news about Scientology. In this case, I should have. I finally called Leah during the last week of July. Her answering service didn’t recognize my number, so it took a while to get through. It was good to hear her voice and great to hear her laugh -- though it was easy to tell she had been terribly hurt and shaken by the events of the last weeks. That said, Leah is an incredibly strong woman and will get through this with the help of her family and her true friends. She is kind and generous and loyal; she has always cared more about others than herself. She barely knew me, and yet she fought for me and my family, a battle she had to know in her gut she was never going to win. That takes an enormous amount of integrity and compassion. I will leave it to you to decide if the same can be said of Scientology’s executives and Leah’s many former friends -- especially those Scientologists who are watching her be smeared now and are choosing to stay silent.
I will forever be grateful to her.
The Church Of Scientology Issued A Scathing Response To Paul Haggis' Open Letter
Toby Canham/Getty
Director/screenwriter Paul Haggis has had a tumultuous relationship with Scientolofy since leaving the church.
In the letter, Haggis commends Remini after she recently broke from the church. Remini previously explained: "No one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to."
In response, Haggis wrote that he will be "forever grateful" to Remini for her "brave" decision, among some other things including a phone call he had with the actress after her departure.
The Church of Scientology got wind of Haggis' letter and they were not amused.
I, along with other members of the media, I'm sure, received the below response in my inbox.
The church's defense says Haggis is "a status-obsessed screenwriter" whose "self-serving 'open letter' is a transparent plug for an upcoming film still lacking U.S. distribution."
First read Haggis's open letter to Leah Remini >
Now read the church's response in its entirety:
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
July 31, 2013
STATEMENT BY CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL CONCERNING PAUL HAGGIS’ “OPEN LETTER”
Mr. Haggis is a status-obsessed screenwriter who in the words of The Hollywood Reporter has been in “the wilderness” professionally for three years. Mr. Haggis once again is exploiting his tenuous connection with Scientology to grab headlines. His statement that the organization anonymously comments negatively about those who leave the Church is delusional and borders on paranoia.
Desperately craving attention, his self-serving “open letter” is a transparent plug for an upcoming film still lacking U.S. distribution. If Mr. Haggis was as successful and prolific at manufacturing drama for audiences as he is at manufacturing it for gossip sites, then his career might have never gotten lost in the “wilderness.”
Despite his spin, the truth is that Mr. Haggis was an inactive Scientologist for more than 30 years until he orchestrated a disingenuous “departure” in 2009 aimed solely at getting media attention. As a result, Paul Haggis has no first-hand knowledge about the Church of Scientology but instead relies on a small collection of unemployed bloggers living on the fringe of the Internet who are obsessed with spinning myths about the Church.
Mr. Haggis has chosen to align himself with a small posse of lunatics with arrest records, who have acknowledged in depositions to being secretly on the payroll of tabloids and who have admitted on national television to outright lying. As for Paul Haggis’ real story, see http://www.freedommag.org/special-reports/new-yorker/video- profile-the-many-personas-of-paul-haggis.html. [Link doesn't work]
As to the true story of Scientology, under the 25-year leadership of Mr. Miscavige, following in the footsteps of our Founder, L. Ron Hubbard, the Church is enjoying tremendous expansion as shown in our 37 new Churches opening in six continents and the many new parishioners joining their congregations. Our Churches are open seven days a week and many have public display areas to answer all questions or one can visit our website, www.Scientology.org.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-response-to-paul-haggis-2013-7#ixzz2afzOnvGe
'Everything that's taboo will be in it:' Leah Remini to pen Scientology memoir... as director Paul Haggis comes out in support
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It's the news the Church of Scientology have probably been dreading.
High profile defector Leah Remini, 43, has revealed she's writing a tell-all book about her experiences within the controversial religion.
Speaking at the 15th annual DesignCare event in Malibu, Remini told Us: 'It will include my experiences, everything that's taboo to talk about.'
Standing by her: Leah Remini posed with her friend Holly Robinson Peete at the 15th Annual DesignCare held at a private estate in Malibu on Sunday night where she admitted she'll be writing a tell-all tome
Paying no heed to the powerful enemies she has made since her split from the institution, she said: 'We stand united, my family and I, and I think that says a lot about who we are, and what we're about.'
The diminutive showed no signs of being bowed by the attacks on her character since she left Scientology as she posed with her friend Holly Robinson Peete.
Talking to People magazine she defended her choice to break with the church after 30 years.
'I believe that people should be able to question things,' she explained.
Meanwhile, Crash director Paul Haggis praised the actress in an open letter to The Hollywood Reporter, saying that she was one of just two high profile names who refused to disconnect from him after his defection in 2009.
'We stand united': Leah spoke out about her recent split from Scientology while at the event
'I believe that people should value family, and value friendships, and hold those things sacrosanct.
'That for me, that's what I'm about. It wouldn't matter what it was, simply because no one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to.'
Leah was said to have been ostracised and subjected to intensive interrogation within the religion.
The Church of Scientology said in a statement to MailOnline: 'The Church respects the privacy of parishioners and has no further comment.'
Telling all: Remini is writing her memoirs, and not holding back by all accounts
Former King Of Queens star Leah joined the Church with her mother in the 1970s after relocating to Los Angeles from Brooklyn to pursue her acting dream.
Since her split with the institution prominent church members such as Kirstie Alley have appeared to attack their former friend.
The fallout from Remini's Scientology defection continues to gather momentum and has now enveloped another big name in the drama... Katie Holmes.
Tom Cruise's ex-wife may have left both him and the controversial religion, but Leah's sister, Nicole, has claimed in a widely reported interview that Holmes, now 34, joined 62-year-old Kirstie Alley in writing negative reports about the King of Queens star after Katie's 2006 wedding to Cruise.
According to Radar Online, Nicole, a former Scientologist, claims that both Holmes and Alley wrote ‘knowledge reports’ to the church about 43-year-old Leah’s behaviour. (Church followers are understood to be obliged to submit write-ups on fellow members' transgressions.)
The Church of Scientology strenuously deny any of the sensational allegations brought by Nicole.
Leah, who left the church after 37 years, apparently sparked the chain of events at Cruise and Holmes' Italian wedding when she and non-Scientologist friend Jennifer Lopez tried to change seats so they could be next to one another.
Nicole told former Village Voice editor Tony Ortega, who then relayed it via his blog, The Underground Bunker: 'She wanted to sit with Leah, and so Leah went to make it happen.'
But a Hollywood publicist 'took exception to Leah’s request and complained to Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise that Leah was causing a scene,' Ortega described Nicole as telling him.
'Later, Leah asked other people at the event if she had caused a scene and they said she hadn’t,' Nicole says.
Unofficial mouthpiece: Nicole Remini (left) has been speaking out on behalf of her actress sister Nicole, both are ex Scientologists
One friend of Nicole's then submitted a report to the church in support of the Brooklyn born star which led to four other people writing to the church about the incident, two of which were allegedly Holmes and Alley.
Nicole says Leah told a Scientologist friend what happened and the friend submitted a report to the church, taking Leah’s side.
'They wrote that Leah was an embarrassment to Scientology,' Nicole said. 'They said she ruined the wedding. All she did was ask to change her seat.'
Nicole has also claimed that Leah’s questioning of why church leader David Miscavige’s wife was not at the wedding and is rarely seen in public also caused the church to question her.
The night it all started: Remini and husband Angelo Pagan leaving the Cruise/Holmes nuptials in 2006
Causing a scene: It's claimed that Remini 'ruined' the big wedding, but she said she just wanted to move seats
Household name: Remini in a still for King of Queens with Kevin James and Jerry Stiller
Emergency meeting: A-list members of the Church Of Scientology's Celebrity Centre International in Hollywood allegedly gathered on July 10 to discuss how to deal with Leah's defection
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2382051/Leah-Remini-pen-Scientology-memoir--director-Paul-Haggis-comes-support.html#ixzz2agIx45uC
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KARMA LULZ
This is the vile twat behind the Scientology Kills Brain Cells facebook page.....
Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes divorce fictionalised for stage play
Published Wednesday, Jul 31 2013, 17:03 BST | By Justin Harp | Add comment
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes's whirlwind marriage and subsequent divorce is to be the subject of a new play.
The TomKat Project has been penned by playwright Brandon Ogborn and is being staged at the New York International Fringe Festival.
Ogborn revealed to Fox News that The TomKat Projectwill spoof the couple's split, and also poke fun at the Church of Scientology's influence on their lives.
Cruise, Holmes and their daughter will feature as characters in the play, as will the actor's attorney Bert Fields and his best man David Miscavige.
"I wanted to do more than just a sketch comedy show and at that time the divorce was happening," Ogborn said of the inspiration for the two-act comedy.
"Initially the concept of the show was to expose tabloid headlines, and raise the question of what is true and what is not."
The TomKat Project will run from August 20 through August 24 at the Plays Theater. An additional staging is currently taking place in Chicago.
Holmes famously filed for divorce from Cruise in June 2012 after six years of marriage.
The TomKat Project has been penned by playwright Brandon Ogborn and is being staged at the New York International Fringe Festival.
© Rex Features
Ogborn revealed to Fox News that The TomKat Projectwill spoof the couple's split, and also poke fun at the Church of Scientology's influence on their lives.
Cruise, Holmes and their daughter will feature as characters in the play, as will the actor's attorney Bert Fields and his best man David Miscavige.
"I wanted to do more than just a sketch comedy show and at that time the divorce was happening," Ogborn said of the inspiration for the two-act comedy.
© PA Images / Kevork Djansezian/AP
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes kiss at the 'War Of The Worlds' film premiere
"Initially the concept of the show was to expose tabloid headlines, and raise the question of what is true and what is not."
The TomKat Project will run from August 20 through August 24 at the Plays Theater. An additional staging is currently taking place in Chicago.
Holmes famously filed for divorce from Cruise in June 2012 after six years of marriage.
Read more:http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a502939/tom-cruise-katie-holmes-divorce-fictionalised-for-stage-play.html#ixzz2aeDdur1r
Follow us: @digitalspy on Twitter | digitalspyuk on Facebook
” hits the New York Fringe Festival next month. The two-act comedy examines the courtship, marriage and dissolution of Hollywood’s power pair Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. The play chronicles media coverage from 1998 through 2012, with seven actors bringing back to life scenes such as the infamous Oprah couch jumping incident and the U.S. to Iceland phone call Holmes reportedly made to end the marriage.
