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''The Bridge'' premièred at the [[Operation Clambake]] 10-year anniversary in Stavenger, Norway on September 2, 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/10yranniversary/ |title=Operation Clambake 10 year Anniversary event announcement| publisher=Xenu.net| date=September 2, 2006| accessdate=2010-03-11}}</ref> and was shown at the 9th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival in October 2006,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=94410 |title=Claim to Fame: Annual indie festival strives to set itself apart|newspaper=[[The Daily News (Memphis)|The Daily News]] |location= Memphis, TN| author=Andy Meek|volume=121|issue=191|date=September 28, 2006}}</ref> as a feature presentation.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://indiememphis.com/2006-Film-Schedule.pdf |format=PDF|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061019163617/http://indiememphis.com/2006-Film-Schedule.pdf| archivedate=October 19, 2006| title=2006 Film Schedule|publisher= Indie Memphis, "Soul of Southern Film Festival"|date=October 13–19, 2006| accessdate=2010-03-11}}</ref> The film was initially released as a free download over the [[Internet]] in September 2006. The film credits stated: ''The Bridge' is licensed as royalty-free digital media, and may be distributed online for personal viewing without permission. All offline distribution rights are reserved by Brett Hanover.''<ref name="distributedonline"/>
''The Bridge'' premièred at the [[Operation Clambake]] 10-year anniversary in Stavenger, Norway on September 2, 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/10yranniversary/ |title=Operation Clambake 10 year Anniversary event announcement| publisher=Xenu.net| date=September 2, 2006| accessdate=2010-03-11}}</ref> and was shown at the 9th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival in October 2006,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=94410 |title=Claim to Fame: Annual indie festival strives to set itself apart|newspaper=[[The Daily News (Memphis)|The Daily News]] |location= Memphis, TN| author=Andy Meek|volume=121|issue=191|date=September 28, 2006}}</ref> as a feature presentation.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://indiememphis.com/2006-Film-Schedule.pdf |format=PDF|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061019163617/http://indiememphis.com/2006-Film-Schedule.pdf| archivedate=October 19, 2006| title=2006 Film Schedule|publisher= Indie Memphis, "Soul of Southern Film Festival"|date=October 13–19, 2006| accessdate=2010-03-11}}</ref> The film was initially released as a free download over the [[Internet]] in September 2006. The film credits stated: ''The Bridge' is licensed as royalty-free digital media, and may be distributed online for personal viewing without permission. All offline distribution rights are reserved by Brett Hanover.''<ref name="distributedonline"/>


Within a few weeks of its release, Hanover removed ''The Bridge'' from its public distribution sites.<ref name="msnbc"/> He stated on his website, "Due to copyright issues, I have asked that this film be removed from circulation. Please do not contact me regarding this production."<ref>{{cite web | title=A Word About "The Bridge" | url=http://www.bretthanover.com/ | publisher= bretthanover.com | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061024042324/http://www.bretthanover.com/ | archivedate= 2006-10-04 | accessdate= 2010-09-28}} <small>(Due to frames, click Films, then "A Word About 'The Bridge'").</small></ref><ref name="imdb"/> The removal was reported by [[Jeannette Walls]],<ref name="msnbc">{{cite news | last = Walls | first = Jeannette | title = The Scoop : O.J. Simpson to confess - hypothetically : Notes from all over | work = msnbc.com | publisher = [[NBC]], [[MSN]] | date = October 30, 2006 | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15066202/ | accessdate = 2010-03-11 }}</ref> in an [[MSNBC]] entertainment column.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bretthanover.com |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070220073154/http://www.bretthanover.com |archivedate=2007-02-20 |accessdate=2010-09-28 |title=Brett Hanover website |publisher=Brett Hanover |accessdate=2010-09-28}} As of 2007, the notice was taken down.</ref>
Within a few weeks of its release, Hanover removed ''The Bridge'' from its public distribution sites.<ref name="msnbc"/> He stated on his website, "Due to copyright issues, I have asked that this film be removed from circulation. Please do not contact me regarding this production."<ref>{{cite web | title=A Word About "The Bridge" | url=http://www.bretthanover.com/ | publisher= bretthanover.com | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061024042324/http://www.bretthanover.com/ | archivedate= 2006-10-04 | accessdate= 2010-09-28}} <small>(Due to frames, click Films, then "A Word About 'The Bridge'").</small></ref><ref name="imdb"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bretthanover.com |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070220073154/http://www.bretthanover.com |archivedate=2007-02-20 |accessdate=2010-09-28 |title=Brett Hanover website |publisher=Brett Hanover |accessdate=2010-09-28}} As of 2007, the notice was taken down.</ref> The removal was reported by [[Jeannette Walls]], in an [[MSNBC]] entertainment column.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite news | last = Walls | first = Jeannette | title = The Scoop : O.J. Simpson to confess - hypothetically : Notes from all over | work = msnbc.com | publisher = [[NBC]], [[MSN]] | date = October 30, 2006 | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15066202/ | accessdate = 2010-03-11 }}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 19:54, 28 September 2010

The Bridge
The first feature length film about Scientology
Directed byBrett Hanover
Written byBrett Hanover
Produced byTom Padgett
StarringCarole Smith
Bill Baker
Tom Padgett
Release date
September 10, 2006 (2006-09-10)
Running time
69 minutes
CountryUnited Staes[1]
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUSD$10,000[2]

The Bridge is a 2006 feature film, directed by filmmaker Brett Hanover.[3]

A fictional story of involvement and disillusionment with Scientology, the film explicitly uses Scientology terms throughout, as well as including clips from actual Scientology promotional and training videos. It was released as a free download over the Internet on September 10, 2006 by the filmmaker.[4]

The brochure of the Indie Memphis film festival stated that The Bridge was the "first feature film" about the Church Of Scientology.[5] While it is set against the background of the Church of Scientology and the Sea Org, the characters and situations depicted are fictional.

Plot

Sea Org officer Ronnie Miscavige describes the planetary Scientology dissemination campaign. After the title sequence, Scientologist Diane Wheat (Carole Smith) is seen in an auditing session with the head of her local church, Robert Solomon (Bill Baker). Diane describes her trouble with finances and having her car repossessed. The next day Robert has Diane model her financial difficulties in clay. She is worried that her other financial obligations keep her from moving up Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom. Robert tells her that she can work at the church in exchange for services to move up the Bridge.

Parallel to these events, Richard Grey (Tom Padgett) is trying to contact his daughter Amy at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater. Church employees refuse to allow him to speak to her because, unbeknownst to him, he has been declared a suppressive person. He arrives at the local church on Saturday seeking more information. Diane, who is working as a receptionist, hands him a copy of the ethics order declaring him a suppressive person, and he leaves.

The next day, Diane is working at the church again when two teenage girls arrive. The girls have seen the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet" and want to attend a service for their own amusement. Diane tells them that the church does not have Sunday services, and shows them a promotional film for Dianetics instead. At home, Richard is reading the Operation Clambake and Lermanet.com web sites when he receives a panicked instant message from a friend. The friend tells him to watch a news report from Clearwater, and he learns that Amy has died after falling from the Fort Harrison Hotel. Shortly afterward, Robert calls Richard and informs him that he may not attend the funeral because Amy and her mother have disconnected from him.

At a celebration of L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, Robert announces that Diane has attained the state of Clear and gives her a Clear bracelet. After the celebration, he takes the bracelet away (but reminds her that she may purchase one of her own as they are not free) and shows her a film that encourages her to continue on the Bridge by taking the Operating Thetan courses at Flag. Late in the night, while she is cleaning, a distraught Richard comes by and asks if he can talk to anyone about being allowed into the funeral service. She refuses, but Richard insists on dropping off some old Scientology books and tapes that used to belong to Amy. Diane listens to one of Amy's cassettes from the high-level Clearwater Scientology center and hears a man's voice speaking scoldingly about being "willing to talk to the auditor", in an impenetrable jargon laden with nonsense words.

In the final act, protestors are seen outside the church loudly picketing over the death of Amy. When Diane walks out to confront them, they ask her to step outside the church gate and proceed to tell her the story of Xenu and the Wall of Fire from Operating Thetan level 3 (OT III). Robert notices Diane outside the church, tells her to go back inside, and threatens the protestors, but not before they have finished telling her the story. Once Diane is back inside, Robert runs her on a security check to determine whether she has any doubts or ill will toward Scientology.

Richard calls Amy's mother, who is still in Scientology, and asks to be allowed at the funeral. She refuses and ends the call to avoid being sent to ethics. In the evening, Robert reminds Diane of the need to continue up the Bridge, and mentions the Wall of Fire at OT III. That night, disillusioned, Diane walks out the door of the church and leaves Scientology. The film ends with a written dedication: For all who speak out - for those who have been silenced.

Cast

  • Bill Baker as Scientology leader
  • Nathan Berry as 2nd Protestor
  • Adam Craycroft as Protestor
  • Brian Forrest as Micah D. Greenstein
  • Diana Heaton as Amy Grey
  • Ron Miscavige, Jr. as Himself, archival footage
  • Tom Padgett as Richard Grey - father
  • Paulette Regan as Richard's Ex-Wife
  • Linley Schmidt as Newscaster
  • Carole Smith as Diane Wheat

Production

Former Scientologists were involved in the production of the film.[1] The movie utilized some clips from the Scientology-produced video, "How to Use Dianetics: A Visual Guidebook to the Human Mind",[2] as well as archival footage of Ronnie Miscavige, brother of Church chairman David Miscavige.[2]

The film was shot over a five-day period at a hotel in Memphis, in order to avoid what the production team thought could be potential interference from Scientologists.[2] The film was shot in Black-and-white, but makes use of color to highlight certain objects or themes.[2]

Distribution

The Bridge premièred at the Operation Clambake 10-year anniversary in Stavenger, Norway on September 2, 2006,[6] and was shown at the 9th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival in October 2006,[7] as a feature presentation.[8] The film was initially released as a free download over the Internet in September 2006. The film credits stated: The Bridge' is licensed as royalty-free digital media, and may be distributed online for personal viewing without permission. All offline distribution rights are reserved by Brett Hanover.[4]

Within a few weeks of its release, Hanover removed The Bridge from its public distribution sites.[9] He stated on his website, "Due to copyright issues, I have asked that this film be removed from circulation. Please do not contact me regarding this production."[10][2][11] The removal was reported by Jeannette Walls, in an MSNBC entertainment column.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Festival Highlights, Memphis Flyer, Flyer Staff, October 12, 2006.
    The Bridge, Hometowner Feature, Monday, October 16th, 8:45 p.m.
  2. ^ a b c d e f The Bridge (2006/III), Internet Movie Database, 2007, Internet Movie Database Inc.
  3. ^ The Bridge, Allmovie, Category: Feature., retrieved 3/7/07.
  4. ^ a b Film Credits: The Bridge' is licensed as royalty-free digital media, and may be distributed online for personal viewing without permission. All offline distribution rights are reserved by Brett Hanover.
  5. ^ "Film Synopses" (PDF). Indie Memphis, "Soul of Southern Film Festival". October 13–19, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2006.
  6. ^ "Operation Clambake 10 year Anniversary event announcement". Xenu.net. September 2, 2006. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  7. ^ Andy Meek (September 28, 2006). "Claim to Fame: Annual indie festival strives to set itself apart". The Daily News. Vol. 121, no. 191. Memphis, TN.
  8. ^ "2006 Film Schedule" (PDF). Indie Memphis, "Soul of Southern Film Festival". October 13–19, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2006. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  9. ^ a b Walls, Jeannette (October 30, 2006). "The Scoop : O.J. Simpson to confess - hypothetically : Notes from all over". msnbc.com. NBC, MSN. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  10. ^ "A Word About "The Bridge"". bretthanover.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2010-09-28. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2006-10-24 suggested (help) (Due to frames, click Films, then "A Word About 'The Bridge'").
  11. ^ "Brett Hanover website". Brett Hanover. Archived from the original on 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2010-09-28. As of 2007, the notice was taken down.

External links