Alex Gibney (2015)

Have any Scientologists done anything in retribution for Going Clear to you personally? I thought it was a great documentary by the way.

Congrats on GOING CLEAR and MAN IN THE MACHINE - you are a rare voice in American life who is willing to take down sacred cows. I really appreciate your courage and audacity. For GOING CLEAR did you speak with BBC reporter John Sweeney about his experiences being hounded and intimidated by the Church of Scientology? Did you or your producers face any intimidation like that?

At the end of Going Clear, Lawrence Wright suggests that one way for that the Church of Scientology can be reformed is by the IRS revising its tax-exempt status. Do you know of any efforts under way to make this happen? What would it take?

Thank you for your wonderful movies. Do you continue to follow Scientology related news? Would you ever consider a sequel to "Going Clear"?

Hi Mr. Gibney. Longtime fan.

In response to your article about Jon Stewart letting Tom Cruise off the hook (link), I was wondering if you had received any feedback from journalists/tv personalities about going there in future interviews? Will there be a time when you think the church will let its bigger names off the leash to respond to those types of important questions that need answering?

What are some of your favorite films?

Do you see Scientology continuing to have tax exempt status, or do you think the "religion" is on the way out?

I agree with you 100%. I want to sincerely thank you both for answering my question, and for bringing the enormous problems of Scientology much further into the public light. Keep fighting the good fight.

Thank you for doing this AMA Mr. Gibney. I'm looking forward to “Sinatra: All or Nothing At All”.

My question is about Going Clear. At the end of the film, you display a list of high ranking Scientologists who refused to be interviewed or never responded to your interview requests. Among those is Tom Cruise and Captain David Miscavige. What would you like to have asked these men, if you had been given the opportunity?

Do you get any hate mail for your film "Going Clear"? I loved it

What's number 3??

How much do you bench? How much did Steve Jobs bench?

What do you make of Pope Francis and his tenure as Pontiff? Shockingly, MEA MAXIMA CULPA gave me more respect for Pope Benedict, and I lost alot of respect for Pope John Paul II.

Isn't that pretty much true of all organized religions?

Congrats on your success! Would you consider a follow-up movie to Going Clear that focuses more on Scientology's fair game and intelligence ops? They have quite the sordid history and I am sure there would be plenty of "anonymous" donors of verifiable information.

Such could look at it from the historical days of the GO, up to OSA being formed in 84 right up to their attack on anyone who dares speak ill toward their leader (not Hubbard, but Miscavige).

Could also include their infiltration of Anonymous, their infiltration of former members; Fishman, etc etc. Their plausible deniability scheme of hiring law firms to distance themselves when the op is blown (something that's been being done for a while). And other such fascinating things. Would be a blockbuster and would really help to illustrate just how sinister this organization is.

If you could choose one person who you look up to, who would that person be?

How did you get your start in filmmaking and production?

Hey Alex,

Big fan of your work. How much did winning the Oscar for "Taxi to the Dark Side" change your ability to pitch your own ideas for projects / have them green-lit?

Is there anything major you'd change in how you've gone about your career?

And if you were to collaborate with Reddit on making some sort of documentary - what's an immediate idea that jumps out at you? (I'm heading up our new video department here!)

Big fan of your work. We often screened your documentaries in my non-fiction cinema class in college.

I recently produced a short documentary that was featured on a few major film news sites and we constantly looked at your docs for inspiration during the edit process. I don't think it would have been as successful without keeping your work in mind. Thank you for that.

2 questions:

1) Cliche, i know, but what advice would you have to young documentary filmmakers?

2) Every documentary filmmaker has their own thoughts on maintaining truth throughout the edit process so i'm wondering what your thoughts are on creative use of editing and how documentaries can skirt the line between remaining true to the subject but also telling a compelling story? Is the filmmaker bound by morality to present the truth as uninterrupted as possible or is the story and theme of a story most relevant to the documentarian?

Thanks for doing this AMA!

Did you see that TMZ reported over the weekend that the scientology’s leader’s life was threatened? What are your thoughts?

Did you see the film "While We're Young," about documentary filmmakers? Were there any parts of the movie that especially resonated with you?

What were you most surprised to learn about Steve Jobs?

How do you respond to critics like Matt Prigge, who recently wrote a review of your latest film on Steve Jobs in Metro, characterizing your work as an assembly line of "simplistic" documentaries?

Why should any religion have tax exemption? Don’t you think this should be taken away for all of them?

what do you find is the most difficult aspect of making a film? what roadblocks did you run into when making Man in the Machine and Going Clear?

What are your thoughts on the whereabouts of Michele Miscavige? I have only watched Going Clear once so I apologize if it was covered and I missed it.

Hello, Who would be your dream actor to work with? Also, great job on Sinatra: All or Nothing at All

Who is your hero?

I've seen Going Clear six times( a bit obsessive haha) thanks for such a great film! What got you interested in the topic in the first place?

Critics of We Steal Secrets, Man in the Machine, and Going Clear, among some of your other films, have noted that you tend to tell a “one-sided” story of your subjects, often leaving out key factual information, or failing to investigate issues that don’t support your own point of view – your thesis. What is your role director of such documentaries? Do you feel what you’re doing is journalism by definition? Or is it advocacy?

Alex, hi. Thanks for doing this AMA.

I rewatch Gonzo maybe a dozen times a year. It’s really well done and you did a superb job. You hit important milestones in his life and with the varied interviews and insights from friends, loved ones and acquaintances it makes the film flow beautifully.

I can’t escape the notion “Learn to enjoy losing.” There’s such a sadness attributed to Hunter and it comes through pretty strongly in the film.

Since you and many others spent a lot of time researching him and watching, reading and taking in his material, I guess my question/s would be, is there anything important that you came across that you didn’t get to feature in the film? Anything that you personally felt about Hunter that isn’t included in “the extras” or “deleted scenes?” And what are your personal feelings about Hunter’s productivity? Do you think it was a constant fuel of hope, anger and sadness?