Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

On one occasion, when filming a bombing raid on an FBI office - a scene Hubbard very much
enjoyed - he ordered so much blood to be poured over the unhappy actors that their clothes
became glued to their bodies and had to be cut off by wardrobe assistants.
When the Cine Org was shooting in the studio, all the sets had to be cleaned and scrubbed with
special soap every morning before Hubbard arrived and the messengers would go round with
white gloves to ensure that it had been done properly. Hubbard had a director's chair that no one
else was allowed to sit in and as he was walking around the set a messenger would follow close
behind him, ready to put the chair underneath him if he chose to sit down. One unfortunate girl got
the positioning wrong by a few inches and as the Commodore sat down he missed the chair and
sprawled on the floor. No one laughed: it was not wise to laugh at the Commodore. The girl was
immediately despatched to the RPF.
Despite the somewhat desperate desire on everyone's part that the Cine Org should succeed, its
films were in no danger of winning Oscars. One of the fundamental problems was that the scripts,
although no one would admit it, were as amateurish as everything else. Narratives tended to begin,
'From the beginning of history, Man has searched for truth . . .' and many of the roles were wooden
stereotypes or ludicrous caricatures reflecting Hubbard's multitude of prejudices. One film, titled
The Problems of Life, featured a perplexed young couple searching for a meaning to their lives.
They first consulted a psychiatrist, predictably portrayed as a demented sadist, then sought advice
from a scientist, who was shown madly scribbling theorems on a blackboard as if completely
insane. Finally they approached a beaming Scientologist and concluded they were at last in the
right place. Subtlety was not one of Hubbard's more obvious talents as a scriptwriter.
'The trouble was that he wanted to make movies that would take over Hollywood,' said Kima
Douglas, 'but they were terrible, really terrible. The crew would have to do scenes over and over
again before he was satisfied. Occasionally the day would end up with a "Fine, well done
everybody", but more often there were tantrums and he'd storm off the set screaming that it had
better be right tomorrow.'[5]
Gerry Armstrong was put in charge of set building. 'It was all hokey, worse than high school,' he
said. 'When we were shooting films he was the most abusive I have ever seen him, screaming and