The church contacted film critics complaining that their reviews of '' Going Clear '' were " filled with bald faced lies " and demanding that the critics should publish a church statement rebutting the film . Jason Bailey of '' Flavorwire '' wrote that " pretty much every critic who wrote about '' Going Clear '' " received an email from Scientology spokesperson Karin Pouw . He commented that the church did not seem to realise that film critics do not usually try to interview people for reviews , and noted how neatly it " comports with the film 's portrayal of the Church as a hive of shady , paranoid control freaks . " In an email to Flavorwire , Gibney observed that " anytime someone writes something – film criticism or social criticism – about Scientology , the Church of Scientology counter-attacks by smearing critics . " Indiewire 's Max O'Connell criticised the church 's approach for being counterproductive . He predicted that " their campaign against the film is going to be the best publicity that Alex Gibney and company could ever hope for , if also a hassle for critics and filmmakers and ( this is no small thing ) a nightmare for the ex-CoS members who dared to speak out against the Church 's practices . But then , they do n't seem terribly aware that attacking everyone who criticizes you does n't do a lot of good for your image . " Paul Haggis , who was labeled " doughy " and " pasty " by the church , likewise felt that the attacks were backfiring : " You do n't think that makes you look really bad trying to slander me in that way ? I 'm an imperfect human being . And I 've made many , many mistakes in my life . So you can absolutely publicize any of those . But this , really , ( you ’re ) thinking that makes you look good ? " The filmmakers reported receiving " lots of cards and letters " from the church , though in their case it had limited its response to " loads of legal paperwork " . HBO had earlier said that it had put " probably 160 lawyers " onto the task of reviewing the film in anticipation of challenges from the notoriously litigious church . Sheila Nevins of HBO commented that she could not believe how aggressive the church had been . Not only did it effectively provide free advertising for the film , but its hostility had made HBO Documentary Films even more determined to produce the film : " I thought , ' They really do n't want us to do it . All the reason more to do it . ' " Following the film 's success at the Emmys , the church was reported to have mounted an aggressive campaign to deny it recognition at the Oscars . The church 's campaign included producing an anti-Gibney film and approaches to members of the Academy 's documentary branch , responsible for selecting contenders for the awards . Several members of the documentary branch reported receiving approaches from the Church 's magazine '' Freedom '' in connection with a planned profile of Gibney . Although the Church denied that its actions had anything to do with the Oscars , Lawrence Wright suggested that its " more feverish attention to the documentary " had to do with it feeling " threatened by the possibility that the Hollywood community would examine the church more closely " as the Oscars approached . In January 2016 , according to '' The Hollywood Reporter '' , the film and Gibney were reported to have been “ snubbed ” by Oscar voters and not included in the Best Documentary category of the 88th Academy Awards
88th Academy Awards
88th Academy Awards
Going Clear (film)