Tag Archives: documentary

Trailer Released For Louis Theroux’s Scientology Documentary

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I adore Louis Theroux documentaries. If you’re yet to acquaint yourself with his work I can’t recommend it enough. His two stints with the Westboro Baptist Church may be of particular interest to you. You can find them on Netflix in the UK.

I find it frustrating when documentary film makers aren’t necessarily interested in discovering what makes their subjects tick, but rather committed to showcasing and convincing of their own biases instead.

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How To Get Refunded By Michael Wilson For Your ‘God Is Incredible’ Money.

Image Via Facebook

Image Via Facebook

Since February, I’ve been trying to get answers as to the status of – and spending of the crowd-sourced funds Michael Wilson (@GodlessAtheist) received for his planned documentary ‘God Is Incredible‘ back in 2012.

Shortly after Michael received nearly $12,000 in crowd-sourced funds, he made a handful of sporadic updates, took a holiday to Japan, then appeared to drop off the face of the earth – going completely silent for periods of over a year until I began investigating. You can read a detailed timeline of events here.

In an update dated 19 June 2015, Wilson made some more promises, but also pledged to facilitate refunds for those who request them directly:

RefundOffer

The ‘Clip’ referenced above arrived on YouTube two days later, which was nothing more than a crude trailer promising more footage ‘next week’.

I think it’s now fair to say this project has not been undertaken with the professionalism, sincerity and commitment promised to its funders. Given the format of the movie appears to have changed, and no indication has been given as to whether rewards will be fulfilled and no documentation has been provided to show how nearly $12,000 has been spent in over 3 years – I would urge contributors to request a refund.

To do so, send Michael Wilson an email at [email protected], stating the amount of your contribution and your INDIEGOGO funder name. Please copy me in to the email at [email protected]. I will monitor the refund process, ensuring it is honoured and provide any updates via this blog.

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

Statement From Michael Wilson (@GodlessAtheist) on ‘God Is Incredible’ Film.

Michael Wilson – Facebook Cover Photo From Jan 2015

I recently blogged a piece about Michael Wilson’s crowdfunded documentary ‘God Is Incredible’. Funds of nearly $12,000 were received by Wilson back in June 2012 thanks to the generosity of 152 backers.

In the years following, promised release and preview dates came and went without being fulfilled and updates became sparse until they ceased altogether in January 2014. I set out investigating this with the hope of getting some information for those who are wondering how their money has been spent. In the process of writing my blog piece I reached out to Wilson for comment. His statement is reproduced below, verbatim – with permission:

 

Hello,

I have been terrible at providing updates and I apologize for this. I have been delayed for several reasons including major surgery,  change  if employment that made things difficult, the near arrival1 of my first child but mostly being overwelmed with the massive task that I was completely underprepared for. I wanted to have something to show before I made another update but this kept drifting later and later as I kept second guessing what I was producing. 

I know I have disappointed a lot of people.  My plan going forward is to release a short of each interview on a monthly basis with the final feature out towards the of the year.

I am committed to this project still and have taken on an editor and an animator to help me out. I know this feels like waiting for the second coming but it will be happening and you will start to see fruits soon.
 
Thanks for your support
 
Michael

 

My suggestion would be to remain charitable in your judgement, but questions still remain as to how exactly the $10,000 (and additional $1500)2 has been spent, and why updates ceased on a project that is now 2 years overdue.  I will follow-up this piece later on in the year.  Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
UPDATE 01 June 2015 – Michael once again failed to fulfill the promises outlined above. Further updates (and promises) can be read here

You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

  1. I think this may have been intended as ‘new arrival’.  I am waiting on a response from Wilson to clarify
  2. A funder was asked to wire $2,000 NZD ($1,500 USD at 2012 conversion rates) to Wilson’s wife’s business account.  This amount does not appear to be accounted for in the list of funders on the INDIEGOGO campaign page, meaning it’s possible this $1,500 is in addition to the $10,000 raised. 03 June 2015 Note – I originally reported this additional amount in US Dollars, until the contributor informed me it was actually a New Zealand Dollar amount, meaning a now amended difference of -$500 USD to the total amount. The total amount of funds, in US dollars now stands at just over $11,500

Michael Wilson (@GodlessAtheist) Crowdsources Nearly $12,000 for a documentary then disappears

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Update 17 Feb 2015: I have now received a statement from Michael Wilson via email – you can read it here.

In 2012, when I first decided to dip my toe into the sea of anti-atheist (or athiest) sentiment on Twitter, it was a surprise to note how few people had taken on a similar hobby. Happily, that’s changed over the years – but at the time certain atheist Twitter accounts stood out for their ubiquity and high follower count.
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‘The Hitch’ – Indie Christopher Hitchens Documentary

SPECIAL FOR THE WASHINGTON POSTAre you a fan of Hitch? Of course you are.  The below documentary was brought to my attention last week, and it’s wonderful. Kristoffer Hellesmark has managed to put together a lengthy film chronicling the life of the great late polemecist.  It’s a superb blend of archive footage, Hitch voiceover from his autobiography audio book and Kristoffer’s own impressive visual style.  Highly recommended.  A thoroughly decent way to spend a Sunday in my opinion.  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.  Enjoy.

Kristoffer’s note:

I was looking for a documentary about The Hitch to watch but
I could never find one. I waited and waited. Finally I figured:
“Why don’t I just make one?”. That was the inspiration for this project.
I did not make it to gain financially as I do not own most of the
footage used.

I simply wanted to in my own small way, further the legacy of Christopher Hitchens.

Thanks for watching.

 

‘The Hitch’- Christopher Hitchens documentary from Kristoffer Hellesmark on Vimeo.