Film With Anti-Semitic Producer Set to Premiere Friday
A major 鈥渄ocumentary鈥� whose executive producer is a radical anti-Semite is this Friday in an Illinois cinema complex owned by a firm that was started by a Polish-Jewish immigrant and is still run by his son and grandson.
The film, has not yet been seen by reviewers, but is billed by its producers as a challenge to the revelation that the earth is not at the center of the universe, a truth later confirmed by and now accepted by all major Christian denominations. It has already drawn major controversy, with leading scientists and even its narrator saying they were duped into participating.
The film鈥檚 executive producer is Robert Sungenis, a who co-authored a book entitled . Sungenis is also a , meaning he rejects that church鈥檚 liberalizing reforms of recent decades, who has railed against Jews for much of his adult life.
Sungenis, who started a group called (CAI) in 1993, is . He has , and cited the neo-Nazi canard that there were about as many Jews living in Europe after World War II as before, a plain falsehood. His CAI website has blamed Jews for starting a 鈥淣ew World Order鈥� and referred to the alleged 鈥淛ewish origins of bolshevism, Jewish dominance of Hollywood and the media, [and] Jewish control of Congress.鈥�
Sungenis has frequently quoted the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia that 鈥減redicts the anti-Christ will come from Jewry.鈥� He has been a columnist for the radical publication The Remnant, where he wrote a piece entitled 鈥淭he New World Order and the Zionist Connection鈥� that detailed a Satanic conspiracy to rule the earth and claimed, 鈥淎mong the major forces in the ascent of the New World Order are the Jews, Judaism and Israel.鈥� Although he once produced two series for EWTN, the Catholic TV network, that ended after he published a 33,000-word, anti-Semitic attack on an official Catholic Church statement on converting Jews. That 2002 attack praised vicious anti-Semites including , the 鈥渞adio priest鈥� of the 1930s, as 鈥渄edicated Catholic priests who lived impeccable lives.鈥�
The film is to open at the in Addison, Ill., a Chicago suburb. The sprawling 21-screen complex is owned by Marcus Theatres, a division of Milwaukee-based that owns or manages some 700 screens across the Midwest. The company was started by the late Ben Marcus, described by as 鈥渢he tough, legendary Polish-Jewish immigrant entrepreneur 鈥� who opened his first movie theater in Ripon [Wis.] in 1935, then built the company a theater and a hotel at a time.鈥� The firm today is publicly held, but Ben鈥檚 son, Stephen Marcus, is its chairman, and Stephen鈥檚 son, Gregory Marcus, is its president and chief executive officer, .
Ann Stadler, vice president and chief marketing officer for Marcus Theatres, told Hatewatch today that the company would go ahead with its premiere: 鈥淲hen identifying films to show, we are mindful that the cinema is a place where ideas have been freely exchanged for generations. Our philosophy is to let the marketplace determine the success of each film. However, playing a film does not mean that Marcus Theatres endorses or shares the views and ideas being expressed therein. We understand that there has been controversy in the past surrounding the executive producer of 鈥楾he Principle.鈥� As a movie company, we provide choices and diversity based primarily on film content, recognizing that every film isn鈥檛 for everyone.鈥�
The makers of 鈥淭he Principle鈥� have not released their film to reviewers, but they have played up its allegedly explosive claims. 鈥淓veryone knows that the ancient idea of Earth in the center of the universe is a ridiculous holdover from a superstitious age, right?鈥� the movie鈥檚 says. 鈥淲ell 鈥�. prepare to be shocked!鈥� The site goes on to say that the movie is 鈥渄estined to become one of the most controversial films of our time鈥� and that it will detail 鈥渁stonishing new discoveries.鈥�
Actually, the film is already controversial, quite apart from Sungenis鈥� involvement. After its trailer was released last December, scientists interviewed for it denounced its apparent thesis. Physicist Lawrence Krauss if he had known its premise he would have refused an interview. Max Tegmark, an MIT cosmologist, told magazine scientists were 鈥渃leverly tricked鈥� into thinking the movie would be 鈥渁n ordinary cosmology documentary.鈥� George Ellis, a South African scientist, told the magazine that the filmmakers 鈥渄id not disclose this agenda, which of course is nonsense.鈥� Even narrator Kate Mulgrew, who once played a Starfleet commander in a Star Trek series and more recently was a star of 鈥淥range is the New Black,鈥� she totally rejected the film, its premise and Sungenis. 鈥淚 am not a geocentrist,鈥� she wrote, adding, 鈥淚 was a voice for hire, and a misinformed one, at that.鈥�
Perhaps unsurprisingly, 鈥淭he Principle鈥� is being distributed in North America by , based in Salt Lake City. That is the same company, according to a fawning recent piece about the movie on , that distributed right-wing favorites including Dinesh D鈥橲ouza鈥檚 鈥淥bama 2016,鈥� Ben Stein鈥檚 鈥淓xpelled: No Intelligence Allowed,鈥� and Mel Gibson鈥檚 鈥淭he Passion of the Christ.鈥� Like Sungenis, Gibson is as a radical traditionalist Catholic.
Officials at Rocky Mountain Pictures did not respond to requests for comment.
The other principal of the film, writer and producer Rick DeLano, is not nearly as well known as Sungenis. But , which interviewed him, said he runs a blog, , that talks about the film and geocentrism. It also quoted DeLano saying an unidentified 鈥減rofoundly impressive power鈥� was working to discredit both him and the film in a 鈥渨orldwide disinformation campaign.鈥�
The magazine also reported that it had found a Rick DeLano listed as a defendant in a 2002 $10 million suit alleging he and others had conspired 鈥渢o misrepresent stock in Internet companies鈥� that was settled out of court. When reporter Colin Lecher asked him about the company named in the lawsuit, DeLano went cold. 鈥淭hat would have nothing to do with my film and I think this conversation is over,鈥� he said.
