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38-708: The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films from around the world to U.S. audiences; they soon added original productions to their roster as well, starting with The Golden Seal in 1983. In succeeding years, the Goldwyn company was able to obtain (from Samuel Sr.'s estate) the rights to all films produced under the elder Goldwyn's supervision, including the original Bulldog Drummond (1929), Arrowsmith (1931), and Guys and Dolls (1955). The company also acquired some distribution rights to several films and television programs that were independently produced but released by other companies, including Sayonara ,

76-405: A major distributor and eventually grossing over $ 10 million. The 2004 theatrical release was succeeded by a substantially changed, extended home media version in 2006. The film has been described as an example of quantum mysticism , and has been criticized for both misrepresenting science and containing pseudoscience . While many of its interviewees and subjects are professional scientists in

114-446: A part of the original Goldwyn Company library, has had its ownership returned to its original distributor, United Artists (also an MGM division). The Golden Seal The Golden Seal is a 1983 American drama film directed by Frank Zuniga and starring Steve Railsback , Michael Beck , Penelope Milford and Torquil Campbell . It is based on James Vance Marshall ’s 1962 novel A River Ran Out of Eden . Roger Ebert awarded

152-473: A photographer who plays the role of everywoman as she experiences her life from startlingly new and different perspectives. In the documentary segments of the film, interviewees discuss the roots and meaning of Amanda's experiences. The comments focus primarily on a single theme: "We create our own reality." The director, William Arntz, has described What the Bleep as a film for the " metaphysical left ". Work

190-562: A set of syrupy nostrums '." Journalist John Gorenfeld, writing in Salon , notes that the film's three directors, William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, and Mark Vicente, were at the time students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment , which he says has been described as a cult. Mark Vicente later became involved with another prominent cult: NXIVM , the human-potential-development and sex-trafficking pyramid scheme founded by convicted con artist Keith Raniere . After leaving NXIVM, Vicente participated in

228-424: A shortcoming which the authors attribute to the current teaching of quantum mechanics, in which "we tacitly deny the mysteries physics has encountered". Richard Dawkins stated that "the authors seem undecided whether their theme is quantum theory or consciousness. Both are indeed mysterious, and their genuine mystery needs none of the hype with which this film relentlessly and noisily belabours us", concluding that

266-588: A subsidiary of Metromedia's Orion Pictures unit. That year, Orion and Goldwyn became part of the Metromedia Entertainment Group (MEG). Goldwyn became the specialty films unit of MEG, though they would seek out films with crossover appeal. While Orion and Goldwyn would share the overhead costs, the production/acquisition operations would operate independently from each other. In 1997, Metromedia sold its entertainment group to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for $ 573 million, making that company's film library

304-640: Is also the home of Ramtha ), and the other the Bagdad Theater in Portland, Oregon , where it was filmed. Within several weeks, the film had appeared in a dozen or more theaters (mostly in the western United States), and within six months it had made its way into 200 theaters across the US. According to Publishers Weekly , the film was one of the sleeper hits of 2004, as "word-of-mouth and strategic marketing kept it in theaters for an entire year." The article states that

342-536: Is the ground of all being." The film was also discussed in a letter published in Physics Today that challenges how physics is taught, saying teaching fails to "expose the mysteries physics has encountered [and] reveal the limits of our understanding". In the letter, the authors write: "the movie illustrates the uncertainty principle with a bouncing basketball being in several places at once. There's nothing wrong with that. It's recognized as pedagogical exaggeration. But

380-737: The Hal Roach –produced Laurel & Hardy –starring vehicle Babes in Toyland (1934), the Flipper TV series produced by MGM Television , the Academy Award –winning Tom Jones (1963), and the Rodgers and Hammerstein film productions of South Pacific (1958) and Oklahoma! (1955), as well as the CBS Television adaptation of Cinderella (1965). Animated films include Swan Lake , Aladdin and

418-442: The "transition from quantum mechanics to cognitive therapy " as "plausible", but stated also that "the subsequent leap—from cognitive therapy into large, hazy spiritual beliefs—isn't as effectively executed. Suddenly people who were talking about subatomic particles are alluding to alternate universes and cosmic forces, all of which can be harnessed in the interest of making Ms. Matlin's character feel better about her thighs." What

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456-584: The Bleep Do We Know!? and the Academy Award–nominated The Squid and the Whale . Since the new Goldwyn company was formed, MGM currently holds much of the original Goldwyn Company's holdings (including, with few exceptions, the non-Goldwyn-produced properties) that would end up with the library of Orion Pictures , now an MGM division. One Goldwyn-produced film, The Hurricane , which was

494-533: The Bleep Do We Know!? has been described as "a kind of New Age answer to The Passion of the Christ and other films that adhere to traditional religious teachings." It offers alternative spirituality views characteristic of New Age philosophy, including critiques of the competing claims of stewardship among traditional religions [viz., institutional Judaism, Christianity, and Islam] of universally recognized and accepted moral values. Scientists who have reviewed What

532-417: The Bleep Do We Know!? have described distinct assertions made as pseudoscience . Lisa Randall refers to the film as "the bane of scientists". Amongst the assertions in the film that have been challenged are that water molecules can be influenced by thought (as popularized by Masaru Emoto ), that meditation can reduce violent crime rates of a city, and that quantum physics implies that " consciousness

570-555: The Magic Lamp , The Care Bears Movie , The Chipmunk Adventure and Rock-a-Doodle . Among the television programs in the Goldwyn company's library are the television series American Gladiators , Gladiators , Gladiators , Gladiators: Train 2 Win , and Steve Krantz 's miniseries Dadah Is Death . In 1991, after a merger with Heritage Entertainment, Inc., the company went public as Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment . Heritage and Goldwyn attempted to merge during late 1990, but

608-521: The answers. They want suggestions, not formulas." The same article quotes Bill Pfau, Advertising Manager of Inner Traditions , as saying "More and more ideas from the New Age community have become accepted into the mainstream." Critics offered mixed reviews as seen on the film review website Rotten Tomatoes , where it scored a "Rotten" 34% score with an average score of 4.6/10, based on 77 reviews. In his review, Dave Kehr of The New York Times described

646-592: The domestic gross exceeded $ 10 million, described as not bad for a low-budget documentary, and that the DVD release attained even more significant success with over a million units shipped in the first six months following its release in March 2005. Foreign gross added another $ 5 million for a worldwide gross of nearly $ 16 million. In the Publishers Weekly article, publicist Linda Rienecker of New Page Books says that she sees

684-579: The exposé documentary series The Vow , revealing many of the cult's damaging tactics; however, nowhere in The Vow does Vicente admit that NXIVM was not his first time adhering to a cult-like group. In mid-2005, the filmmakers worked with HCI Books to expand on the film's themes in a book titled What the Bleep Do We Know!?—Discovering the Endless Possibilities of Your Everyday Reality . HCI president Peter Vegso stated that in regard to this book, "What

722-399: The fictional story of a photographer, using documentary -style interviews and computer-animated graphics , as she encounters emotional and existential obstacles in her life and begins to consider the idea that individual and group consciousness can influence the material world . Her experiences are offered by the filmmakers to illustrate the film's scientifically unsupported ideas. Bleep

760-424: The fields of physics , chemistry , and biology , one of them has noted that the film quotes him out of context . Filmed in Portland, Oregon , What the Bleep Do We Know!? presents a viewpoint of the physical universe and human life within it, with connections to neuroscience and quantum physics . Some ideas discussed in the film are: In the narrative segments of the film, Marlee Matlin portrays Amanda,

798-443: The film "abandons itself entirely to the ecstasies of quantum mysticism , finding in this aleatory description of nature the key to spiritual transformation. As one of the film's characters gushes early in the proceedings, 'The moment we acknowledge the quantum self, we say that somebody has become enlightened'. A moment in which 'the mathematical formalisms of quantum mechanics [...] are stripped of all empirical content and reduced to

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836-517: The film as a "pseudoscientific docudrama", saying "Among the more outlandish assertions are that people can travel backward in time, and that matter is actually thought." Bernie Hobbs, a science writer with ABC Science Online, explains why the film is incorrect about quantum physics and reality: "The observer effect of quantum physics isn't about people or reality. It comes from the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle , and it's about

874-508: The film is "tosh". Professor Clive Greated wrote that "thinking on neurology and addiction are covered in some detail but, unfortunately, early references in the film to quantum physics are not followed through, leading to a confused message". Despite his caveats, he recommends that people see the film, stating: "I hope it develops into a cult movie in the UK as it has in the US. Science and engineering are important for our future, and anything that engages

912-459: The film two stars. S. Jhoanna Robledo of Common Sense Media gave it three stars out of five. What the Bleep Do We Know!%3F What the Bleep Do We Know!? (stylized as What tнē #$ *! D̄ө ωΣ (k)πow!? and What the #$ *! Do We Know!? ) is a 2004 American pseudo-scientific film that posits a spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness (as part of a belief system known as quantum mysticism ). The plot follows

950-401: The film's use of the ten percent of the brain myth . David Albert , a philosopher of physics who appears in the film, has accused the filmmakers of selectively editing his interview to make it appear that he endorses the film's thesis that quantum mechanics is linked with consciousness. He says he is "profoundly unsympathetic to attempts at linking quantum mechanics with consciousness". In

988-635: The film, during a discussion of the influence of experience on perception, Candace Pert gives an apocryphal version of the invisible ships myth whereby Native Americans were unable to see Columbus 's ships because they were outside the natives' experience. According to an article in Fortean Times by David Hambling, the origins of this story likely involved the voyages of Captain James Cook , not Columbus, and an account related by Robert Hughes which said Cook's ships were "...complex and unfamiliar as to defy

1026-460: The filmmakers relied on " guerrilla marketing " first to get the film into theaters, and then to attract audiences. This has led to accusations, both formal and informal, directed towards the film's proponents, of spamming online message boards and forums with many thinly veiled promotional posts. Initially, the film was released in only two theaters: one in Yelm, Washington (the home of the producers, which

1064-461: The largest at the time. The Landmark Theatres group, which Metromedia did not sell to MGM, was taken over by Silver Cinemas, Inc. on April 27, 1998. In September 1997, the company was renamed Goldwyn Films and operated as MGM's specialty films unit. A month later, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. sued MGM and Metromedia, claiming that he was abruptly let go of the company despite promises that he would continue to run it under different ownership. Another concern in

1102-637: The lawsuit was the use of the Goldwyn name, with the defendants being accused of "palming off specialized films produced or acquired by" the unit as though the plaintiff was still involved in its management. Goldwyn Films changed its name to G2 Films in January 1999 as part of the settlement. In July 1999, G2 Films was renamed United Artists International . As well as all that, UA became an arthouse film producer/distributor. The younger Goldwyn has since gone on to found Samuel Goldwyn Films . This successor company has continued to release independent films such as What

1140-529: The limitations of trying to measure the position and momentum of subatomic particles... this only applies to sub-atomic particles—a rock doesn't need you to bump into it to exist. It's there. The sub-atomic particles that make up the atoms that make up the rock are there too." Hobbs also discusses Hagelin's experiment with Transcendental Meditation and the Washington DC rate of violent crime, saying that "the number of murders actually went up". Hobbs further disputed

1178-498: The movie gradually moves to quantum 'insights' that lead a woman to toss away her antidepressant medication, to the quantum channeling of Ramtha, the 35,000-year-old Lemurian warrior, and on to even greater nonsense." It went on to say that "Most laypeople cannot tell where the quantum physics ends and the quantum nonsense begins, and many are susceptible to being misguided," and that "a physics student may be unable to convincingly confront unjustified extrapolations of quantum mechanics,"

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1216-667: The natives' understanding". Hambling says it is likely that both the Hughes account and the story told by Pert were exaggerations of the records left by Captain Cook and the botanist Joseph Banks . Skeptic James Randi described the film as "a fantasy docudrama " and "[a] rampant example of abuse by charlatans and cults". Eric Scerri in a review for Committee for Skeptical Inquiry dismisses it as "a hodgepodge of all kinds of crackpot nonsense," where "science [is] distorted and sensationalized". A BBC reviewer described it as "a documentary aimed at

1254-527: The plans fell apart while Heritage went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The merger also allowed Goldwyn to inherit the Landmark Theatres chain, which was a unit of Heritage. That company and its library were acquired by Metromedia on July 2, 1996, for US$ 125 million. To coincide with the purchase, the Samuel Goldwyn Company was renamed Goldwyn Entertainment Company , and was reconstituted as

1292-487: The public can only be a good thing." Simon Singh called it pseudoscience and said the suggestion "that if observing water changes its molecular structure, and if we are 90% water, then by observing ourselves we can change at a fundamental level via the laws of quantum physics" was "ridiculous balderdash". According to João Magueijo , professor in theoretical physics at Imperial College, the film deliberately misquotes science. The American Chemical Society 's review criticizes

1330-456: The success as part of a wider phenomenon, stating "A large part of the population is seeking spiritual connections, and they have the whole world to choose from now". Author Barrie Dolnick adds that "people don't want to learn how to do one thing. They'll take a little bit of Buddhism, a little bit of veganism, a little bit of astrology... They're coming into the marketplace hungry for direction, but they don't want some person who claims to have all

1368-451: The totally gullible". According to Margaret Wertheim , "History abounds with religious enthusiasts who have read spiritual portent into the arrangement of the planets, the vacuum of space, electromagnetic waves and the big bang. But no scientific discovery has proved so ripe for spiritual projection as the theories of quantum physics, replete with their quixotic qualities of uncertainty, simultaneity and parallelism." Wertheim continues that

1406-410: Was conceived and its production funded by William Arntz , who co-directed the film along with Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente; all three were students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment . A moderately low-budget independent film , it was promoted using viral marketing methods and opened in art-house theaters in the western United States, winning several independent film awards before being picked up by

1444-518: Was split between Toronto-based Mr. X Inc., Lost Boys Studios in Vancouver, and Atomic Visual Effects in Cape Town, South Africa. The visual-effects team, led by Evan Jacobs , worked closely with the other film-makers to create visual metaphors that would capture the essence of the film's technical subjects with attention to aesthetic detail. Lacking the funding and resources of the typical Hollywood film,

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