Does anyone remember the film, 'Semi-Tough', in 1977, starring Burt Reynolds (a huge star back then), Kris Kristofferson & Jill Clayburgh? It was a very funny film and it parodied EST & Werner Erhard in the film. The actor portraying the Werner Erhard character in the film, Bert Convy, attended EST training before doing the film.
EST, in the 80s, got alot of bad PR because some attendees claimed they were forced to forgo bathroom breaks and had to urinate where they sat. This led to many motels refusing to rent ballrooms to EST. This was parodied in the film..
"The film includes a parody of the Werner Erhard and Erhard Seminars Training, with B.E.A.T. as a stand-in for est. In American Film Now, Friedrich Bismark is simply described as "the Werner Erhard character". The Grove Book of Hollywood describes Bert Convy as a "Werner Erhard-lookalike", in his portrayal of Friedrich Bismark.
After Semi-Tough's release in 1977, Bert Convy was contacted by a number of est followers, as well as by Werner Erhard. After Convy appeared on The Tonight Show and discussed his experiences attending Erhard Seminars Training in preparation for his role as Friedrich Bismark, he received a letter from Erhard stating: "it would be great for us to get together".
Of the est seminar itself, Convy recalled that when another attendee complained of a headache during the course, the group leader told him to "experience it", and when another attendee wet his pants, he was told to "experience the warmth". In a scene from the film, a woman exclaims to Friedrich Bismark in the middle of a seminar: "I peed in my pants and it felt good."
During actual filming on Semi-Tough, Convy received a late-night phone call from actress Valerie Harper, known in Hollywood as a devoted student of Werner Erhard. She related to Convy that Erhard was "pleased" with the role, and she wished him success in the film. Convy suspected that her real reason for calling was to subtly pressure him to go easy on his parody of Erhard in the film. Harper is mentioned by name in the completed film."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-Tough
"Online rumors that I had read about “not being allowed to go to the bathroom” were totally unfounded. The Forum leader explained that he couldn’t guarantee any results (“getting it”, in Forum lingo) to a participant if he wasn’t there for the full experience. That being said, anyone was permitted, though not encouraged, to walk out of the room at any time for whatever reason (e.g. cigarette, phone, bathroom, emotional overwhelm)."
http://thirtytwothousanddays.com/blog/2 ... ightenment
Statistics: Posted by Smurf — Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:26 pm