Did the Church "Bail Out" Interpreter with Tithing Money?

[Doctor Scratch]

As readers here are no doubt aware, the Interpreter Foundation's debut movie project, Witnesses, was a box office flop: it failed to recoup its production budget during its theatrical run, which is the dictionary definition of a "box office bomb." We know, based on things that Dr. Peterson has said, that the budget ran to well over $1 million, though strangely, despite repeated assurances that Interpreter is devoted to financial transparency, the actual details of the movie and its budget are scarce.

Luckily, I received a pair of links recently from an "informant" which help to shed some light on the situation: namely, Interpreter's 2021 and 2022 tax documents. These documents show, very curiously, that rather than burning a hole in Interpreter's budget, Witnesses managed to somehow turn a profit: $387,000 for 2021, and $102,000 for 2022. What on earth is going on here?

Well, I don't know about you, but I cannot help but speculate. The first thing that comes to mind are DVD/Blu-Ray sales and whatever streaming distribution deal was hammered out. But would this really add up to nearly half a million dollars? I know that industry professionals have said that streaming deals can be very lucrative nowadays, but would someone really shell out half a mill for a movie that failed to break the $1 million mark at the box office--a film whose principal audience was likely just about already exhausted? I'm willing to grant that this is *possible,* but it still raises some issues.

I cannot help but wonder: is this ~$500,000 "windfall" actually the Church's doing? My recollection is that the streaming distributor for Witnesses was some arm of Deseret Inc. or something to that effect. Which would mean that, Yes, in effect, the Church *did* bail out Interpreter. If the LDS Church's movie streaming network paid for a movie that failed at the box office, then I think it's perfectly reasonable to view the situation as a case of the Church stepping in to "help" Interpreter. Plus, we have to remember that Louis Midgley publicly admitted on "SeN" that the Church gives money to Interpreter, FAIR, and other Mopologetic organizations.

Now, I get that there are people out there who would object to my characterizing the "bail out" as having come from "tithing money." The old Mopologetic response to this line of argument was always, "Nuh-uh! It's not tithing money! The Church has made investments in the market, and that's where the money is coming from!" Without getting too deep into the weeds, I would simply respond, "You mean 'investments' like Ensign Peak? In other words, the 'bail out' is not coming from 'tithing money' per se, but rather, from *dirty* money that the Church attempted to hide from the IRS?"

Regardless, it would seem that the Interpreter Foundation's lack of transparency--and Louis Midgley's big mouth--are raising questions yet again.

[I Have Questions]

Luckily, I received a pair of links recently from an "informant" which help to shed some light on the situation: namely, Interpreter's 2021 and 2022 tax documents. These documents show, very curiously, that rather than burning a hole in Interpreter's budget, Witnesses managed to somehow turn a profit: $387,000 for 2021, and $102,000 for 2022. What on earth is going on here?

I read those numbers as revenue (income) rather than profit. So the income generated by Witnesses for those two years was $489,000, against a cost of somewhere north of $1,000,000. By my reading the film has lost >$500,000 up to the end of 2022.

Do we have any financial statements for the company that Interpreter hived off the movie to (in order to avoid transparency)?

[Doctor Scratch]

Luckily, I received a pair of links recently from an "informant" which help to shed some light on the situation: namely, Interpreter's 2021 and 2022 tax documents. These documents show, very curiously, that rather than burning a hole in Interpreter's budget, Witnesses managed to somehow turn a profit: $387,000 for 2021, and $102,000 for 2022. What on earth is going on here?

I read those numbers as revenue (income) rather than profit. So the income generated by Witnesses for those two years was $489,000, against a cost of somewhere north of $1,000,000. By my reading the film has lost >$500,000 up to the end of 2022.

Ah--that's very interesting. Thank you for providing this reading of the data.

[Kishkumen]

The Church continues to pay apologists. Indeed, it pays apologists who don’t even work at BYU. The apologetic effort is funded in part by the LDS Church. It is odd that they don’t simply do it openly, but there you go.

[drumdude]

It is odd that they don’t simply do it openly, but there you go.

There are few topics that infuriate Daniel Peterson more than insinuating he has made money being an apologist for his church.

Mormonism has a very complicated relationship with Mammon.

[Kishkumen]

There are few topics that infuriate Daniel Peterson more than insinuating he has made money being an apologist for his church.

Mormonism has a very complicated relationship with Mammon.

I am making no specific allegation regarding DCP.

[drumdude]

There are few topics that infuriate Daniel Peterson more than insinuating he has made money being an apologist for his church.

Mormonism has a very complicated relationship with Mammon.

I am making no specific allegation regarding DCP.

Which church apologists are getting directly (or indirectly) paid?

[Marcus]

I am making no specific allegation regarding DCP.

Which church apologists are getting directly (or indirectly) paid?

I'm curious too. K's comment was pretty specific:

The Church continues to pay apologists. Indeed, it pays apologists who don’t even work at BYU. The apologetic effort is funded in part by the LDS Church. It is odd that they don’t simply do it openly, but there you go.

So, who is getting paid?

[Kishkumen]

Oh, come on. We all know they are paid. The Church just sends money to mediating entities like the More Good Foundation. We figured this out years ago.

[drumdude]

Oh, come on. We all know they are paid. The Church just sends money to mediating entities like the More Good Foundation. We figured this out years ago.

The mediating entities are what smokescreens the whole thing. I think you have to include DCP in the group with the rest of them, even though they have gone to great lengths to hide direct connections.