The Secret 秘密

The Secret (秘密) is a 2006 film produced by Prime Time Productions, consists of a series of interviews related to the idea of positive thinking. Derived from a tradition said to date back hundreds of years, the philosophy of The Secret is believed to help people reach their goals and lead happier lives, with a technique for thinking and doing that's been employed by some of history's most accomplished people. The film and the subsequent publication of a book by the same name and of the same topic as the film, has attracted criticism from the mainstream press.

Directed by: Drew Heriot

Production Manager : Glenda Bell

Produced by: Rhonda Byrne (Executive Producer), Paul Harrington (Producer)

Editor: Damian Corboy

Editor: Daniel Kerr

Distributed by: Prime Time Productions

Cinematographer: John Hall

Release date: March 26, 2006

Running time: 87 mins

Country: USA Austrilia

Language: English

Genre: Documentary

Bob Proctor as Himself - Philosopher

Joe Vitale as Himself - Metaphysician (as Dr. Joe Vitale MSC.D.)

John Assaraf as Himself - Entrepreneur

Loral Langemeier as Herself - Financial Strategist

Marie Diamond as Herself - Feng Shui Consultant

Michael Beckwith as Himself - Visionary (as Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith D.D.)

Jack Canfield as Himself - Author

Bob Doyle as Himself - Author

Mike Dooley as Himself - Writer

Lisa Nichols as Herself - Author

Bill Harris as Himself - Therapist

John Hagelin as Himself - Quantum Physicist (as Dr. John Hagelin Ph.D A.B. M.A.)

John Demartini as Himself - Philosopher (as Dr. John F. Demartini D.C. Bsc)

Fred Alan Wolf as Himself - Quantum Physicist (as Fred Alan Wolf Ph.D.)

Denis Waitley as Himself - Psychologist (as Dr. Denis Waitley Ph. D)

The Secret, described as a self-help film, uses a documentary format to present the Law of Attraction. It reveals The Great Secret of the universe. It has been passed throughout the ages, traveling through centuries. This is The Secret to everything - the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth. All the resources you will ever need to understand and live The Secret. The world's leading scientists, authors, and philosophers will reveal The Secret that utterly transformed the lives of every person who ever knew it. As described in the film, the "Law of Attraction" principle posits that feelings and thoughts can attract events, from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional, and professional affairs.

Rhonda Byrne, after a series of painful experiences in her life, learns a great Secret. Once she knows it, she is amazed to discover through her research how many famous figures throughout history knew it, and how many persons living today know it and preach it. She gathers these modern-day advocates for her documentary. What is the Secret? It's the Law of Attraction. What we have our in our lives, we have attracted into it. Byrne's various guests with their various labels - doctor, author, philosopher, psychologist, entrepreneur, visionary, metaphysician, quantum physicist, financial strategist, feng shui consultant - all expound upon what the Law of Attraction is and how to attract good things into our lives, while avoiding the bad. "Your wish," says the Universe, "is my command."

The film was created by Prime Time Productions of Melbourne Australia with Rhonda Byrne as executive producer, Paul Harrington as producer, and Drew Heriot as director. Gozer Media of Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, is the design house responsible for the visual style and feel of the film. Byrne's company TS Production LLC, a Hungarian company, is responsible for marketing and distribution of the film and book.

Byrne commented about the research she did prior to making the film: So I sat down and did a huge list of everything I had read ... and when I finished the list I handed it to them (the film production team). They said that's impossible, you couldn't read that many books in a year, two years, and I had read all of those books in two and a half weeks - and well, that's The Secret.

Byrne's inspiration for creating The Secret came from reading the 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. The film was done as a project for Channel Nine an Australian TV Network. Nine put up less than 25% of the $3 million project with additional funding from mortgaging Byrne's home and from an investment by Bob Rainone, "a former Internet executive in Chicago". Rainone became the CEO of one of Byrne's companies, The Secret LLC, and is described by Byrne as, "delivered to us from heaven".

Shooting of the interviews was done in July and August 2005 with editing "effectively completed by Christmas time". About 55 teachers and authors were interviewed at locations including Chicago, Aspen, Alaska, and a Mexican Riviera Cruise (interviewing Esther Hicks). The film uses 24 of these teachers in the "Extended Edition" of the film. The first edition featured a 25th teacher, Esther Hicks, known "as the most prominent interpreter of the Law of Attraction".

The Secret premiere was broadcast through the Internet on March 23, 2006 using Vividas technology. It is still available either on a pay-per-view basis via streaming media (or on DVD at theSecret.tv, the official site for the film). A new extended edition of The Secret was released to the public on October 1, 2006. The Australian television premiere was on Nine Network on Saturday, February 3, 2007.

Since the first release of the DVD, Esther Hicks declined to continue with the project, mentioning contractual issues in a letter to friends. Her 10% share of sales netted the Hickses $500,000. As a result of this, scenes with Esther Hicks, are instead narrated by Lisa Nichols and Marci Shimoff. No other "secret teachers" received compensation for their appearance in the film.

Channel Nine, after viewing the completed film, chose to not broadcast it. A new contract was negotiated with all DVD sales going to Byrne's companies (Prime Time, and The Secret LLC). In hindsight, Len Downs of Channel Nine commented, "we looked at it and we didn't deem it as having broad, mass appeal". The film was eventually broadcast by Channel Nine at 10:30 pm on Saturday, 3 February 2007.

Rhonda Byrne: A year ago, my life had collapsed around me. I'd worked myself into exhaustion. My father died suddenly, and my relationships were in turmoil. Little did I know at the time, out of my greatest despair was to come the greatest gift. I'd been given a glimpse of a great Secret.

Bob Proctor: Whatever is going on in your mind you are attracting to you.

Mike Dooley: That principal can be summed up in three simple words. Thoughts. Become. Things.

Lisa Nichols: The law of attraction is really obedient. When you think of the things that you want, and you focus on them with all of your intention, the law of attraction will give you what you want every time.

Bob Proctor: Now, if you don't understand it, that doesn't mean that you should reject it. You don't understand electricity probably. First of all, no one even knows what electricity is. And yet you enjoy the benefits of it. Do you know how it works? I don't know how it works. But I do know this: that you can cook a man's dinner with electricity; and you can also cook the man.

Greg Beato of Reason Magazine closes with:
If there's anything our current bleak era needs, it's a little irrational exuberance. Perhaps The Secret is the Grand Genie of the Universe's answer to our prayers.

Bob Rainone, Byrne's U.S. business partner:
"The Da Vinci Code was entertaining, but this film is a personal tool for people who want to change their lives," says Rainone. "It's a gift to the world, to help humanity."

Jerry Adler of Newsweek, writing about the producer, Rhonda Byrne:
...Irene Izon, (mother to Rhonda Byrne) did offer this assessment to NEWSWEEK: "The thing is that Rhonda just wants to bring happiness to everybody. That's the reason it all began. She just wants everybody to be happy."

The phrase Law of Attraction, used widely by New Thought writers, refers to the idea that thoughts influence chance. The Law of Attraction argues that thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) can affect things outside the head, not just through motivation, but by other means. The Law of Attraction says that which is like unto itself is drawn. Essentially, "if you really want something and truly believe it's possible, you'll get it", but putting a lot of attention and thought onto something you don't want means you'll probably get that too.

"using ancient wisdom to acquire material goods. In one example in the film, a kid who wants a red bicycle cuts out a picture in a catalog, concentrates real hard, and is rewarded with the spiffy two-wheeler."

—Journalist Jeffrey Ressner of Time

"The film is ethically deplorable, fixating on a narrow range of middle-class concerns — houses, cars, vacations, followed by health and relationships, with the rest of humanity a very distant sixth."

—Jerry Adler of Newsweek

It shamelessly cherry-picks quotes from a handful of famous people of the past and claims that they were all on board with this wonderful Secret (which explains why they got so rich and powerful). Indeed this makes you wonder why their "experts" like John Gray haven't yet joined the Pantheon of world's greatest people.

To those who experience negative thoughts throughout every day this is a great opportunity to change their way of thinking. This documentary encourages people to change their lives in a positive way.

The Secret