HBO is going to air a film about the notoriously litigious Church of Scientology. Directed by Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), the film is slated for a 2015 airdate. It’s based on Lawrence Wright’s controversial book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief which is the story of physical abuse and imprisonment within the church. The HBO film “is expected to feature new revelations about…its famous followers Tom Cruise and John Travolta” and “almost certainly will draw an aggressive response” from the church.
“We have probably 160 lawyers [looking at the film],” says HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins, who is bracing for protests as well. The Hollywood Reporter reports: “If the doc is finished in time, it likely will be submitted to the Sundance Film Festival in January.”
