In fact, it is the stuff of science fiction, as imagined by its founder, the late sci-fi writer L. Still, Scientology boasts members the world over and assets exceeding a billion dollars, despite a theology that sounds like the stuff of science fiction. But first: an interview we did a couple of years back with Lawrence Wright about the The Church of Scientology - which his book characterized less as a religious institution than as a cult, shakedown racket, and brutal security state. We’ll shortly get to the particulars of how the church has been dealing with that scrutiny. You were in such a mental state that you’re very controllable, very suggestible.īOB: Needless to say, the movie is causing some consternation at Scientology HQ, which for the first time will be facing major scrutiny at cinematic scale. You’d sleep about an hour or two hours a night. It stunk, and you know there were ants crawling’ around. And there was one entrance door that a security guard sat at 24 hours a day.

Here’s a clip from the film, in which two former members describe the conditions of a secret Scientology compound in California nicknamed “The Hole”:ĬLIP: The doors had bars put on them, the windows all had bars put on them. BOB: Last week at the Sundance film festival debuted a documentary based on the book by Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright, called Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief.” The film version of “Going Clear” - by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney - will appear on HBO on March 16.

Going Clear by Lawrence Wright