A documentary on Scientology, "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," is causing some major problems in Hollywood.
"Going Clear," which debuted at Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, exposed hidden information about the church and several of its famous members including Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney claimed that the church played a major role in the ending of Cruise and ex-wife Nicole Kidman's relationship, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In the documentary, Gibney allegedly said that the church feared that Kidman was "pulling Cruise away from the church."
The documentary also claimed that high-authority officials of the church were threatening and physically abusing their members and harassing individuals that wanted to leave the faith.
As expected, the church quickly dismissed the accusations made in the film and said that freedom of speech "is not a free pass to broadcast or publish false information."
"The Church has documented evidence that those featured in Gibney's film who regurgitated stale, discredited allegations are admitted perjurers, admitted liars and professional anti-Scientologists whose living depends on the filing of false claims," Scientology officials said in a statement. "All have been gone so long from the Church they know nothing of it today. Yet Gibney and HBO stonewalled more than a dozen requests by the Church to offer relevant information about them, with more than 25 individuals with firsthand information eager to speak."
"To this day, neither HBO nor Gibney can deny that they have yet to present the Church with a single allegation from the film so the Church may have an opportunity to respond. The Church never sought special treatment, only fair treatment."
Gibney based the documentary off Lawrence Wright's 2013 book "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief," according to the Hollywood Reporter. The documentary also featured a testimony from Mark "Marty" Rathbun, who was considered the second-highest ranking official in the Church.
The film will air on Monday, March 16, on HBO.
