Brainwashing, torture, organized harassment, blackmail: just a few of the persuasive techniques allegedly employed by the Church of Scientology , according to the new documentary, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.  

　　Documentarian Alex Gibney's movie was shown at Sundance on Sunday and it seems to have sent shockwaves throughout the festival and the film community.  

　　And perhaps the Scientology community, which has condemned the film. Loudly.  

　　Based on the controversial 2013 bestseller by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright, Going Clear features, among other things, archival footage of church founder L. Ron Hubbard, church leader David Miscavige and celebrity Scientologists such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.  

　　The movie includes interviews with several people formerly involved with Scientology, none of whom has anything good to say about the cult/religion/pyramid sales scheme. As persons who have left Scientology will tell you, filmmaker Paul Haggis (he wrote Crash and Casino Royale) is owed a debt of gratitude for talking freely about leaving the church — a bit of courage that has prompted others to speak out about abuses within the organization founded by science fiction writer Hubbard. There were other high-profile members who quietly quit Scientology, but Haggis spoke out loud and clear about his reasons for going.  

　　Among the more interesting revelations about Scientology from Going Clear is the information that L. Ron Hubbard was way ahead of the curve in his determination to win over Hollywood . Long before the cult of celebrity was front and centre, Hubbard knew that hitching his ideas to movie stars was a wise move.  

　　Tom Cruise and John Travolta, poster boys for Scientology, have come under attack via Going Clear for staying silent on Scientology's alleged physical and mental abuse of some of its members.  

　　Going Clear suggests that Scientology broke up Cruise's marriage to Nicole Kidman and turned their children against her, as she had long been considered a threat to the organization. (Among other things, Kidman's late father was a prominent psychologist, a field that is anathema to Scientology.)  

　　The film also suggests that the Church of Scientology wiretapped Kidman’s phones and then, when their marriage fell apart, tried to find Cruise a suitable mate in the form of Nazanin Boniadi.  

　　It all sounds laughable until you remember the Mission Impossible stealth with which Katie Holmes went about securing physical custody of her daughter and leaving Tom Cruise.  

　　Escaping Tom Cruise, some would say.  

　　Scientology has failed to acquire recognition as a religion in many countries and is officially viewed as a cult in others. In some places, the organization is banned. In America , after duking it out with the IRS, Scientology was indeed recognized as a religion, and as such deemed a non-profit and tax-exempt outfit. What's interesting about the church's status in America is how quickly it proved the old adage that nothing succeeds like success — who knows how many were attracted to Scientology because Cruise, Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Kelly Preston, Priscilla Presley, Elisabeth Moss, Beck and many other actors and musicians were already part of the organization.  

　　Of course, Hollywood is a town where teetotallers go to AA meetings just to cover all possible angles of opportunity; it's tough not to wonder who is hanging out at the Celebrity Centre in L.A. just in case Tom Cruise drops over. Or Giovanni Ribisi, Jenna Elfman, Jason Lee or Juliette Lewis.  

　　Wondering why you know so little about Scientology? Their aggression toward unfavourable media coverage (or unfavourable anything) is well documented. As their numbers dwindle world-wide, those who have suffered from Scientology's, "unholy war against its enemies," (as the Hollywood Reporter put it) will no doubt be relieved to know that the movie Going Clear exists.  

　　Even so, the filmmakers needed 160 lawyers to go through the material in the documentary.  

　　Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief can be seen on HBO in March.  

　　Twitter: @LizBraunSun  

　　liz.braun@sunmedia.ca  

　　Original Text From:http://www.saultstar.com/2015/01/29/scientology-doc-going-clear-rocking-hollywood