Tom Cruise and John Travolta may be among the big name Hollywood stars who might be turning down deals from Warner Bros as a result of the strong position of the Church of Scientology against the upcoming HBO documentary “Going Clear.”
The upcoming HBO documentary, which is expected to be released sometime this year, is based on a book that details the goings on inside the Church of Scientology and the religion’s supposed secrets. The religion is often referred to as a cult.
“Going Clear” also features many stories about the religion’s members from Hollywood, including high-profile actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta. There were previous reports that the religion is said to be very controlling of its members, thus its reputation as a cult started leaking out.
As a show of its vehement opposition on the upcoming HBO documentary, the Church of Scientology even went on to post a full-page advertisement on the January 16, 2015 issue of The New York Times decrying “Going Clear” and HBO’s intention in showing it.
Based on the book of the same title written by Lawrence Wright, “Going Clear” is a critically-acclaimed writing. It’s documentary version on HBO is directed by Alex Gibney, cites Design & Trend.
How does Tom Cruise come into the picture
Tom Cruise and John Travolta, including Hollywood actors like Juliette Lewis, Kirstie Alley, Jenna Elfman, Travolta’s wife Kelly Preston, among a few other stars, are active members of the Church of Scientology.
While the level of allegiance of Tom Cruise and other Hollywood stars on the Church of Scientology is fully established, many are assuming that they are also passionate about the beliefs and position of their religion on certain issues.
The strong position of the Church of Scientology on “Going Clear” and also on HBO for filming and showing it may have a ripple effect on practicing members of the religion like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and company.
There is a possibility that the Hollywood stars may start shunning away from deals involving Warner Bros since its parent company is also Time Warner, which also owns HBO. CNN is also part of the Time Warner group of media conglomerates that also includes Time Magazine, People and Entertainment Weekly.
Tom Cruise’s blockbuster last year titled “Edge of Tomorrow” was produced by Warner Bros. John Travolta on the other hand has a TV series titled “American Crime Story” on HBO.
While Tom Cruise or John Travolta or any other Hollywood actors from the Church of Scientology have not made any statement on the strong position of their church against the HBO documentary or its possible repercussion to their career choices, speculations are triggered actually by the assumption that the religion do have a strong clout of its members.