Latest in Scientology

Lawyers for accused Nxivm sex-slave cult leader and former Smallville star Allison Mack are arguing that she isn’t guilty of inducing forced labor if the Church of Scientology isn’t guilty of the same charge. In court papers filed yesterday in Brooklyn Federal Court, Mack's lawyers argued that Mack’s threat to…

After months of speculation, the Church of Scientology has taken the wraps off its soon-to-launch, 24-hour TV network. The Scientology Network is set to debut tomorrow evening on DirecTV, as well as on connected-TV platforms such as Apple, Roku, Amazon Fire and Google Chromecast, according to promotional material from…

(Updated with Scientology statement) Facing accusations of sexual misconduct from four women, Paul Haggis has repeatedly pointed to the Church of Scientology as perhaps playing a role in those claims. Today, Leah Remini and another high-profile former Scientologist and critic of the organization has come forward to…

Kirstie Alley, actress and Scientologist, called writer Yashar Ali “hateful” after the Huffington Post writer pointed out her seemingly contradictory responses to rape allegations against Danny Masterson and Paul Haggis. “Man, you really hate this religion,” Alley tweeted today. “What religion are you Sir? Just…

Long before she became famous teaming with Kevin James and Jerry Stiller on The King of Queens, Leah Remini was a teenager from Brooklyn who followed her mother into Scientology. After finally leaving the organization in 2013 and publishing a controversial memoir, Troublemaker, two years later, she has become a true…

Times certainly have changed when an ex-Scientologist slamming the organization isn’t the most controversial TV moment of the night, or even of the hour. Leah Remini’s appearance last night on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher was overshadowed by another guest, but her ongoing defiance of the church clearly impressed…

With last night's decimating Game 3 9-3 win by the New York Mets over the Kansas City Royals, looks like we really have a World Series now. After the Royals took the first two games, things were looking bleak for the Mets but now with pitcher Noah Syndergaard knocking the Midwestern team off their stride, it's … well…

The TV Academy gave a show of support to HBO’s controversial Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief, naming it best documentary or nonfiction special. "This is a great honor," said director Alex Gibney in picking up the statuette, adding the project would not have been possible without the "courageous…

The UK’s Sky Atlantic, which enjoys an output deal with HBO as well as a co-development and co-production arrangement, has been forced to postpone the broadcast of Alex Gibney’s docu Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief due to British libel laws. The UK’s Defamation Act, which was passed into law in 2013…

The big question about HBO’s harsh Alex Gibney-directed Scientology documentary Going Clear was whether the movie could generate a wide mainstream audience for a decidedly negative depiction of founder L. Ron Hubbard and the allegedly oppressive practices that Scientology followers are forced to endure. Well, the…

Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr. worked together for two decades at Daily Variety. In this weekly column, two old friends get together and grind their axes, mostly on the movie business.  FLEMING: Before we get going here, I want to let readers know we won’t file a column next week. I’ll be away on a long trip and ask…

Oscar-winner Alex Gibney has taken on organized religion before but his latest documentary, Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief, has turned into a head-on collision with church officials. The film bows this weekend in limited theatrical release by HBO, and is the most notable of the weekend’s new…