Hubbard's `Battlefield' opens
Scientology's Inland film unit wasn't in on the movie of the sect founder's epic sci-fi novel.
By Susan Thurston The Press-Enterprise
Long before founding the Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard spent hours at a typewriter writing science fiction and other adventure stories. Enough to fill a bookcase.
The books tell tales of disfigured aliens, superheroes and space battles -- of good conquering evil -- themes that some say formed the foundation for his church.
Hubbard's best-selling novel, "Battlefield Earth," comes to life in film today in theaters nationwide. It stars John Travolta, a devoted Scientologist who fought for more than a decade to make a movie out of the book, written in 1982.
Hubbard's fans see the film as an opportunity to promote his talents as a writer. His critics argue it's a veiled attempt to lure people into Scientology.
Some anticult groups have posted warnings about the film on their Web sites. A Scientology watchdog group in Clearwater, Fla., where the church has its spiritual headquarters, calls it a meager attempt to remove the stigma associated with Hubbard's name.
"What the church was hoping to do was introduce the name of L. Ron Hubbard to a new generation," said Mark Bunker, of the Lisa McPherson Trust, founded in memory of a woman who died under the care of Scientologists. "Unfortunately, they are introducing this generation to a hack writer."
Colorado-based FACTNet says Scientologists secretly financed the film and took part in its production, script approval and security during filming.
Scientologists and makers of the film maintain it's not tied to Hubbard's church. Scientology's Golden Era Productions, which makes training and educational films at a large compound near San Jacinto, played no role, officials said.
"People come to Scientology to read Hubbard's most serious works," said Mike Rinder, a spokesman for the Church of Scientology International. "The church has nothing to do with the fiction works."
Author Services Inc. in Hollywood, which handles Hubbard's works, sold the movie rights to the book in 1998 after a longtime search for the right script. Its profits from the film will benefit Hubbard's secular programs -- like those for recovering drug addicts, officials said.
"There's no connection whatsoever to Golden Era," said Hugh Wilhere, spokesman for Author Services. "This is a Hollywood production."
The film's cast and crew features some top names in the industry. Director Roger Christian recently worked on "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." Production designer Patrick Tatopoulos headed the creative work for "Stargate" and "Jumanji."
"Battlefield Earth" is set in Denver in 3000 A.D., when evil Psychlos ruled the world and enslaved humans to mine minerals from the planet. Jonnie Goodbye Tyler, played by Barry Pepper ("The Green Mile"), leads a revolt to wrest control from the Psychlos before man vanishes. Travolta plays Terl, an 9-foot villain with dreadlocks, talons for hands and 11 fingers.
The story typifies old-school science fiction when good fights evil for the sake of humanity. Hubbard wrote it more than three decades after the publication of "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health." The thrust of Scientology, "Dianetics" seeks to help followers overcome emotional traumas and lead happier lives through intense counseling, known as auditing.
Hubbard's role in Scientology has often overshadowed his talent as a writer, some science-fiction fans contend.
"Too few people have pursued what this man has done," said Steve Whaley, a professor at Cal Poly Pomona. "I don't care what his other philosophy is, he's just a damn good storyteller."
Whaley taught the 1,050-page "Battlefield Earth" in his science-fiction writing class, but now prefers the shorter "Final Blackout." He considers Hubbard a major science-fiction writer who deserves more credit than he receives.
"I know nothing about Scientology. I am an Episcopalian," he said. "But I really, really like his fiction." Hubbard wrote 250 novels and short stories, including several national best-sellers. In February, the American Book Readers Association named "Battlefield Earth" the best science-fiction book of all time.
"It is absolutely one of the classics," said Dan Sherman, a Hubbard biographer.
"Battlefield Earth" renewed some science-fiction fans' faith in Hubbard as a writer, said Gary Westfahl, coordinator of the annual science fiction and fantasy writing conference at UCR. Hubbard was well-respected in the 1940s, but drifted away from fiction writing when he got involved in "Dianetics" and Scientology, he said.
When Hubbard returned to science fiction in the early '80s, his following had shifted to include Scientology supporters.
"I think he did recover his reputation, but there was still that suspicion that he was more a religious leader than a science-fiction writer," Westfahl said.
Science-fiction lovers who saw "Dianetics" as a breakthrough in science, later opposed Hubbard turning it into a religion.
"Science-fiction fans want a story. They want science," said George Slusser, curator of UCR's 100,000-volume Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. "They don't want some kind of pseudo-religion."
Without Scientology, some argue, Hubbard's fame as a fiction writer would have fizzled. Hubbard's books are bound to top charts because Scientologists will publish and buy them.
Others claim Hubbard's literary skills stand alone.
"In the 1940s, he was one of the top five guys," said Tim Powers, writer of 10 science-fiction books who lives in San Bernardino. "He wrote some stuff that definitely lasts.
As a judge for Author Services' annual Writers of the Future contest, Powers drove to Los Angeles on Wednesday to watch the premier of "Battlefield Earth." He walked on the red carpet down the center of Hollywood Boulevard and even shook hands with Travolta.
And though some movie critics have panned the film, Powers had no complaints.
"It's clearly sort of a Star Warish kids' entertainment movie," he said. "It's very big. It really seems to take place on a ruined earth."
