--- description: Set to air in 2015 title: HBO Planning Alex Gibney Doc on Scientology image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7cb4be996c5912/69876a9da988ca07c06aaefb/alex-gibney.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # HBO Planning Scientology Documentary by [Entertainment Weekly / Esther Zuckerman](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly / Esther Zuckerman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2014 7:14 PM CUT  Director Alex Gibney poses during a portrait session at the 70th Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 4, 2013 in Venice. Director Alex Gibney poses during a portrait session at the 70th Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 4, 2013 in Venice.Gareth Cattermole—Getty Images by [Entertainment Weekly / Esther Zuckerman](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly / Esther Zuckerman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2014 7:14 PM CUT Academy Award winner Alex Gibney is directing a documentary about Scientology and Hollywood for HBO, _EW_ has confirmed. Set to air in 2015, the documentary is based on investigative reporter Lawrence Wright’s book, _Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief_. _Going Clear_ grew out of a [2011 _New Yorker_ profile of Paul Haggis](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14/the-apostate-3 "undefined"), who left the Church. According [to _The Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hbo-prepping-bombshell-scientology-film-751497 "undefined"), which was the first to report the news, Gibney is “putting the finishing touches” on the film. HBO, meanwhile, is bracing for pushback and protest from the Church. “We have probably 160 lawyers \[looking at the film\],” HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins told _THR_. Gibney is known for his films like _Taxi to the Dark Side_, for which he won an Oscar, and recently _We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks_ and the Lance Armstrong documentary _The Armstrong Lie_. [_This article originally appeared on Entertainment Weekly_](http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/24/hbo-planning-alex-gibney-doc-on-scientology/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3602955/hbo-documentary-scientology/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3602955/hbo-documentary-scientology/"},"headline":"HBO Planning Scientology Documentary","datePublished":"2014-11-24T19:14:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:20:09.746Z","description":"Set to air in 2015","url":"https://time.com/3602955/hbo-documentary-scientology/","keywords":["movies","HBO","faith"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7cb4be996c5912/69876a9da988ca07c06aaefb/alex-gibney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Entertainment Weekly / Esther Zuckerman"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7cb4be996c5912/69876a9da988ca07c06aaefb/alex-gibney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Alex Gibney Portrait Session - The 70th Venice International Film Festival","caption":"Alex Gibney Portrait Session - The 70th Venice International Film Festival","creditText":"Gareth Cattermole—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3602955/hbo-documentary-scientology/","name":"HBO Planning Scientology Documentary"}}]}] ```