My Scientology Movie - Trailer

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Louis Theroux is one of the UK's most respected and loved documentary makers. His down-to-earth persona and seemingly endless patience both contribute to the reasons why he's so successful at what he does.

His BBC documentaries started in the 90's where he'd spend weekends with various characters and extremists, over the course of the three series, Louis met with people ranging from porn stars, gangster rappers and extreme body builders. After 'Weird Weekends' came to an end, Louis went on to create 'When Louis Met...', a series that saw him meet with some of oddest British celebrities. Louis then made a return to the more conventional form of documentary film making which saw him meet up with The Westboro Baptist Church and many other radical groups.

Having covered such a ride range of issues and groups of people, there was one that Louis still felt the need to investigate, The Church of Scientology. Louis has previously commented that the religion and the constant barrage of rumors surrounding it makes it the 'Holy Grail of Stories'.

For a lot of people, even the origins of the church come across as anything other than fantasy. The religion was founded by the famous and incredibly prolific sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard who wrote a series of books about Dianetics, the principle theory behind the practice. From initial written works, Hubbard grew his followers quickly and eventually sought status as a fully-fledged religion. Ever since its inception, controversy has continually surrounded it's top members, namely L. Ron Hubbard, David Miscavage and various members at the top of the Sea Org, an organisation compromising of some of Scientology's most dedicated followers.

So began the initial steps to gain access to one of the world's most protected churches. The process was never going to be easy and Louis knew he'd be persistently met by road blocks but he wouldn't let that stop him. Through a series of interviews with many ex-members and his own attempts to enter/deal with the church, Louis has come up with his own unique way to capture some of the things that ex-members claim happen behind closed doors.

The striking artwork for the movie was created by Ralph Steadman who is perhaps most recognised for his work with acclaimed gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.