Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. It was directed by Roger Christian and stars John Travolta, Barry Pepper, and Forest Whitaker. The film follows a rebellion against the alien Psychlos, who have ruled Earth for 1,000 years.
Theatrical release poster
Scene from Battlefield Earth, showing (left to right) Barry Pepper, John Travolta, and Forest Whitaker in costume.
John Travolta signing copies of the book Battlefield Earth during a promotional tour in 2000.
Entertainment Weekly spoof poster for Battlefield Earth quoting the film's many negative reviews
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and established organizations to promote and practice Dianetics techniques. Hubbard created Scientology in 1952 after losing the intellectual rights to his literature on Dianetics in bankruptcy. He would lead the Church of Scientology, variously described as a cult, a new religious movement, or a business, until his death in 1986.
Hubbard in 1950
Hubbard's adventure story "Yukon Madness" which was published in 1935.
Museum recreation of a 1930s dentist office; the setting where Hubbard reported having a "near-death experience".
Parsons in 1943.