FAQ for
Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (2000) More at IMDbPro »

Kind of. While the author of the novel Battlefield Earth, L. Ron Hubbard, is also the founder of the Church of Scientology, little or no Scientologist views are presented in the book. John Travolta was intent on making this film as both a follower of L.Ron Hubbard and as a fan of the source material. However, the film focuses on the science fiction aspects of the original novel, and does not intentionally promote any religious agenda. Slight similarities between themes of the novel and film and teachings of Scientology do exist, but the connection is more incidental than anything else.

Several things. The book was long and verbose, and was difficult to condense into a two-hour movie; in fact, only the first half was filmed, with the second intended to be the sequel. The pulp science-fiction plot was considered to be clunky and outdated, and despite John Travolta's enthusiasm for the film, many studios were unwilling to finance the film.

Upon release, the film received a critical drubbing, with common criticisms such as the poor acting, outrageous plot and baffling visual style employed by the director. This led to poor word of mouth before and after the release. In addition, the often poorly portrayed image of Scientology instantly tainted public perception, and the motives behind making this movie based on a novel by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard seemed to overwhelm viewer objectivity.

Lastly, production company Franchise Pictures was sued in 2004 by its German investors when it was discovered that it had been inflating film budgets, including that of Battlefield Earth.