Revolt in the Stars
Encyclopedia
Revolt in the Stars is a science fiction film
screenplay
written by Scientology
founder and science fiction
writer L. Ron Hubbard
in 1977
. It tells the space opera story of how an evil galactic dictator Xenu
massacres many of his subjects by transporting them to Earth and killing them with atomic bombs. L. Ron Hubbard had already presented this story to his followers, as a true account of events that happened 75 million years ago, in a secret level of Scientology
scripture called Operating Thetan, Level III. The screenplay was promoted around Hollywood
circles in 1979, but attempts at fundraising and obtaining financing fell through and the film was never made. Unofficial copies circulate on the Internet
.
advisers "Stug" and "Sty" help him gather "unwanted" beings from all of the planets in his control and transport them to Earth. The beings are stacked around the bases of Earth's volcanoes including Loa
, Mount Vesuvius
, Mount Shasta
, Mount Fuji
, Mount Etna
and others, and exterminated with planted charges of atomic bombs. Hubbard writes: "Great winds raced simultaneously across the face of Earth, spreading tales of destruction..." Xenu's massacre of these beings is called "Phase III". Character "Mish" is one of the only "Loyal Officers" who survives Xenu's organized massacre, and other characters include "Lady Min" and a hero figure, "Rawl".
(or "Xemu") addressed an overpopulation problem in his Galactic Confederacy by trapping beings, flying them to the volcano
es of Earth (then known as Teegeeack), and exploding them with hydrogen bombs. The spirits, which Hubbard refers to as "thetan
s", were trapped in frozen alcohol
and glycol and implanted
with bizarre imagery. According to the story they are attached to human beings today, in the form of "body thetans". This event in Scientology teachings is known as "Incident II". Scientologists learn from OT III that by removing body thetans, they can progress spiritually and free themselves of problems. Belief in the reality of Xenu and body thetans is a condition for progressing beyond OT III along Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom.
with three members of the Commodore's Messenger Organization
from the Church of Scientology
. He went into seclusion in July 1977, and by December had finished his work on the 140-page screenplay and was ready to begin production of a film version. Revolt in the Stars was registered as a screenplay with the United States Copyright Office
in November 1977, with Diana Meredith Dewolf Hubbard, Hubbard's daughter, listed as copyright claimant, and registered for release as a novel in May 1978 with Hubbard himself as claimant. A former Scientologist and Sea Org
member told the Los Angeles Business Journal
that Hubbard intended to distribute the film publicly so that people inhabited with thetans would become "restimulated and upset", and be motivated to learn more about Scientology. Hubbard moved to the Scientology facilities at La Quinta, California
and began production on Scientology "Tech films" which demonstrated the practice of "Auditing
". A 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) ranch in Indio, California
was purchased in addition to a 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) ranch called Silver. The Tech films were produced at the Silver location, and by 1980 Hubbard had made plans to film Revolt in the Stars and publicize the Scientology OT III theology.
Hubbard's screenplay for Revolt in the Stars was passed around Hollywood in 1979. A production company called "A Brilliant Film Company", also "Brilliant Films", announced plans in October 1979 to produce Revolt in the Stars as an independent film production. The New York Post
reported that the film had a US$
49 million budget, and was described as "a science fiction thriller". One of the parties involved with A Brilliant Film Company, Gregory F. Henderson, had a contract to shoot the film. After Brilliant Film went bankrupt Henderson filed suit against the company along with other defendants including Hubbard in May 1984. Bent Corydon writes in L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?
that millions of dollars in funding for film production of Revolt in the Stars was raised from investors, but "Highly questionable methods of fund raising brought the project to a halt." Efforts to promote the screenplay and get it developed as a film were unsuccessful, and Hubbard focused on writing "Man, the Endangered Species" which later became the novel Battlefield Earth
. Revolt in the Stars never received commercial financing, and the film was not released.
Author Services Inc.
, the for profit subsidiary company of the Church of Spiritual Technology
, controls development of Revolt in the Stars in addition to Hubbard's other writings. In a 1983 press release announcing that the independent feature film company Salem Productions Inc. had acquired motion picture and ancillary rights to Battlefield Earth in a deal with Author Services Inc., Revolt in the Stars is listed as one of Hubbard's "classics". Copyright was transferred in 1993 with the Church of Spiritual Technology and trustee for L. Ron Hubbard, Norman F. Starkey, listed as parties. Scientologist and actor John Travolta
was involved in developing Battlefield Earth into a film of the same name
, and in 1996 New York Daily News
wrote of reports that he also wanted to develop Revolt in the Stars into a film. According to the website Operation Clambake
a synopsis of the screenplay was posted to the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology
in 1995. Scientology critic Grady Ward
published a summary of the material. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements notes that Revolt in the Stars remains one of Hubbard's unpublished science fiction works but unofficial copies circulate on the Internet
, and this is confirmed in The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions by James R. Lewis, and New Religions: A Guide, edited by Christopher Partridge
.
The Washington Post
reported that "The plot of 'Revolt' mirrors a sacred Scientology text called "'OT III'." Former Scientologist Gerry Armstrong said that the screenplay story is identical to the Scientology space opera theology, and in his book Bare-faced Messiah
author Russell Miller
described Revolt in the Stars as "...a dramatization of high-level Scientology training about events which happened seventy-five million years ago when an evil ruler by the name of Xenu massacred the populations of seventy-six planets, transported their frozen spirits back to earth and exploded them in volcanoes".
Jim Emerson, editor of the Roger Ebert
website hosted by The Chicago Sun-Times, compared elements of the Xenu story and Revolt in the Stars to the 2005
film remake War of the Worlds
starring Scientologist Tom Cruise
. Emerson noted that some critics drew parallels between War of the Worlds and Scientology mythology. In a January 2008 article in Frankfurter Rundschau
, Christian Schlüter commented on the screenplay and recounted the Xenu story. Schlüter wrote that the Scientology mythology was appropriate for cinema and fit into the environment of Hollywood.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
written by Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
founder and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
in 1977
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
. It tells the space opera story of how an evil galactic dictator Xenu
Xenu
Xenu ,also spelled Xemu, was, according to the founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs...
massacres many of his subjects by transporting them to Earth and killing them with atomic bombs. L. Ron Hubbard had already presented this story to his followers, as a true account of events that happened 75 million years ago, in a secret level of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
scripture called Operating Thetan, Level III. The screenplay was promoted around Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
circles in 1979, but attempts at fundraising and obtaining financing fell through and the film was never made. Unofficial copies circulate on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
Plot
In the screenplay's story which takes place 75 million years ago, an evil galactic ruler "Xenu" massacres millions of people and is assisted by "Chu", the Executive President of the Galactic Interplanetary Bank, and "Chi", the Galactic Minister of Police. Xenu's psychiatricPsychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
advisers "Stug" and "Sty" help him gather "unwanted" beings from all of the planets in his control and transport them to Earth. The beings are stacked around the bases of Earth's volcanoes including Loa
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...
, Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
, Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and at is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California...
, Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
, Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently standing high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m higher than it was in 1981.. It is the highest mountain in...
and others, and exterminated with planted charges of atomic bombs. Hubbard writes: "Great winds raced simultaneously across the face of Earth, spreading tales of destruction..." Xenu's massacre of these beings is called "Phase III". Character "Mish" is one of the only "Loyal Officers" who survives Xenu's organized massacre, and other characters include "Lady Min" and a hero figure, "Rawl".
Connection to Scientology teachings
The story of Revolt in the Stars provides a dramatized account of events which Hubbard said took place 75 million years ago. In Scientology space opera theology, the villain XenuXenu
Xenu ,also spelled Xemu, was, according to the founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs...
(or "Xemu") addressed an overpopulation problem in his Galactic Confederacy by trapping beings, flying them to the volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es of Earth (then known as Teegeeack), and exploding them with hydrogen bombs. The spirits, which Hubbard refers to as "thetan
Thetan
In Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents "the source of life, or life itself." In Scientology it is believed that it is the Thetan, not the...
s", were trapped in frozen alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and glycol and implanted
Implant (Scientology)
In Scientology, an implant is similar to an engram, in that it is believed to condition the mind in a certain way. The difference is that an implant is done deliberately and with evil intent. It is similar to Thought insertion...
with bizarre imagery. According to the story they are attached to human beings today, in the form of "body thetans". This event in Scientology teachings is known as "Incident II". Scientologists learn from OT III that by removing body thetans, they can progress spiritually and free themselves of problems. Belief in the reality of Xenu and body thetans is a condition for progressing beyond OT III along Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom.
Development
Hubbard wrote the screenplay in 1977, while living in seclusion in Sparks, NevadaSparks, Nevada
Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States, located east of Reno, Nevada. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population count was 90,264. Sparks is often referred to as half of a twin city .-Geography and Climate:...
with three members of the Commodore's Messenger Organization
Commodore's Messenger Organization
The Commodore's Messenger Organization is a unit in the Church of Scientology organization that communicates and enforces policies of the Religious Technology Center....
from the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. He went into seclusion in July 1977, and by December had finished his work on the 140-page screenplay and was ready to begin production of a film version. Revolt in the Stars was registered as a screenplay with the United States Copyright Office
United States Copyright Office
The United States Copyright Office, a part of the Library of Congress, is the official U.S. government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. It is used by copyright title searchers who are attempting to clear a chain of title for copyrighted works.The head of...
in November 1977, with Diana Meredith Dewolf Hubbard, Hubbard's daughter, listed as copyright claimant, and registered for release as a novel in May 1978 with Hubbard himself as claimant. A former Scientologist and Sea Org
Sea Org
The Sea Organization or Sea Org is an association of Scientologists established in 1968 by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer and founder of Scientology. Its members are found in the central management organizations of the Church of Scientology as well as in individual churches...
member told the Los Angeles Business Journal
Los Angeles Business Journal
The Los Angeles Business Journal, established c. 1979, is a weekly newspaper in Los Angeles, California, which covers general business news. According to the journal's website, it has over 12,000 online subscribers, and a weekly print circulation of 30,000...
that Hubbard intended to distribute the film publicly so that people inhabited with thetans would become "restimulated and upset", and be motivated to learn more about Scientology. Hubbard moved to the Scientology facilities at La Quinta, California
La Quinta, California
La Quinta is a resort city in Riverside County, California, USA, specifically in the Coachella Valley between Indian Wells and Indio. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 census, up from 23,694 at the 2000 census. The Robb Report credits La Quinta as the nation's leading golf destination...
and began production on Scientology "Tech films" which demonstrated the practice of "Auditing
Auditing (Scientology)
Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology".-Description:...
". A 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) ranch in Indio, California
Indio, California
Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
was purchased in addition to a 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) ranch called Silver. The Tech films were produced at the Silver location, and by 1980 Hubbard had made plans to film Revolt in the Stars and publicize the Scientology OT III theology.
Hubbard's screenplay for Revolt in the Stars was passed around Hollywood in 1979. A production company called "A Brilliant Film Company", also "Brilliant Films", announced plans in October 1979 to produce Revolt in the Stars as an independent film production. The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
reported that the film had a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
49 million budget, and was described as "a science fiction thriller". One of the parties involved with A Brilliant Film Company, Gregory F. Henderson, had a contract to shoot the film. After Brilliant Film went bankrupt Henderson filed suit against the company along with other defendants including Hubbard in May 1984. Bent Corydon writes in L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?
L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?
L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah or Madman?, first published in 1987 by Lyle Stuart Inc., is a posthumous biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard written primarily by author Bent Corydon, which makes extensive use of interviews he conducted with Hubbard's son, who had by that time taken to calling...
that millions of dollars in funding for film production of Revolt in the Stars was raised from investors, but "Highly questionable methods of fund raising brought the project to a halt." Efforts to promote the screenplay and get it developed as a film were unsuccessful, and Hubbard focused on writing "Man, the Endangered Species" which later became the novel Battlefield Earth
Battlefield Earth (novel)
Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 is a 1982 science fiction novel written by the Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. He composed a soundtrack to the book called Space Jazz....
. Revolt in the Stars never received commercial financing, and the film was not released.
Author Services Inc.
Author Services Inc.
Author Services Inc. represents the literary, theatrical and musical works of the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Church of Spiritual Technology....
, the for profit subsidiary company of the Church of Spiritual Technology
Church of Spiritual Technology
The Church of Spiritual Technology, also known as CST, is a Californian 501 non-profit corporation, incorporated in 1982, which owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard. The CST is doing business as L. Ron Hubbard Library...
, controls development of Revolt in the Stars in addition to Hubbard's other writings. In a 1983 press release announcing that the independent feature film company Salem Productions Inc. had acquired motion picture and ancillary rights to Battlefield Earth in a deal with Author Services Inc., Revolt in the Stars is listed as one of Hubbard's "classics". Copyright was transferred in 1993 with the Church of Spiritual Technology and trustee for L. Ron Hubbard, Norman F. Starkey, listed as parties. Scientologist and actor John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
was involved in developing Battlefield Earth into a film of the same name
Battlefield Earth (film)
Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film adapted from L. Ron Hubbard's novel of the same name. It was directed by Roger Christian, and stars John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, and Barry Pepper...
, and in 1996 New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
wrote of reports that he also wanted to develop Revolt in the Stars into a film. According to the website Operation Clambake
Operation Clambake
Operation Clambake, also referred to by its Web address, Xenu.net, is a Web site and Norway-based non-profit organization, launched in 1996, that publishes criticism of the Church of Scientology. It is owned and maintained by Andreas Heldal-Lund, who has stated that he supports the rights of all...
a synopsis of the screenplay was posted to the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology
Alt.religion.scientology
The newsgroup alt.religion.scientology is a Usenet newsgroup started in 1991 to discuss the controversial beliefs of Scientology, as well as the Church of Scientology, which claims exclusive intellectual property rights thereto and is viewed by many as a dangerous cult...
in 1995. Scientology critic Grady Ward
Grady Ward
William Grady Ward is an American software engineer, lexicographer, and Internet activist who has featured prominently in the Scientology versus the Internet controversy....
published a summary of the material. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements notes that Revolt in the Stars remains one of Hubbard's unpublished science fiction works but unofficial copies circulate on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and this is confirmed in The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions by James R. Lewis, and New Religions: A Guide, edited by Christopher Partridge
Christopher Partridge
Christopher Hugh Partridge is an author, editor, professor at Lancaster University, and founding Co-director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Popular Culture. According to Gordon Lynch, Partridge is a leading scholar of topics in popular culture...
.
Analysis
In The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions, James R. Lewis cites Revolt in the Stars when comparing Hubbard's science fiction works to Scientology. "Scientology in itself would also be an interesting case for studying 'ufological' strands - e.g., the relation between L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction novels and the Whole Track mythology, which is probably most evident in the case of Hubbard's unpublished novel Revolt in the Stars," writes Lewis. Revolt in the Stars is cited in New Religions: A Guide, in a subsection on "Non apocalyptic ufology": "According to Scientology, a fierce intergalactic ruler named 'Xenu' carried the thetans to Earth". The author finds it interesting that L. Ron Hubbard explored the story of the "ancient ruler Xenu" further in the form of Revolt in the Stars.The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported that "The plot of 'Revolt' mirrors a sacred Scientology text called "'OT III'." Former Scientologist Gerry Armstrong said that the screenplay story is identical to the Scientology space opera theology, and in his book Bare-faced Messiah
Bare-faced Messiah
Bare-faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard is a posthumous biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard by British journalist Russell Miller. First published in 1987, the book takes a critical perspective, challenging the official account of Hubbard's life and work promoted by the...
author Russell Miller
Russell Miller
Russell Miller is an award-winning British journalist and author of fifteen books, including biographies of Hugh Hefner, J. Paul Getty and L. Ron Hubbard.-L. Ron Hubbard biography:...
described Revolt in the Stars as "...a dramatization of high-level Scientology training about events which happened seventy-five million years ago when an evil ruler by the name of Xenu massacred the populations of seventy-six planets, transported their frozen spirits back to earth and exploded them in volcanoes".
Jim Emerson, editor of the Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
website hosted by The Chicago Sun-Times, compared elements of the Xenu story and Revolt in the Stars to the 2005
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
film remake War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
starring Scientologist Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
. Emerson noted that some critics drew parallels between War of the Worlds and Scientology mythology. In a January 2008 article in Frankfurter Rundschau
Frankfurter Rundschau
The Frankfurter Rundschau is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition as well as an e-paper...
, Christian Schlüter commented on the screenplay and recounted the Xenu story. Schlüter wrote that the Scientology mythology was appropriate for cinema and fit into the environment of Hollywood.