Film Industry

Scientology Problem

Munich, Germany - March 15, 1999

SPIEGEL 11/99, p. 92

The Munich film distribution company, Intertainment AG, which has recently been quoted on the stock market and is looking for high returns there, has now closed a deal on some hot items in the USA. Besides films with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, the extensive rights of the Hollywood company, Franchise Pictures, which covers 13 productions for $150 million, include the work "Battlefield Earth." In the filming of the novel by Scientology Founder Ron Hubbard, professed Scientologist John Travolta appears as co-producer and lead actor. Rivals such as Telepool or CLT-Ufa passed up acquisition of the rights; the distribution of the Hubbard film in theaters and TV includes a "potential risk," a spokeswoman for Intertainment AG also said. For company founder Ruediger Baeres, however, who brought the company up to industrial size within a short time thanks to a 100 million mark loan by the Bayerischen Vereinsbank, the latest deal is to be a breakthrough.