The highly anticipated film, which premiers Saturday at the Venice Film Festival, stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a charismatic spiritual leader who captivates Joaquin Phoenix's troubled World War II veteran. Anderson said he views a love story between two men.
Anderson says the fact that Hoffman's character was inspired Hubbard `'is not an elephant in the room." He says he has shown the film to Tom Cruise, who starred in Anderson's 1999 film `'Magnolia" and whose Scientology beliefs are well-documented.
`'We are still friends. I showed him the film, and the rest is between us," Anderson said.
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