According to the New York Observer, excitable Scientology heavyweight Tom Cruise might have gone and redeemed himself with his upcoming turn in Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder:
… besides a high-powered cast, the movie has a secret, too, which Paramount and DreamWorks have been doing their best to keep under wraps until after the film opens: that a small, uncredited performance from Tom Cruise steals the whole show. In Tropic Thunder, Mr. Cruise plays Les Grossman, a bald, hirsute, foul-mouthed studio mogul with a penchant for hip-hop hip-swiveling moves. It’s an astonishingly funny and surprising supporting performance (especially considering Mr. Cruise’s last outing was in the dreadful, if well-meaning, Lions for Lambs) …
… Even two weeks before release, no one involved in the production—not Mr. Stiller or his co-writers, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, nor the producers or co-stars—are willing to talk about Mr. Cruise’s performance until after the film is in theaters. Mr. Cruise’s past directors won’t even talk. (It’s a lockdown!) But we’ll say it: Once again, Tom Cruise has managed to completely flip our perceptions of him upside down and inside out. It doesn’t spoil a thing to say that the film is worth seeing for Mr. Cruise’s performance alone, or that we hope this might usher in a new era for the strange, secretive actor. Could it be that, in fact, Tom Cruise actually gets it? Is it possible that Tom Cruise has a sense of humor about being Tom Cruise? Can we love him again without also feeling creeped out?
We say no, but we're looking forward to seeing him try. This is what Olympics years are all about.
LAWSUIT GOES AFTER SCIENTOLOGY, CRUISE "Tom Cruise is named in a $250 million federal lawsuit that is using the RICO statute against the Church of Scientology. Ex-Scientologist Peter Letterese, a longtime critic of the church, filed suit in Southern District Court in Florida on July 15 alleging, among other things, that members of the church harassed him after he left. … Letterese calls the church a 'crime syndicate' and wants it broken up under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, just as the feds have broken up Mafia families. He singles out Cruise, who's made no secret of his religion, saying that Scientology head David Miscavage is 'aided and abetted by the actions of Tom Cruise, his right-hand man for foreign and domestic promotion, as well as for foreign and domestic lobbying. He has assisted the syndicate in acquiring funds and [made] his own donations of money believed to be in the multiple tens of millions of dollars.'"
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes looked creepier than usual this weekend at a California race track. Katie sure made the right choices in life — instead of starring in the summer's hottest movie, she gave up her role in order to spend quality time with her spooky husband and cut off even more of her hair.
Let this be a lesson to you, kids: Stay in school and keep away from the crazies.
[Source]
• The most annoying reality show phrase in the history of television. [DListed]
• Amy Winehouse finally admits she took heroin while in rehab. Good to know she's taking her health and recovery seriously. [ICYDK]
• Speaking of Amy, she punched a fan. Nope, we're not recycling a story from last week — it just happened again. [Yeeeah]
• Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy share the same swimsuit, and we can't decide who looks beter. [HT]
• Who does E! think has the best beach body of all time? (Hint: We beg to differ.) [INO]
• Suri Cruise is starting to sprout her Scientology antenna. [PS]
Like any do-gooding multi-hundred-millionaire movie star, Hancock's Will Smith is involved in the philanthropy scene. He's also, as prying eyes have woefully pointed out, been involving himself with the Tom Cruise scene, which means of course that he's basically a raving Scientologist trying to hold in his inner homo, because that's what the cult is about, right? Back in 2004, Smith donated $20k to something called "HOPE: The Hollywood Education and Literacy Program," which is the church's "literary program," where children get homeschooled and, we're guessing, brainwashed in their formative years. Now, he and Jada have been plugging a way at their New Village Academy, a private school they're funding that will open in December, which got the LAT treatment over the weekend. Naturally, the first word out of the school's mouth is that it is not a Scientology facility. (Even Will and Jada still insist they aren't of the church.) But a certain anti-Scientology crusader is casting his eye of suspicion on this educational institution, mostly because of a … goat.
NOT YOU TOO, WILL "Will Smith has strongly denied rumors that he is a Scientologist, but being best buds with the World’s Most Famous Hubbard Freak (actor Tom Cruise) may have finally gotten to the Fresh Prince. Life & Style spies claim Will was chatting up the unorthodox religion to anyone who would listen on the set of his new film, Hancock. … 'He gave out Scientology-like pamphlets at the end of the shoot.'"
ANOTHER CAT FIGHT "You want some risky business? Raise questions about Tom Cruise's mental health. Dr. Drew Pinsky, the host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, speculates in an interview with Playboy that Cruise's Scientology beliefs could be a result of childlhood 'neglect.'"
Start buying your tickets now: Katie Holmes is coming to Broadway. The wife of Mr. Crazy himself, Tom Cruise, will escape the LA Scientology Center to join the revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons, which debuts this fall. It's unsure whether Tom and Suri will be joining her here in the city, and for our sake, we sure hope not. Besides, Katie needs no distractions as she learns to reprogram new vocabulary into her system.
[Source]
TomCruise.com, a Web site devoted to Tom Cruise and his 25-year career, is up and running, and it's very weird. Go there to be inundated with theme music from several of Cruise's films and really pertinent information from the man himself like, "I love movies." Oddly, no mention of Scientology anywhere on the site. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Tommy and his robot lady are on Oprah right now. Click through for a couple notes on the show from Lauren, who wisely didn't come into the office today.
CONTINUED »
• Leather daddy will forever be a good look. Well done, Travolta. [CityRag]
• "Scientology boot camp is probably filled with a bunch of suppressed homos that are just aching to get their jaws around any cock and ass." [DListed]
• Another Spears girl is on the way. And this one will have many more issues than the first two. Huzzah! [PS]
• Patrick Dempsey is campaigning to win the title of "Sexiest Man Alive" this year, which is not the least bit sexy. [INO]
• Benji Madden wrote Paris Hilton a love song entitled "Shine Your Light." It's probably not very good and definitely not original, but Paris only knows what's in front of her, so she loves it. [ICYDK]
• Is Mariah Carey really engaged to Nick Cannon? Thank goodness those two are out of the dating pool! [Yeeeah]
Three years after freaking everybody out by going on The Oprah Winfrey Show, jumping all over the furniture and trying to break Oprah's wrists before a live audience, Tom Cruise will return to the scene of the crime to promote the 25th anniversary of his breakthrough film, Risky Business. In a special two-part episode of the talk show airing in May, Oprah will interview the Scientology Grand Wizard once from his home in Colorado and once in her Chicago studio before opening the floor to celebrity guests, who will then honor Cruise's career and mourn the Tom they once knew.
Click through for footage of the original "couch incident."
CONTINUED »
Nicole Kidman, the world's thinnest pregnant woman, has limited contact with the two children, Isabella and Connor, she and ex-husband Tom Cruise adopted years ago, according to Page Six. Bad news, especially because Kidman, a Catholic, wants the kids out of the Church of Scientology and under the yoke of her belief system. We hope someone has the heart to tell her it's much too late.
Actor and former Scientologist Jason Beghe is the star of a new YouTube video that features him speaking out against his previous religion. We don't have our handy Scientology lingo handbook nearby, so it's a bit difficult to understand what he's talking about; however, it's fairly obvious that the guy is going to need about 100 new bodyguards to prevent a mysterious "suicide."
Click through for the video (some language NSFW). CONTINUED »
A few weeks ago we said not all Scientologists are pathetic automatons out to destroy humanity, which prompted a host of outraged people to throw tantrums and threaten to boycott Mollygood. It was madness, and it was our introduction to how upset many people get when discussing Scientology. Thus, we'd like to nip in the bud any and all speculation about our partisanship with this rundown of our least favorite Scientologists. We still don't believe the spooky Web sites that claim to know the secrets of Tom Cruise et al, but we understand how odd that post must look in conjunction with all the contextual ads for the Church that have been popping up on the site.
This post should clarify our point: Scientology is an organization composed of some cool people and some fools, just like practically every group in the whole world (save for people who wear fur—they're all rotten).
CONTINUED »
OH, FOR PETE'S SAKE " … Pete Doherty has become obsessed with Scientology after a lover introduced him to the crazy cult … The junkie rocker is hooked on the barmy religion which believes humans are an exiled race from outer space. Babyshambles frontman Pete, 29 … has bought a pile of books on the subject since meeting Scientologist DJ Nadine Ruddy."
Scientology got a bum rap. One dwarfish ninny jumped on a couch and professed his love for his catatonic girl bride and soon the whole world was calling everyone with a copy of Dianetics a lunatic. So Scientologists don't believe in psychiatry; so what? Christian Scientists have been eschewing doctors for years, why isn't anyone terrorizing their places of worship with fake anthrax? It's bad that Scientology demands money from its followers? Then get that collection basket out of my face, father.
Scientology isn't evil, nor is everyone who espouses the beliefs of Scientology. Actually, there's some pretty cool Scientologists out there. After the jump, meet some.
CONTINUED »
Despite Radar magazine's claims that Tom Cruise converted Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to Scientology, the Fresh Prince insists he is staying a Christian.
You don't have to be Jewish to be a friend of Steven Spielberg. You don't have to be a Muslim to be a friend of Muhammad Ali. And you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise. I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions. And I respect all people and all paths.
Kimora Lee Simmons is also denying Radar's claims she has converted, despite reports that she handed out Scientology books to New York students. Seems the church is too sketchy even for Miss Fabulosity.
But while celebs are distancing themselves from the cultlike religion, Radar's blistering six-page expose of the church says leaders are more concerned by the dissension of its former members, namely the shadowy network of ex-Scientologists known as "Anonymous." The group is credited with leaking the now-infamous recruiting tape of Cruise laughing maniacally. The pranksters/hackers also managed to crash the church's Web site for three days and post confidential Scientololgy documents and lectures on YouTube.
Expect the Anonymous members to mysteriously disappear or commit suicide in the coming months.
[Source]
Editor
