Scientology

Broadway Co-Star: Holmes Wasn't Bothered by Scientology Protestors

Mandi Illuzzi — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:20:41 -0400

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"It was much more disruptive to the other theatres on the street," says John Lithgow

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Katie Holmes wasn't bothered by the anti-Scientology protestors who picketed her first night of previews for Broadway's All My Sons.

"It was much more disruptive to the other theatres on the street!" John Lithgow told reporters Monday at the Metropolitan Opera's 125th season opening in NYC.

The critics have yet to weigh in on Holmes' performance, but Lithgow can't stop raving.

"Katie is lovely in the play, and she's been such a sweetheart to work with," he said. "She has worked so hard - this is a tough, tough play."

He added, "Katie is acting with thoroughbreds and she's doing a wonderful job! She's had to really push herself."

He said her husband Tom Cruise and Suri, 2, have visited her several times.

"They've been around ... a lot!" added Lithgow, who said Holmes and co-star Patrick Wilson even set up an extra dressing room "as almost a childcare center. It's very sweet!"

See photos of Suri through the years.

He said the Cruise clan is "just adorable! They are just lovely people."

Meanwhile, Variety reports that Holmes' appearance in the play helped pull in a hefty $478,235 for five performances and played to houses that averaged almost 98 percent capacity.

See how Katie Holmes has changed her look over the years.

This makes Sons in the race for the fall's top-grossing straight play (Daniel Radcliffe's Equus currently holds the title).

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John Lithgow and Katie Holmes leave the Broadway preview of "All My Sons" on September 18, 2008 in New York City.

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Tom Cruise: "I'm So Proud" of Katie Holmes

Alissa R — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:11:40 -0400

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Dodging anti-Scientology protestors, the actor raves about his wife's first Broadway preview performance

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Katie Holmes kicked off previews for her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller's All My Sons on Thursday - along with some anti-Scientology protestors.

Around 20 demonstrators (many in masks) staged a protest, shouting "Free Katie" and holding signs that screamed "How many more must die?" outside the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City.

“We are not boycotting Katie, we are not boycotting the play - we are protesting Scientology. It is evil. Scientology kills people. It follows you home at night. It is perverted," a demonstrator insisted.

But Holmes and husband Tom Cruise seemed undeterred.

Moments before the curtain went up, Cruise was all smiles as he entered the theater, greeting theatergoers, taking pictures and clapping.

He hugged Dustin Hoffman, who was sitting a couple rows away, drawing another cheer inside the theater.

"It was really powerful, I'm so proud," Cruise was overheard saying after Holmes' performance. (After her performance, the two dined at the stylish Angus McIndoe restaurant near the theater.)

See Tom and Katie's most romantic moments.

While reviews likely won't come in until the play officially opens October 16, a writer for New York's Daily News says Holmes "held her own" among Broadway veterans John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest and Patrick Wilson.

"Holmes exuded the same lovable charm she did as Joey Potter on TV's Dawson's Creek," according to the Daily News. "She shed the baggy T-shirts and jeans she has been sporting on the streets of New York for the past several months of rehearsals, revealing a rail-thin physique in '40s-style sundresses."

Look back at Katie Holmes' fashion hits and misses.

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Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise in New York City on September 18, 2008.

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Will Smith: Attacks on Tom Cruise Were "Painful for Me to See"

Mandi Illuzzi — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:26:22 -0400

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"I've met very few people committed to goodness the way Tom is," he says

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Will Smith defends his pal Tom Cruise in a new interview with USA Today.

He said the criticism Cruise, 45, has received for his Scientology faith has been "painful for me to see. I've met very few people committed to goodness the way Tom is."

The Hancock star, 39 — who was rumored to have converted to Scientology after speaking out about the controversial religion — was raised Baptist and said he remains Christian.

"We disagree on a lot of things," added Smith, who attended Nelson Mandella's 90th birthday in London on Wednesday. "But even with different faiths and different beliefs, at the end of the day, goodness is goodness."

(See photos of all the women Tom Cruise has dated.)

He said that their friendship thrives on rivalry.

They currently compete to see who can sign autographs longer.

"It's hard to beat that dude," Smith said. "He has another gear. He did two-and-a-half hours in France for Mission: Impossible on the red carpet. Now when I go to France, people will say, 'You know, Tom was out here for two-and-a-half hours.'"

(See photos of other celeb BFFs.)

He also opened up about raising his children Willow, 7, and Jaden, 9 (whom he had with wife Jada Pinkett) and son Trey, 15, (from a previous marriage).

"The kids can do anything they want, as long as Daddy thinks it's funny," he says. "And artistically, that's where you need to be, too. You have to find the humor in things."

The same rule applies to tabloid rumors about his life.

"You have to let that roll off you," he said. "There's a natural narcotic my brain must pump, because negativity doesn't last. It's strange to play a guy like Hancock, who can't find something to feel good about. That's the opposite of who I am."

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Will Smith and Tom Cruise at the Will Smith Foot and Handprint Ceremony at the Grauman's Chinese Theater on December 10, 2007 in Hollywood, California.

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Dr. Drew Apologizes for Saying Tom Cruise Suffers From "Neglect"

Mandi Illuzzi — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:04:23 -0400

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He says he meant no harm when he speculated on the actor's involvement with Scientology

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Dr. Drew Pinsky "meant no harm" to Tom Cruise when he told Playboy that the actor's interest in Scientology is "a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood – maybe some abuse but mostly neglect," his rep tells Usmagazine.com.

"[Dr. Drew] apologizes if his comments were hurtful," the rep says.

In response to Pinsky's remarks to Playboy, Cruise's attorney Bert Fields told the New York Post that Pinksy is an "unqualified television performer who is obviously just looking for notoriety [and] is so grotesquely unprofessional as to pretend to diagnose Tom and others without ever meeting them.

"He seems to be spewing the absurdity that all Scientologists are mentally ill," Fields said. "The last time we heard garbage like this was from [Nazi propagandist] Joseph Goebbels."

Pinsky's rep responded to Us: "Although Mr. Field’s intent is clearly to slander and discredit Dr. Drew, under no circumstances is Dr. Drew making a blanket diagnosis about Scientology nor Mr. Cruise whom he does not know. Dr. Drew was simply using Mr. Cruise as an example of someone who is recognizable to help the public understand. Again, Dr. Drew meant him no harm."

In 2006, Cruise said his late, estranged father was "a bully and a coward" and a "merchant of chaos."

"He was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong [he would] kick you," he told Parade.

Tell Us: Who is out of line – Tom or Dr. Drew?

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TV Actor Slams Scientology, Warns Tom Cruise

Alissa R — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:40:12 -0400

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Jason Beghe, a 13-year follower, calls the religion "destructive"

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Actor Jason Beghe – best known for roles on CSI and Cane – is speaking out against Scientology, the religion he followed for 13 years.

"Scientology is destructive and a rip-off," he says in video posted to YouTube (watch above). "I think it stunts your evolution. If Scientology is real, then something's f---ed up . . . It ain't delivering what it's promised. It sure has not."

Beghe, who was featured in a promotional video for Scientology in 2005, attained a high level in the faith.

He also had a message for the religion's A-list followers, which include Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley.

"The further up the bridge, the worse you get," Beghe reveals. "I don't have an agenda. I'm just trying to help. I have the luxury of having gotten into Scientology and after having been in it, been out. And that's a perspective that people who are still in and not out do not have."

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24 Star Weds in Scientology Ceremony

Alissa R — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:53:31 -0400

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Actress Marisol Nichols married director Taron Lexton in L.A. over the weekend

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Ivana Trump wasn't the only star who got hitched this weekend.

24 star Marisol Nichols, 34, married director Taron Lexton, 23, in a ceremony at the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Center in L.A. Sunday.

Nichols, who plays Nadia Yassir on the hit Fox show, wore a rhinestone-encrusted white gown by Jenny Packham and Stuart Weitzman shoes.

The bride and groom feasted on Mediterranean-style cuisine by L.A.'s Renaissance Restaurant at their reception, as well as a lemon- and coconut- layered cake (created by Rosebud), which Nichols described as "nothing you've ever seen before.”

"I can't believe I get this man for the rest of my life," she said in a statement to Usmagazine.com. "We're so happy we can hardly stand it."

They are currently honeymooning in Las Vegas.

See more celeb weddings here.

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Tom Cruise New Video: “Psychiatry Doesn’t Work”

Lindsay Powers — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:45:05 -0500

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The actor says, “we have the ability to crush” drug companies

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Another Tom Cruise video has surfaced.

In the video — which has been removed from YouTube — he dismisses psychiatry and claims that Scientologists “have the ability to crush” drug companies.

Alternating between laughing and whispering, the actor, 46, says, “We actually have an easier time getting people off heroin and methadone than these psychiatric drugs, and I’ve worked very diligently to educate people about this.

“We have the ability to be able to fight [drug companies] to be able to crush these guys.”

Staring intently into the camera, he declares, “Oh, I’m going hard on those guys, and their reign ... psychiatrists. I’ve had…I mean…I’ve absolutely had it. It’s disgusting to me... No mercy... None... Psychiatry doesn’t work.

“When you study the effects…it’s a crime against humanity.”

He later recalls meeting a journalist. “I was doing an interview with someone [and] she said, ‘I want to know who you are,’” Cruise said, “and I said, ‘Know...I’m a Scientologist.’”

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Tom Cruise sighting in New York City on January 16, 2008.

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VIDEO: Tom Cruise: "It’s a Privilege to Call Yourself a Scientologist"

Henry Seltzer — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:05:43 -0500

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In case you missed it: watch a clip in which the actor says his controversial faith "has the ability to create new and better realities"

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Tom Cruise isn't shy about his commitment to Scientology – Katie Holmes reportedly signed a contract to guarantee her faith before their marriage and his children are raised as Scientologists – but a video that surfaced online has revealed the true extent of his beliefs.

The clip, hosted on YouTube and Google Video, featured a 9-minute speech by Cruise as the actor recently accepted the Freedom Medal of Valor award at an International Association of Scientologists event. The theme to Mission: Impossible plays in the background.

It was first posted by Gawker (and later, Radar) before its owner set the clip to private.

UPDATE: Gawker is now hosting a copy of the video.

Watch it below while you can, but beware — the videos are quickly disappearing from YouTube.

Below, the highlights:

Tom Cruise: ...I think it’s a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist, and it’s something that you have to earn because a Scientologist does... has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions. Being a Scientologist, you look at someone and know absolutely that you can help them.

"Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident... you know you have to do something about it because you know you’re the only one that can really help.

"But that’s what drives me... I know that we have an opportunity to really help... effectively change people’s lives and I am dedicated to that. I am absolutely, uncompromisingly dedicated to that.

"We have a responsibility.

"We are the authorities on getting people off drugs, we are the authorities on the mind, we are the authorities on improving conditions... we can rehabilitate criminals.

"...We can bring peace and unite cultures...

"Traveling the world and meeting the people that I’ve met, talking with these leaders in various fields, they want help and they are depending on people who know and who can be effective and do it and that’s us. That is our responsibility to do that.

"It is the time now. Now is the time... Being a Scientologist, people are turning to you, so you better know it, you better know it and if you don’t, go and learn it, but don’t pretend you know it. It’s like we’re here to help.

"If you’re a Scientologist, you see life, you see things the way they are, in all its glory, all of its complexity and the more you know as a Scientologist, you don’t become overwhelmed by it.

"Look, I wish the world was a different place. I’d like to go on vacation and go and romp and play and just do that, you know what I mean. That’s what I want it to be. There’s times I’d like to do that, but I can’t because I know I have to do something about it.

"I have to do it because I can’t live with myself if I don’t, and that really is it.

"So it’s our responsibility to educate, create the new reality. We have that responsibility to say, 'Hey, this is the way it should be done because we do it this way and people are actually getting better.'

"And let’s get it done. Let’s really get it done and have enough love and compassion and toughness that you’re really going to do it and do it right.

"I have to tell you something – it is rough and tumble, and it’s wild and wooly, and it’s a blast, it’s a blast, it really is fun because, dammit, there is nothing better than the going out there and fighting the fight and suddenly you see things are better.

"I want to know that I’ve done everything I could everyday, and I think about those people out there who are depending on us. I think about that and it does make me feel that we’ve got more work. I need more help, get those spectators either in the playing field or out of the arena. Really, that’s how I feel about it.

"I do what I can, and I do it the way I do everything. [laughs] There’s nothing part-of-the way for me."

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Tom Cruise attends the 'Mad Money' film premiere on January 9, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

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Will Smith: Scientology Wasn't for Me

Mandi Illuzzi — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:13:00 -0500

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"I don't necessarily believe in organized religion," he said after Tom Cruise introduced him to the controversial faith

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Will Smith may have studied Scientology with pal Tom Cruise, but he says his faith rests in his own spirituality.

"I don't necessarily believe in organized religion," Smith, 39, said when asked about Scientology Friday at a junket for his upcoming film I Am Legend.

"I love my God, my higher power, but it is mine and mine alone, and I create my connection, and I decide how my connection is going to be," he added.

Describing himself as a "student of world religions," Smith — who was raised a Baptist — said: "I believe that my connection to my higher power is separate from everybody's.

"I don’t believe that the Muslims have all the answers and all the beliefs. I don’t believe the Christians have all the answers and beliefs, or that the Jews have all the answers."

Tell Us: Would you take a lesson in Scientology from Tom Cruise?

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Will Smith at the Los Angeles Premiere of "Lions For Lambs" on November 1, 2007 in Hollywood, California.

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Will Smith Admits to Studying Scientology With Tom Cruise

Megan Lynn — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:42:17 -0500

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Smith says his pal Cruise inspired him to study the controversial religion

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Are Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith the latest celebs to join the Church of Scientology?

Smith, a friend of famous Scientologist Tom Cruise, tells Men's Vogue, "I've studied Buddhism and Hinduism, and I've studied Scientology through Tom [Cruise]."

A source tells Us Weekly that wife Jada, 36, is also intrigued by the religion, saying, "She's more gung-ho about Scientology than Will."

Smith, 39, who was raised Baptist, says in Vogue, "Ninety-eight percent of the principles [in Scientology] are identical to the principles of the Bible. . . . I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is 'thetan' that the definition becomes any different."

Smith's grandmother may disagree. Smith once said, "My grandmother would get up out of her casket [if I became a Scientologist]."

You tell Us: Do you think Scientology is similar to Christianity?

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Will Smith arrives at the AFI Fest opening night gala presentation of "Lions For Lambs" on November 1st, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.

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Scientology

Broadway Co-Star: Holmes Wasn't Bothered by Scientology Protestors

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Tom Cruise: "I'm So Proud" of Katie Holmes

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Will Smith: Attacks on Tom Cruise Were "Painful for Me to See"

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TV Actor Slams Scientology, Warns Tom Cruise

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24 Star Weds in Scientology Ceremony

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