Tom Cruise, Nichole Kidman, Scientology and their divorce

AlwaysShocked · Feb 7, 2015

Has anyone else been following the bizarre situation that has been unfolding since the documentary "Going Clear" was recently previewed at the Sundance Film festival? The documentary is based on the book "Going Clear" by Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright, that was published well over a year ago. The book is an examination of the Church of Scientology, from its founding in the early 50s to the present. And of course, famous adherents such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise are mentioned.

Apparently the documentary has revealed new information regarding the Cruise/Kidman divorce, with a person who was Tom Cruise's "counselor" at the time revealing that Tom expressed a wish - during a counseling session - that Nichole's phones be tapped. And so, allegedly, the Church of Scientology did just that. Contributing to their divorce. The accusation is also made that the church was involved in promoting the estrangement of Nicole from her children with Tom.

The documentary also unveils numerous abuses against church members including both verbal and physical abuse. There are about 10 former members interviewed who tell their story in the film. For the book, Wright interviewed some 200 former members and others.

The current "pope" of the Church of Scientology is a man named David Miscavige. He has not given an interview or made a public statement about the church and its practices in over 10 years. Author Wright and award-winning film producer Alex Gibney both state they requested to interview Mr. Miscavige and were turned down.

Now a church spokesperson has issued a statement claiming both the book and the film are based on lies and that no one was willing to interview the church to hear "their side of the story". The statement was also critical of film critics who have written positive reviews of the documentary film. (It got a standing ovation from the audience at the premier.)

The documentary "Going Clear" will be shown on HBO on March 16th.

People are predicting this widespread, mainstream revelation of the magnitude of abuses within the Church of Scientology is not going to bode well for either Tom Cruise or church leader David Miscavige.

I'm planning to watch the documentary. How about you?

Nova · Feb 7, 2015

Oh, I'll watch. I find the Church endlessly fascinating.

AlwaysShocked · Feb 7, 2015

Fascinating, sort of like slowing down to look at a car wreck.

southsleuth · Feb 7, 2015

AlwaysShocked said:
Has anyone else been following the bizarre situation that has been unfolding since the documentary "Going Clear" was recently previewed at the Sundance Film festival? The documentary is based on the book "Going Clear" by Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright, that was published well over a year ago. The book is an examination of the Church of Scientology, from its founding in the early 50s to the present. And of course, famous adherents such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise are mentioned.

Apparently the documentary has revealed new information regarding the Cruise/Kidman divorce, with a person who was Tom Cruise's "counselor" at the time revealing that Tom expressed a wish - during a counseling session - that Nichole's phones be tapped. And so, allegedly, the Church of Scientology did just that. Contributing to their divorce. The accusation is also made that the church was involved in promoting the estrangement of Nicole from her children with Tom.

The documentary also unveils numerous abuses against church members including both verbal and physical abuse. There are about 10 former members interviewed who tell their story in the film. For the book, Wright interviewed some 200 former members and others.

The current "pope" of the Church of Scientology is a man named David Miscavige. He has not given an interview or made a public statement about the church and its practices in over 10 years. Author Wright and award-winning film producer Alex Gibney both state they requested to interview Mr. Miscavige and were turned down.

Now a church spokesperson has issued a statement claiming both the book and the film are based on lies and that no one was willing to interview the church to hear "their side of the story". The statement was also critical of film critics who have written positive reviews of the documentary film. (It got a standing ovation from the audience at the premier.)

The documentary "Going Clear" will be shown on HBO on March 16th.

People are predicting this widespread, mainstream revelation of the magnitude of abuses within the Church of Scientology is not going to bode well for either Tom Cruise or church leader David Miscavige.

I'm planning to watch the documentary. How about you?

I have followed Tony Ortega's blog for several years. Yes. I'll watch. The "Church" of Scientology is a violent mess. L Ron was a 3rd rate Sci-fy writer. Start a religion to make money?

southsleuth · Feb 7, 2015

Nova said:
Oh, I'll watch. I find the Church endlessly fascinating.

I don't find these *advertiser censored*-hats fascinating at all. They are criminals of the worst sort. Where is Shelley? Why do the Sea Org people have to give up their passports?

TTF14 · Feb 7, 2015

I don't have HBO, but as soon as it's on Netflix, I'll be watching.

southsleuth · Feb 7, 2015

Sci-loons are dangerous. Look up Lisa McPherson. Operation Snow White? L Ron Hubbard was as crazy as they get. So is David Miscaviage.

AlwaysShocked · Feb 7, 2015

What I can't figure out is how this "church" has managed to hold onto their IRS status as a religion for as long as it has. I know it was pulled from them at one point long ago, then reinstated when the "church" filed over 2,000 lawsuits against the IRS. (Filing lawsuits is a well practiced Church of Scientology harassment tactic. Along with illegally tapping peoples' telephones to get dirt on them. Including IRS commissioners?)

I'm hoping the current publicity will trigger an investigation into that IRS status. Because they sound a whole lot more like a huge business pyramid scheme than a religion.

FindHG · Feb 8, 2015

TTF14 said:
I don't have HBO, but as soon as it's on Netflix, I'll be watching.

Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut," with the two of them in it, considering news of the DSK scandal seems interesting. Cruise had interesting choices in that movie.

AlwaysShocked · Feb 10, 2015

I just watched Nichole in "Stepford Wives" on Netflix. I had never seen it before. Very different from the book as I remember it. Nichole was okay in it. Matthew Broderick as her husband seemed a poor choice. He's so short, but maybe it was art imitating real life? Christopher Walken, one of my absolute favorites was in it, so I guess I can't complain. But it was kind of one of those where you say to yourself "I'm glad I never paid the money to buy a ticket to see this in a movie theatre".

Back to Scientology, they are now apparently in a real snit about the upcoming HBO documentary "Going Clear". They have disseminated a CD to church members with an 8 minute church-produced movie, telling members that Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright (upon whose book the HBO documentary is based) and prize-winning documentary producer Alex Gibney are both "liars" and "bigots" who knowingly hired lying witnesses to appear in the documentary. And the Scientologists claim they (Wright and Gibney) did this because the church is "winning" the fight to save the planet and these two men don't want that to happen.

The CD and the eight minute movie by the Church of Scientology are designed to give the members "talking points" in order to refute potential negative comments once the upcoming documentary has broadcast on HBO on March 16th. Because all church members are FORBIDDEN to actually watch it!

Now, how does that situation work?

"Hey, there's this terrible documentary out there. We don't want you to watch it. Whatever you do, DON'T watch this documentary. But, here, watch this CD ABOUT this documentary that you are not allowed to watch so that if anyone asks you any questions, you'll be able to answer them. Yep, you can tell them what liars all the people interviewed in the documentary are. And yeah, the producer is a big liar too. And the author of the book? Yep. He's the biggest liar of them all! Okay. Got that? Yeah....... That's the ticket! <spoken in a John Lovitz voice>"

southsleuth · Feb 10, 2015

Horrid people at the top of COS. Terrible cult.

Nova · Feb 10, 2015

southsleuth said:
I don't find these *advertiser censored*-hats fascinating at all. They are criminals of the worst sort. Where is Shelley? Why do the Sea Org people have to give up their passports?

You don't find them fascinating yet you follow up with questions as to the reasons for their behavior. See what I mean?

I said they were fascinating, not admirable.

AlwaysShocked · Feb 11, 2015

Well, maybe they are fascinatingly horrid. Or horridly fascinating. Or how about terribly, fascinatingly horrid?

In any case I - along with probably millions of others - will certainly be watching the "Going Clear" documentary on March 16th.

Wonder if Nichole Kidmann will watch it? Katie Holmes?

Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Kirstie Alley are not ALLOWED to watch it of course.

Nova · Feb 11, 2015

AlwaysShocked said:
What I can't figure out is how this "church" has managed to hold onto their IRS status as a religion for as long as it has....

I'm hoping the current publicity will trigger an investigation into that IRS status. Because they sound a whole lot more like a huge business pyramid scheme than a religion.

Compared to the Catholic Church? The wealth of Scientology is miniscule. Are its crimes bigger? Perhaps, but you'd have a hard time proving so now.

The problem is that the IRS really has no mechanism for defining a "true" religion v. a "false" one. Not even actual religions are able to do that.

(To be clear, I'm not denying there are hundreds of millions of sincere and faithful Catholics and Catholic clergy in the world. I see no reason to take away their tax-exempt status unless we do so for all churches.)

~Lyric~ · Feb 11, 2015

Another Actress who left the church of Scientology is Leah Remini. She said the main reason was for her daughter, it was getting time for her to step into "her own" (my words) and Mama Leah was not real comfortable with it.

Then there was Tom/Katy wedding, where she asked David Miscavige, where his wife Shelly was and she wanted to call her, but was told by "handlers" for David, to write a letter and she'll get it.

She is so much happier today.

IzzyBlanche · Feb 12, 2015

AlwaysShocked said:
I just watched Nichole in "Stepford Wives" on Netflix. I had never seen it before. Very different from the book as I remember it.

Snipped for focus.

I haven't seen that version so I can't comment on Nicole's performance. But I find that remakes rarely surpass the originals, and Katharine Ross was superb in the original. You should check it out. As I recall it is pretty faithful to the book. And Tina Louise (Ginger from "Gilligan's Island") has a serious part in it.

O/T, carry on.

Jan · Feb 12, 2015

I won't be watching it.

AlwaysShocked · Feb 12, 2015

Nova said:
Compared to the Catholic Church? The wealth of Scientology is miniscule. Are its crimes bigger? Perhaps, but you'd have a hard time proving so now.

The problem is that the IRS really has no mechanism for defining a "true" religion v. a "false" one. Not even actual religions are able to do that.

(To be clear, I'm not denying there are hundreds of millions of sincere and faithful Catholics and Catholic clergy in the world. I see no reason to take away their tax-exempt status unless we do so for all churches.)

Oh, I'm with you there, Nova. It has always been my belief that NO church of any kind should be getting away with not paying taxes.

I think the specific problem a lot of people have had with Scientology, as opposed to the more traditional churches, is that founder L. Ron Hubbard made public statements early on saying things like "If you really want to make money, the best way to do it is to start a religion". And indeed, when his book "Dianetics" hit the best seller lists in 1950 there was nothing about religion in it. It was only later that Dianetics morphed into Scientology which then morphed into the Church of Scientology.

And I found the part about Hubbard deliberately going after the Hollywood stars to be fascinating. Establishing and funding a "Celebrity Centers" where "VIP"s could mingle and be treated with adulation was designed to legitimatize Hubbard's creation.

I don't know how much the HBO documentary will be able to cover, but the book upon which it is based, "Going Clear" (by Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright) covers Hubbard and the founding of this "church" in depth. It is an interesting and worthwhile read.

Tom Cruise, Nichole Kidman, Scientology and their divorce

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