Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise Can Still Be Great -- Why Aren't His Movies?

Oblivion: Tom Cruise is an App That Producers Can Buy to Power a Blockbuster

Also read: Tom Cruise Can Still Be Great -- Why Aren't His Movies?

The Biggest Celebrity Blunders Of Modern Times

There are a lot to choose from because, just like they soar in special and exciting ways, celebs also mess up with a gigantic splash heard 'round the world. Here are the choices for the worst star boo-boos of our times, as selected by the posters over at datalounge.com: Cher's hair care infomerci ... More >>

Scientology Chooses an Odd Time to Open a "National Affairs" Office in DC

Today at 6 pm, Scientology will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a building in Washington DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood. For the last couple of years, Scientology has opened "Ideal Orgs" -- fancy, superfluous new churches in cities around the world in an expensive ploy to make it look like the ... More >>

Voice Readers Raise Thousands For Couple That Refused to Spy for Scientology

We've always been suckers for the final scene of It's a Wonderful Life. No matter how many times we see it, we tear up at the sight of George Bailey's friends coming to his aid in his time of need, proving to him that he really is the richest man in town. Over the last couple of days, we watched so ... More >>

Scientology's Obsession With Hollywood Proving Costly In Its Time of Crisis

In 1955, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard announced "Project Celebrity," coming up with a list of Hollywood stars he wanted his followers to treat as "game" to hunt down for the church. And while Hubbard didn't succeed in bagging Danny Kaye, Sid Caesar, or Liberace (!), his organization did event ... More >>

The Voice Reads Maureen Orth's Story about Scientology in Vanity Fair

See also our Voice Exclusive: Paul Haggis reacts to Scientology's attack on Nazanin Boniadi We managed to find a copy of the new Vanity Fair today, and we've read Maureen Orth's story, "What Katie Didn't Know," about Tom Cruise and his Scientology-approved search for a new wife. As advertised, the ... More >>

Scientology's Homophobia: Even the Church's Token Gay Guy Was Disgusted

One of Scientology's enduring mysteries is that it has attracted Hollywood stars when it has such a reputation for homophobia. The sexual orientation of its top celebrities is always a matter of popular speculation, and even those with the barest understanding of Scientology seem to know that if cel ... More >>

My Worst Party of All Time Was A Tom Cruise Premiere

The Top Gun premiere party at America restaurant in 1986 was enough to make you burn your flag. After seeing the numbingly mediocre movie that didn't take my breath away, I went to the party, where the aviation theme was valiantly carried out via tiny flags in the hors d'oeuvres and toy planes stat ... More >>

"Tom Cruise Worships David Miscavige Like a God": The John Brousseau Story, Part Two

Yesterday, we published the first part of our conversation with John Brousseau, a 32-year veteran of Scientology's "Sea Org" who escaped from the church's International Base east of Los Angeles in 2010. In our first part, Brousseau described his work in the Tom Cruise household with Katie Holmes an ... More >>

"Tom Cruise Worships David Miscavige Like a God": A Scientology Insider Gives First Full-Length Interview to the Voice

I've spoken to John Brousseau numerous times over the past couple of years. In 2011, I reported about the photographs he smuggled out of Scientology's International Base east of Los Angeles which documented the work he did customizing a motorcycle, a Ford Excursion, and an airplane hangar for Tom Cr ... More >>

Scientology Reacts to TomKat Divorce from Nixon-Era Playbook

On Sunday, we talked to former Scientology executive Marty Rathbun and agreed with his predictions for how the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes divorce would go. The next day, the former couple announced that they had reached a settlement. So how did we do? Prediction 1: Katie would get sole custody of Suri ... More >>

Katie Holmes Will Get Custody, But Tom Cruise Will Save Face For Scientology: Using Marty Rathbun and L. Ron Hubbard as Guides

This afternoon, Tom Cruise's former auditor, Marty Rathbun, laid out his predictions for how the Cruise-Holmes divorce is going to go, based on his extensive history helping to run the church. Rathbun predicts that Tom Cruise will give up sole custody of Suri as long as Katie Holmes goes along with ... More >>

Tom Cruise's Former Scientology Auditor: "He Should Let Katie Have Everything She Wants"

As we wait to see how nasty the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes divorce becomes, we asked Tom's former Scientology auditor and legal affairs adviser, Marty Rathbun, to speak to us about the last time Cruise was in this position. In 2001, Cruise and Nicole Kidman ended their 10-year marriage, and it was Rat ... More >>

Radar Gets It Wrong: How Scientology Is Likely To Be an Issue in the Divorce of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise

Yesterday, RadarOnline, one of several online tabs trying to churn out incremental stories about the celebrity story of the year, grabbed for attention by quoting two lawyers who said it was unlikely that Tom Cruise's Scientology would be allowed as an issue in his divorce with Katie Holmes. Aside ... More >>

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Splitting Up: Scientology Has Bigger Problems

People magazine is reporting that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are ending their marriage, which should surprise just about no one. Holmes was hand-picked for Cruise by a nervous David Miscavige, as Scientology's leader wanted to prevent what had happened during Cruise's previous marriage, when a Sci ... More >>

The Gay Twist In Rock of Ages

No, it doesn't involve Tom Cruise. Tom plays a burnt out rocker who swaps spit with a lady reporter--and who has a pretty sensational past with another female character--and he's actually pretty funny as he slowly whispers his wacked-out lines, coming off even deeper fried than Axl Rose ever was.

The 10 Most Unrealistic Sex Scenes In Movie History

Sunfiltered at sundancechannel.com has compiled a list of the 10 movie sex scenes that got it extremely wrong (though some of them are a tiny bit hot despite themselves). The linked photo starts with the number 10 choice (From Here To Eternity, in which two major stars carried on like beached whale ... More >>

Happy Birthday, L. Ron Hubbard! Here's Our Surprise Gift For Scientology's Founder

On this day in 1911, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was born in Tilden, Nebraska. If Hubbard had not wisely discarded his 74-year-old meat body in January, 1986 in order to research new levels of OT somewhere else in the galaxy, he'd be a really wrinkly 101 years old today. Where is Ron today? According ... More >>

Scientology Thaumaturgy: Commenters of the Week!

This was some spooky week here in the underground bunker where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. Some downright eerie things showed up in our stories this week: Surfers who can see the future. Beings living in clouds. Egyptian gods showing up in some lady's kitchen. And The Great Bea ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: Hubbard Welcomes the New Meat!

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time we'r ... More >>

More Scientology Miracles! And L. Ron Hubbard Tells You How to Make a Slave

Fellow Scientology watchers, we're working on several big stories for you. In fact, we went out of town this weekend on a fact-finding mission, and we are planning to tell you about that soon. But for now, those stories aren't quite ready. In the meantime, we were so happy to see how popular was Mo ... More >>

Scientology Hip Hop: The Melbourne Day Rap Battle Team! (UPDATED)

We can't get enough of Scientology's rap videos. The latest comes to us from Melbourne, which has been stepping up its game in a big way lately. We recently published mailers from the Melbourne Ideal Org as it celebrated its first anniversary with parties that looked like they were off the hook. Bu ... More >>

Scientology's OT Powers! A Hubbard Holiday Miracle

Scientology watchers, we have a special treat for you this holiday Monday. Recently, one of our readers who is a longtime former Scientologist mailed us a treasure trove: Copies of early Advance! magazines, a complete run from issue 11 in 1971 to issue 56 in 1979. (That's L. Ron Hubbard's photo of ... More >>

Scientology Sunday Funnies: There's a Chill Down Under!

Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday any differently than every other day of ... More >>

Scientology Campout: Commenters of the Week!

It never seems to be a quiet week here in the underground bunker where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. The cats had barely settled down from our brief trip to Texas when the bat signal on the Antipodean circuits went off, alerting us to an imminent bombshell. But let's not get ahe ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: LRH on the "Wogworld!"

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time we'r ... More >>

Debbie Cook: "I Have Seen L Ron Hubbard's Technology Create Many Miracles"

Scientology took on Debbie Cook, Debbie Cook kicked Scientology's ass, and now...Scientology wins? This afternoon, former Church of Scientology executive Debbie Cook posted a public thank you to her supporters at the blog of Marty Rathbun, who is also a former high-ranking church official. She des ... More >>

Scientology's Secret Ranch: Where LRH Will Reincarnate?

Last week, we had a bit of fun publishing detailed maps to Scientology's super-secret underground vault locations. The vaults are the project of the Church of Spiritual Technology, a hush-hush entity inside Scientology that owns the trademarks and copyrights to L. Ron Hubbard's works, and that digs ... More >>

SCIENTOLOGY'S DISGRACE: AN OPEN LETTER TO TOM CRUISE

Dear Tom, It's time for you to start talking publicly about Scientology again. Your religion is in serious trouble. In 2005, you ended a longtime policy of not talking about the church by suddenly bringing it up in interviews. Most memorable, of course, was the way you challenged Matt Lauer, tell ... More >>

Anonymous vs Scientology: Chanology's Quadrennium in NYC

We got a little confused by the International Dateline and what not -- hey, you try converting Sydney time to New York and see if it doesn't leave you dizzy -- so that big story we were promising today won't be here for another 18 hours or so. In the meantime, we have this short video we pieced toge ... More >>

Scientology Sunday Funnies: Fresh Meat in the Windy City!

Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday any differently than every other day of ... More >>

VIDEO: The Debbie Cook Interview

​ We can't remember a time when the attorneys of the Church of Scientology gave up on a case like they did today when they withdrew their request for a temporary injunction that would keep Debbie Cook and Wayne Baumgarten under a gag order until the church's lawsuit against them could come to ... More >>

Scientology Dramaturgy: Commenters of the Week!

Things back at the underground bunker are peaceful and calm -- the cats dig the new scratching post, we hear, and they're finally getting some quiet time while we're on the road frantically trying to keep up with Scientology's ongoing implosion. Things started out quietly enough as we began another ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: "You Chilluns Will Get Shoes"

NOTE: This is our regularly-scheduled Friday morning feature about L. Ron Hubbard aboard the Apollo. Our second day of reporting from the Debbie Cook hearing begins soon. Please check back for that coverage. In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of c ... More >>

Scientology vs Debbie Cook, Day 2: More Live-Blogging by the Voice

We're heading down to the courthouse now to begin talking to folks before the action heats up again. Yesterday afternoon, Bexar County district judge Martha Tanner said that she'd begin day 2 of the temporary injunction hearing at 9:30 am, CST. If you're just joining us, the Church of Scientology ... More >>

Scientology Waves the White Flag in Texas: The Debbie Cook Interview

​I'm sitting in a remarkable conference happening right now with Debbie Cook, her husband Wayne Baumgarten (pictured above), their attorney, Ray Jeffrey, and several other journalists. It's just a few hours after the Church of Scientology surprisingly waved the white flag and dropped its atte ... More >>

Scientology, Deep in the Heart of Texas: The Voice at the Debbie Cook Hearing

Update: For a wrap-up of today's hearing and some analysis of the day's performances, we now have this new piece. Today, former Scientology executive Debbie Cook will try to convince a Bexar County, Texas district judge to lift the strict terms of a temporary injunction as she defends herself again ... More >>

Scientology vs Debbie Cook, Day 1: Our Totally Unscientific Handicapping

​What an amazing time we had reporting from the Bexar County Courthouse today as Debbie Cook testified in the lawsuit filed against her by her former employer, the Church of Scientology. We got back to our hotel room and saw for the first time the amazing comments left by our loyal readers. ( ... More >>

Scientology's Gag Reflex: The Church's History of Enforcing a Vow of Silence

Tomorrow, one of the most remarkable legal hearings in the litigious history of Scientology should unfold in a Texas courtroom. Two weeks after filing suit against Debbie Cook, the former executive who for 17 years ran its spiritual mecca in Florida, Scientology will be seeking to turn a 14-day res ... More >>

5 Biggest Lies in Scientology's 2-Minute TV Ad

We keep seeing Twitter reactions as people are stunned to see a 2-minute ad for Scientology show up on network television. We've written earlier about the negative reactions the ad is getting as it appeared during NFL playoff games, the Miss America pageant, the Golden Globes, and during such weekly ... More >>

Scientology Headaches: Another Felony Count for Exec; Anonymous Anniversary Saturday

There's so much happening in the world of Scientology watching right now, we can hardly keep up with it all. Most of our attention is being taken up with the Debbie Cook lawsuit and its big hearing on Thursday -- we're going to have more on that tomorrow morning. But for now, more big developments h ... More >>

Scientology Sunday Funnies: The Denver Miracle!

Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday any differently than every other day of ... More >>

Scientology Jurisprudence: Commenters of the Week!

The underground bunker might need some new paneling after the way we were bouncing off the walls this week. I mean seriously, how are we going to keep up with all of this Scientology news? It's like this is turning into a real job or something. We started off the week with our regular feature, Sund ... More >>

Scientology Wants It Both Ways: The Church's Opposite Legal Strategies In Florida and Texas

Back in November, the St. Petersburg Times uncorked its best expose of the Church of Scientology yet -- "The Money Machine," a look at Scientology's incredible appetite for fundraising among its members. Just three months later, two court cases are putting an exclamation point on that investigative ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: Squirrel Cookery!

​In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this ti ... More >>

Debbie Cook's Motion Denied: Scientology's Restraining Order Remains in Place Until Thursday Hearing

As we reported yesterday, Debbie Cook, who is being sued by the Church of Scientology for speaking out to her fellow church members in a New Year's Eve e-mail, filed a motion to dissolve a temporary restraining order so broad, it prevented her from hiring an attorney (she hired one anyway) or talkin ... More >>

Scientology Cartoon Tops Reddit: We Talk to its Creator, Abbey Neslen, 18

A "rage comic" created by an 18-year-old college sophomore in Bozeman, Montana has grabbed the attention of Reddit users tonight. At more than 100,000 views, the cartoon, titled "What the Church of Scientology did to my family" is a quick success, and has generated more than 900 comments at this po ... More >>

Scientology in France: Still Guilty of Fraud

Big news this morning out of a French appeals court, where a decision was handed down regarding Scientology's 2009 conviction for fraud. Scientology watchers around the world have been keeping an eye on the proceedings, which were wild and woolly: in November, Scientology's entire contingent of att ... More >>

Debbie Cook Files to Dissolve Scientology's Temporary Restraining Order: We Talk To Her Attorney, Ray Jeffrey

Yesterday, Debbie Cook began her defense against Scientology's lawsuit which seeks $300,000 in damages because she dared to speak out to her fellow church members in an e-mail sent on New Year's Eve. Cook, through her newly hired San Antonio attorney, Ray B. Jeffrey, filed to dissolve the temporary ... More >>