DBWI: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman

You have to give props to those two, for being one of the few Hollywood couple that are still together and rising tfour beautiful children.

Any true to the rumor though that Scientology tried to recruit him? Good thing he said no to those crazies.
 
Yeah, his late-80s conversion to born-again Christianity did make him look a little square for a while(especially when he started preaching on talk shows etc), but at least it thwarted Scientology's recruitment efforts. Embracing the cult of L. Ron Hubbard would have been disastrous for both his marriage and career.

Also, being a Christian compelled him to reject Kubrick's offer to do that softcore porn "sex thriller" with Nicole in the late 90s. Can you imagine the effect THAT would have had on his public image? Accepting that role is what started Hugh Grant on the road to his current status as the king of infommercials.
 
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I don't know but Tom Cruise has become terribly insufferable after he was dubbed the "Bono of the Right". I know he was wonderful in bringing attention to the Chinese government attacks on churches, and attention to the fighting by Islamic fundamentalist guerrillas in South Sudan, but Cruise being seen with Bobby Jindal and Ted Cruz is a bit much...
 
I don't know but Tom Cruise has become terribly insufferable after he was dubbed the "Bono of the Right". I know he was wonderful in bringing attention to the Chinese government attacks on churches, and attention to the fighting by Islamic fundamentalist guerrillas in South Sudan, but Cruise being seen with Bobby Jindal and Ted Cruz is a bit much...

He did made Top Gun lol
 
I know he was wonderful in bringing attention to the Chinese government attacks on churches

Yeah, but he coulda gone about that with a little more subtlty. China is a HUGE market for Hollywood's product, and the studios had to go into major damage control after Tom appeared on Oprah and started bandmouthing them. Especially when he started in with those talking-points that had obviously been written by someone on Pat Robertson's staff, with historical references that Cruise barely understood.

And that manic, wild-eyed delivery...

"Oprah, Satan is moving in China today. Satan has been moving in China before. The Boxer Rebellion, The Cultural Revolution, millions of Christians killed. And it's happening again. The question is: Are we going to sit back and let Satan dictate his agenda to the leaders in China, or are we going to stand up to Satan?"

Apparently, the US government was on the verge of advising all US movie-studio employees working in China to get out after that speech aired.
 
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Apparently whatever lesson he was spposed to learn, never quite settled in. Remember the Kony 2012 rallies that he was accused of hijacking? Kony was caught, but that turned into a mess...
 
Apparently whatever lesson he was spposed to learn, never quite settled in. Remember the Kony 2012 rallies that he was accused of hijacking? Kony was caught, but that turned into a mess...

Yeah, he started off doing his usual boilerplate stuff about how only Jesus can stop persecutions, and then people pointed out that the LRA actually IS Christian. So, he goes all No True Scotsman in his next interview, and blames LRA on African spiritualism etc, which just ticks off the African allies they need to get Kony.

It was a smart move by Kony 2012 to push Cruise into the background and give a higher-profile to the secular Clooney.
 
But notice how no one talks about the sequel in 2011. The air raids into North Korea in stealth fighters wwas a bit jingoistic...

And it would have been even worse, if the studio hadn't nixed Cruise's plans to make the story into a Christian "action parable", with Maverick Mitchell leading a troupe of South Korean evangelical pilots in the air raids.

Rumour has it that the Unification Church offered to pay for the film if Cruise's funding fell through due to the religious objections, but Cruise balked when they requested that Moonie theology(ie. Moon succeeded where Jesus failed) be the message.
 
I heard that he was approached about doing Minority Report, but he refused because of his religious beliefs - apparently the idea of prophecy didn't sit well with him.

I'm glad - Viggo Mortensen nailed that role.
 
I heard that he was approached about doing Minority Report, but he refused because of his religious beliefs - apparently the idea of prophecy didn't sit well with him.

And the craziest thing about THAT rumour is the subplot about Spielberg(FFS, Spielberg!!) being asked to direct. Yeah, right. Mr. ET Call Home teams up with Mr. Top Gun to do dark cyberpunk.

Probably just an urban legend, but I heard that Ridley Scott basically called up the producers and demanded that he be given directorial duties, out of respect for the memory of Philip K. Dick. Worked out okay in the end, anyway.
 
OOC: I quite like Spielberg's film of Minority Report. People underestimate his ability to go dark when the story demands it.
 
And the craziest thing about THAT rumour is the subplot about Spielberg(FFS, Spielberg!!) being asked to direct. Yeah, right. Mr. ET Call Home teams up with Mr. Top Gun to do dark cyberpunk.

Probably just an urban legend, but I heard that Ridley Scott basically called up the producers and demanded that he be given directorial duties, out of respect for the memory of Philip K. Dick. Worked out okay in the end, anyway.

Oh, absolutely. Scott nailed it, one hundred per cent. And...while I think it could be an urban legend, it wouldn't surprise me somehow.

Mind you, Cruise did work on a Philip K. Dick project when Scott directed The Man in the High Castle...

OOC: I quite like Spielberg's film of Minority Report. People underestimate his ability to go dark when the story demands it.

OOC: Oh, I like the film. And you're dead right. No, it's just Tom Cruise I have a problem with...And even so, he was OK in it.

...but the idea of Ridley Scott doing it is an awesome one too...:(
 
His politics may be a bit loony, but Cruise is a fine actor. Plus, joining that Scientology cult would be kissing his career goodbye - after all, when was the last time you saw John Travolta or that check from the 70s show on anything GOOD?
 
His politics may be a bit loony, but Cruise is a fine actor. Plus, joining that Scientology cult would be kissing his career goodbye - after all, when was the last time you saw John Travolta or that check from the 70s show on anything GOOD?

Are you referring to the John Travolta that portrayed Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back Kotter?

Did he also appear in some disco dance movie? I can't remember the name.
 
I heard that he was approached about doing Minority Report, but he refused because of his religious beliefs - apparently the idea of prophecy didn't sit well with him.

I'm glad - Viggo Mortensen nailed that role.

That really was the role that launched his career. Who knows of Cruise would have been nominated for Best Actor.

Though to be fair, Scott deserves as much credit, and that Best Director win.
 
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