Tom Cruise Blackmails Comedy Central Over Scientology South Park

The Post Chronicle ^ | 03/17/2006 | Tashi Singh

[Panerai]

Tom Cruise reportedly got Comedy Central to cancel Wednesday night's cablecast of the controversial "South Park" episode about Scientology by warning that he'd refuse to promote "Mission Impossible 3," reports today's Page Six.

Paramount, the film company who holds Cruise's contract, is counting on "MI3" to bring in blockbuster profits this summer, and Paramount is owned by parent company Viacom, which so happens to also own Comedy Central.

The "South Park" episode entitled, "Trapped in the Closet," takes jabs at Scientology and shows Cruise, John Travolta and R. Kelly (who is not a Scientologist, but has a song called "Trapped in the Closet") literally in a closet.

The episode, which first aired last November, was suppose to rerun on Wednesday night, but was mysteriously yanked at the last minute.

Hollywoodinterrupted.com reports that Cruise went straight to the top - to the execs at Viacom - and warned he'd boycott the promotion for "MI3" unless the "South Park" episode was pulled, reports Page Six.

Richard Johnson has the details: 'Series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been told not to discuss the matter - to avoid embarrassing Cruise as they did Isaac Hayes last week when Hayes, also a Scientologist, quit his role as the voice of the Chef character.

Hayes claimed he couldn't stand by while "South Park" made fun of religion, but Stone pointed out that Hayes had cashed plenty of checks while the show made fun of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Stone hinted that Hayes was pressed to quit by his minders in the Church of Scientology.

[hattend]

Micheal Clarke Duncan's voice could replace Isaac Hayes' voice almost without notice.

[Central Scrutiniser]

Boycott Cruise and his crappy assed films.

Viacom will ignore him on his way to obscurity and has-been land.

[Borges]

EWS was widely misunderstood and mismarketed in 1999 and its reputation will only go up in years to come as happened with Barry Lyndon and The Shining which were also considered disappointments upon release. Ditto 'War of the Worlds' which people were expecitng to be another Independence day.

[feedback doctor]

Mocking religion is the primary civic duty of every rational human.

It is especially the duty of every Christian.

[feedback doctor]

s it unChristian of me to pray Tom Cruise gets hit by a bus in the near future.

What have you got against buses?

[MotleyGirl70]

ScienTOMogy

Dane Cook Spoofs Tom Cruise-Funny Video(SFW)

[feedback doctor]

Actually I fully expect Matt & Trey to Kill Chef off.

Actually what they need to do is have him undergo an operation where he loses his voice. If there is no new Chef voice then he will always be linked with Hayes. Of course then Stone and Parker would probably have Chef develop a strange habit of having sex with animals.

[EveningStar]

South Park Creators Respond To Episode-Disappearing Scientologists

[sully777]

Tom Cruise fired his high-powered agent/agency. He is going in a tail-spin because he isn't being shielded from the media anymore. Give it three years and he's pushing Dianetics, or a B-list reality TV show, or hosting World's Funniest Advertisements with "what's her face" from that movie in the 1980s that was steamy.

In fifteen years he'll be hawking Time-Life's All-Time Best Movies Series on DVDs

[sully777]

"Now, why clutter your mind with trivial matters?" This guy will be perfect.

[mnehring]

Actually what they need to do is have him undergo an operation where he loses his voice

That would be hilarious.. every time Chef appears, have subtitles of what he says..


Hi Children, it's Salisbury Steak day..

[Clemenza]

Mission Impossible I: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Kellykoop]

You know, I've never cared for Tom Cruise, have never understood the big to do about him, never caught the appeal. This just confirms my dislike of him. What a freaking baby! I mean, Russell Crowe, who is known for his tantrums, didn't have a problem with Matt and Trey lampooning him. Cruise is in serious need of a sense of humor.

[Oztrich Boy]

Far and Away (or something like that) was the only good flick ever made by Cruise ... and the only good flick made by Kidman.

Not many movies can put the entire cast on the poster

And any excuse for a girl with a gun pic

[SevenofNine]

I going miss Issac Hayes I blame his Scientlogist masters for him leaving

I think it was not by CHOICE

[solitas]

(quoted from http://www.earlygirl.com/gbceight.shtml in a conversation about holmes and cruise):

Sarah: That she is in the arms of Cruise at all makes no sense. He's twice her age, half her height, gay, and in a cult.

[the invisib1e hand]

Scientology has, from the first, threatened its detractors. There is a long list of people who are simply afraid (for their lives, apparently) to talk about it.

Read Corydon's book (Madman or Messiah) for a background on that practice, and for a background on Scientology from the inside.

Consider the general rise of barbarism in business practices since that time and you can interpolate the trajectory that Scientology's mob enforcement tactics have taken since, especially under the management of one David Miscavige, a particularly ruthless and power hungry young turk.

Scientology thrives on publicity -- it views publicity as essential and has highly developed means for obtaining it and controlling it for the advantage of the organization -- hence the focus on high-profile (famous) adherents. The more controversy Cruise generates, the more "energy" the organization gets.

[SevenofNine]

That in ole Hollywood days when movie moguls were powerful aka Harry Cohn Jack Warner and LB Mayer

Do you think Little Tommy would pull stunt with Harry Cohn or Jack Warner I doubt it they were bad***

[DoughtyOne]

Frankly I wish someone would stand up to the little perv today.

[Mikey]

If Tom Cruise wants to follow the false teachings of Scientology, then that's his business, but what a hypocrite. When the media pokes fun at those who are the remnant of YHWH, Tom Cruise and others in Hollyweird are silent.

I personally do not watch south park. A friend convinced me to watch one program. "Give it a try you'll like it. It's really funny" I watched one episode where the cartoon characters were shoving food up their a*ses and crapping outta their mouths. I believe that program is disgusting. I find it sickening and in extremely poor taste.