HAPPIER TIMES Cruise and Grey
Posted on 09/15/2006 1:31:32 PM PDT by COUNTrecount
When Viacom kingpin Sumner Redstone cited Tom Cruise's personal conduct as the reason for killing his production deal with Paramount, the 83-year-old mogul's candor rocked Hollywood. But Radar has learned Redstone may have let Cruise off easy, particularly in light of allegations the actor dispatched goons from the Church of Scientology to intimidate Redstone's studio chieftan, Brad Grey. According to a high-ranking media executive, Paramount Pictures honcho Grey had a highly unpleasant run-in with the Church during his tense negotiations with Cruise over Mission: Impossible 3. Grey, who had recently joined the studio, entered the talks determined to make Cruise accept a smaller share of the gross revenues than he had from the first two installments in the franchise. (For those films, the actor reportedly took home an unheard-of 30 percent of the total revenue.) Leaving the office one night, the diminutive Grey, walking to his car in the Paramount lot, suddenly found himself surrounded by more than a dozen Scientologists, who pressured him to ease up on the actor, according to the source.
Following a terse exchange, the visitors allowed Grey to get into his car and leave, but the message was clear. Though he was unnerved by the incident, sources say, Grey stood his ground. After protracted negotiations, Cruise eventually agreed to a less generous deal.
Neither Grey nor Paramount responded to repeated queries, but a spokeswoman from the Church of Scientology disputes the report, saying, "The Church has nothing to do with anybody's business affairs." But to many Hollywood veterens, the incident is reminiscent of another recent backlot battle:
In the late nineties, John Travolta furiously lobbied reluctant former Fox studio chief Bill Mechanic to produce Battlefield Earth, the science-fiction stinker based on a story by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. "He had Scientologists all over me," Mechanic told Radar last year. "They come up to you and they know who you are." Despite the religion's reputation for intimidating its enemies, Mechanic, like Grey, was unswayed: "Do you think in any way, shape, or form that weirding me out is going to make me want to make this movie?" he said.
HAPPIER TIMES Cruise and Grey
screw scientology. No offense, Lana. I hope you leave it soon.
Who is Lana?
There should always be a negative response to such thuggery and especially if you're toting a piece in your pocket. There is no damned excuse for this kind of behavior.
Scientology is known for feeding the addictions of folks, then blackmailing them.
Cruz is gay, and so is Travolta. Big deal.
Scientology is blackmailing them.
It is a cult of moneymaking.
personal friend. It was sort of an open post.
“Thank you for the dinner and a very pleasant evening. If your car could take me to the airport: Mr. Hubbard is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately.”
It's just another religion of peace...
Funny part is, they'd be picking up Hollywood deals left and right if they came out of the closet.
Okay, sorry. I was thinking maybe that cute Asian girl from Smallville was a member of the cult or something. :)
Sounds like the Church of Scientology is ripe for a RICO Act investigation.
But let's remember,
this is Hollywood. It's not
just Tom Cruise wackos
who think acting weird
can help a person get work.
Remember Sean Young?
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"Young then subsequently set her sights on the role of Catwoman for the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, and in a now fabled incident, Young arrived at the Warner Brothers studio in a homemade Catwoman costume to confront the makers of the movie (namely director Tim Burton and actor Michael Keaton). [Legend has it Tim Burton hid in a closet until Security told him they'd gotten Young off the lot!] She used other people scouting the studio grounds, using walkie-talkies to communicate, to track down the producers. After pregnancy forced Burton's original choice Annette Bening to bow out, Michelle Pfeiffer was hired. Young then appeared in her Catwoman costume to denounce Burton on The Joan Rivers Show."
Don't know about that, but trust me, Lana is a lovely emmigrant from the former Soviet Union.
Do you really think
the studios want to start
playing with those chips?!
I stopped on it earlier this week, and couldn't believe how much they're pushing the limits of tv.
I don't know what's weirder--Young showing up in the costume, or Burton feeling the need to hide from her in a closet.
Don't blame Tom; blame that fruity little club that scrambled his brains.
Tom? Come out of the closet, Tom...
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