Tom Cruise - is he nuts?

[bambooneedle]

Noticed this thread at Backstreets.com's forum and wondered what the fuss was about. Ever since seeing some of his early movies, have pretty much thought Tom Cruise was cool enough to wear his natural sense of dickheadness with a sense of humor in his movies and otherwise, but it seems some people are freaking out... http://www.backstreets.com/btx/viewtopi ... 3e7a6f2e0c

A bit of background on Cruise from the imdb site: In 1976, if you had told 14 year old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to become a priest. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born in 1962 in Syracuse, New York, was destined to become Tom Cruise, one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. The only son (among four children) of nomadic parents young Tom spent his boyhood eternally on the move and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the US and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, he developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends. He made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love (1981) and from the outset exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Noticed this thread at Backstreets.com's forum and wondered what the fuss was about. Ever since seeing some of his early movies, have pretty much thought Tom Cruise was cool enough to wear his natural sense of dickheadness with a sense of humor in his movies and otherwise, but it seems some people are freaking out... http://www.backstreets.com/btx/viewtopi ... 3e7a6f2e0c

A bit of background on Cruise from the imdb site: In 1976, if you had told 14 year old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to become a priest. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born in 1962 in Syracuse, New York, was destined to become Tom Cruise, one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. The only son (among four children) of nomadic parents young Tom spent his boyhood eternally on the move and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the US and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, he developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends. He made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love (1981) and from the outset exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences.

He's a Scientologist. That's all you need to know.

[DrSpooky]

I think his head is so large it is about to explode. According to CNN he got into a tiff with Matt Lauer claiming he was an expert in chemical imbalances and Ritalin.

"Matt, Matt, you don't even -- you're glib," Cruise responded. "You don't even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK. That's what I've done."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/2 ... index.html

Hopefully one day he will find his natural talent and use it.

[cosmos]

Yes, he's gone bonkers.

[mood swung]

nuts doesn't begin to cover it. The PPD crap was so mean-spirited.

Hopefully, this is the final nail in the lead lined box that was his career.

[bambooneedle]

Here's the print story from MSNBC that some poster posted there (backstreets.com):


In tense moment, Cruise calls Lauer ‘glib’
'War of the Worlds' star assaults psychiatry, says he's ‘really happy’
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 2:56 p.m. ET June 24, 2005NEW YORK - Tom Cruise was all smiles talking about his movie and his fiancee on NBC’s “Today” show, but the smile disappeared when Matt Lauer mentioned Cruise’s earlier criticism of Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants.

Cruise got very serious and kept saying “Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt” every time Lauer said he knew people who were helped by anti-depressants.

Shields took them for her post-partum depression. As a Scientologist, Cruise doesn’t believe in those kinds of drugs or therapy of any kind.

At one point Cruise told Lauer, “You’re glib” and said Lauer didn’t know what he was talking about. The star launched into a detailed discussion of the use of the prescription drug Ritalin.

“It's very impressive to listen to you,” Lauer replied, “because clearly, you've done the homework. And you know the subject.”

“And you should,” Cruise retorted. He also told Lauer, “You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do.”

The NBC anchor told Cruise he had known people who had been helped by psychiatric drugs. Cruise then accused Lauer of advocating the use of Ritalin.

Lauer asked Cruise how he could get more people to understand Scientology, the controversial religion practiced by Cruise and other celebrities like John Travolta.

“You just communicate about it," Cruise said. “If I want to know something, I go and find out. Because I don't talk about things that I don't understand.”

‘A great time in my life’
The actor was far more upbeat when it came to discussing his recent marriage proposal to “Batman Begins” actress Katie Holmes. He said he couldn't care less about some cynics' suggestions that his over displays of affection are just for show.

“You know what? There’s always cynics. There always has been. There always will be,” said Cruise, who hasn’t been shy about professing his love for Holmes. “I have never worried ... about what other people think and what other people say.”

Cruise and Holmes went public with their romance in April, smooching and posing for photographers in Rome. They recently became engaged.

Many have doubted the romance — the words “publicity stunt” have rained down on the couple like an alien invasion as Cruise has been busy promoting his new film, “War of the Worlds,” directed by Steven Spielberg, which opens on June 29.

“I have to tell you. It’s just a great time in my life,” Cruise told NBC. “I’m really happy. And, you know, I’m engaged. I’m going to be married. I can't restrain myself.”

The 42-year-old actor, whose marriages to Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman ended in divorce, declined to say what the 26-year-old Holmes has brought to his life that wasn’t there in the past.

“I don’t want to compare things,” Cruise said. “It’s that thing where you just — in life when it just happens. ... You meet someone. And it’s — I can’t even describe it

[selfmademug]

Oh he's so massively icky it's becoming fun.

Dunno if you've ever seen FAMETRACKER, but their current version of Galaxy of Fame (always starring Harrison Ford as the Sun) is perfect:

http://fametracker.com/galaxy_of_fame/2005_06_17.shtml

[Mr. Average]

Besides being a Scientologist, he holds a Masters Degree in Crapology.

[selfmademug]

He's a Scientologist. That's all you need to know.

Actually, to be precise, he's an arrogant, self-hating closet-case Scientologist (sic). I've been following this story because I have always found him creepy and offensive, and his comments about Brooke Shields's depression put him way, way over the top in the asshole category. I was cheered to read that she commented that he should keep his misguided opinions to himself and "stick to protecting the world from alien invasions, " (or something v similar, I don't have the quote infront of me) which was a typically clever double dig at both his new movie and at his stoopid sci-fi-felating 'religion'.

I was also happy to read a report earlier today that Katie Holmes has been dropped from future Batman films (not like any of the female leads has ever done more than one in the franchise, mind you) because of the public's increasingly negative take on this obvious publicity stunt. With luck this will eliminate Crazy Prince Tom's prime tool for leveraging young willowy female publicity whores. Lord know he has no such tool in his pants.

[LittleFoole]

I really have never "gotten" the whole Tom Cruise thing.....imho, he's pretty average looking (makeup can make even ugly guys look half decent) - I see better looking guys every day. Not to mention, I don't think he's a particularly gifted actor - he's ok. I did love Vanilla sky, but not due to his presence. This whole scenario lately is pretty silly - the guy's 40-something, for cryin' out loud........he should keep his private life to himself, and stay out of other's lives (i.e., Brookie baby). He's a phony belligerant jerk who deserved to be squirted by the phomy reporters
There, ok...rant over...move along.

[El Vez]

I was having a conversation with someone about this last night who pointed out that, since Cruise fired his publicist and replaced her with his less than competent sister, his nutty scientology beliefs have become fair game. His former publicist represents half of Hollywood and she would threaten journalists with a complete boycott of her clients if they goaded Cruise about scientology. Now it looks like his career could end up on a freefall which, believe it or not, is a shame in some respects. He doesn't have 1/3 of, say, Peter O'Toole's talent or charisma but he's sure been a helluva lot smarter about his choices than those with far greater gifts and it takes something to stay at the level he has since Top Gun. He could have easily made one Cocktail after another but the man is nothing if not driven and ambitious beyond measure. Look at Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford, two other megastars who either started phoning it in or made too many expensive vanity projects in rapid succession and you can't help but admire how Cruise has consistently stuck with a killer formula of doing something like Magnolia followed by Mission Impossible 2 and splitting the art/commerce difference with Minority Report. Seems simple enough to do but so few are actually able to avoid making a three hour film of themselves in closeup walking through the desert or, like Ford, they never bother starting their own production company to develop interesting vehicles and just rely on what the studios send them which is seldom worth a damn.

But, yeah, denigrating Shields for taking medication for her post partum depression or acting like he has a PhD in medicine is kookier than the kookiest Richard Lester opus from the 60's.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Arsehole, but he has done great stuff like his part in the magnificent Magnolia, such a good film to be associated with. He was also good in Rain Man. Am looking forward to seeing WOTW.

[Emotional Toothpaste]

I agree with Cruise that the field of Psychiatry is pseudo-science. And I tend to agree with him that we are becoming an over-medicated society. Its a drug-company driven industry and a willing and selfish population of people who want to take a pill for their problems and make it all better for themselves instantly. He's got that much right. But I can't speak intelligently about "chemical imbalances" - and I doubt VERY much that Tom Cruise really can either. And I don't know shit about scientology.

Short answer: Yes, he is full of himself and a more than a little off his rocker, but I watched the Lauer interview and didn't disagree with anything he said.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Oh he's so massively icky it's becoming fun.

Dunno if you've ever seen FAMETRACKER, but their current version of Galaxy of Fame (always starring Harrison Ford as the Sun) is perfect:

http://fametracker.com/galaxy_of_fame/2005_06_17.shtml

Love that site, muggy, though I hadn't taken a peek in there in a long while. Cruise is half the solar system!

[Kissy Monster]

The Cruise-Lauer contest was quite fantastic, forcibly reminding me of Lincoln v. Douglas, Fischer v. Spassky, and Rosie O'Donald v. Tom Selleck. Selleck was a great debater no doubt, but Rosie was greater still. And I felt the same about Cruise demolishing the estimable Lauer, although the shot about him not knowing the history of psychiatry was below the belt.

Everyone on this board is so well informed about religion!

[whar]

I heard the audio of the Cruise-Lauer debate on Ron & Fez, and I didn't hear anything that would even hint at Cruise being egotistical or arrogant.

Sure, you can take his quotes out of context- but Lauer was talking as if he had done the research that Cruise really had done- and Cruise put him in his place.

Cruise is obviously very passionate about this, and he has done the research. I don't see anything wrong with it, I just see the media feeding on a star they've already sucked dry (Michael Jackson?).

[noiseradio]

A close family member is bipolar. His father was bipolar, but undiagnosed and committed suicide. Before the lithium, this close family member tried to kill himself and someone else (failed miserably, thank goodness). After the lithium, he's been completely level and have remained so for (so far) 25 years.

Tom Cruise doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. As for research, he has been quoting long-debunked urban legends about the history of psychiatry. The funniest thing is that Dianetics borrows VERY heavily from Freud. Cruise is brainwashed, or a dickhead, or both. F him.

[pophead2k]

Good actor, crappy doctor.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Sure, you can take his quotes out of context- but Lauer was talking as if he had done the research that Cruise really had done- and Cruise put him in his place.

Did you sit next to him in Dianetics class?

[whar]

Sure, you can take his quotes out of context- but Lauer was talking as if he had done the research that Cruise really had done- and Cruise put him in his place.

Did you sit next to him in Dianetics class?

I'd say yes... but I seem to have misplaced the images to prove it.

[noiseradio]

Cruise stated in an interview in Entertainment weekly that Jung was a Nazi. That's crap. Jung wrote and spoke publicly against the Nazis, so much so that the Nazis destroyed his writings in German. In fact, when France was occupied, they destroyed French translations of his writing as well. He was very critical of the rising fascist state, beginning in 1918. He spoke of it as a "rising blonde beast."

He also said that methodone was invented by the Nazis and originally called Adolphine. Actually, the research and testing that produced methodone was begun in 1880 (Hitler wasn't alive yet). It was first produced in Germany in 1939, but testing of it was not actually successful until 1947, when it was first called methodone. It was NOT available during WWII, and was not referred to as Adolphine or Dolophine (depends on which urban legend you're reading) ever. It was originally called Amidon. The name "Adolphine" was first coined in New York in the 1970's to discredit the use of methodone to treat psychiatric patients by a different school of psychiatry that was against drug therapy. The Scientologists picked up on that complete fabrication and have been spewing it ever since.

I'm not defending methodone, which is a dangerous controlled substance. But Cruise's information is propagandistic bullshit. He has not one clue about what he's talking about. And a tiny bit of digging proves that he's full of crap.

[bobster]

Cruise is simply a not-very-bright true believer who's been surrounded by too many even-less-bright yes-people for too long, It's an old story.

As an actor, he's fine in certain roles ("Risky Business" and "Jerry Maguire") and vaguely inadequate and mildly irritating in anything that requires even a hint of authority (especially "The Last Samurai").

I am sort of personally offended by the whole "Psychiatry Kills!" aspect of Scientology since these people are messing with stuff they don't even begin to understand....psychiatry is still a very new science and highly imperfect, but I think Prozac, etc., for all their imperfections are kind of what pennicillin was to modern medicine...the first thing that actually works a good chunk of the time (which is not to say we should be prescribing it willy nilly, and more than we should be prescribing antibiotics more than absolutely neccessary). And it's important to recognize that depression is a real disease and very frequently deadly one. I'm betting that probably everyone on this board knows, or will know, someone who committed suicide because of it and Prozac, Zoloft, etc. have helped maybe millions by now. Not as knowledgeable about lithium, ritalin, etc., but I'm sure they have good uses in the right circumstances.

However, this is another manifestation of the sort of way religions deal with competing religions or ways of thinking. Scientology capitalizes on personal unhappiness and promotes itself as a cure for all mental/emotional woes. So, just like other most other Western religions in their rawest form, Scientology demonizes the competition.

[bambooneedle]

I think he's sincere but that he thinks his 'honesty' means he has to look like an asshole and a dick sometimes, so he doesn't mind. He's delusional. Who isn't somewhat, btw? I kind of admire his persistence. An excerpt of him on Larry King (November 28, 2003) about drugs, psychiatry and Scientology. And, ...The Last Samurai, of course... (:lol:) :

"KING: Tom Cruise is our guest. He's star and co-producer of "The Last Samurai," a terrific movie. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(CLIP FROM "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "THE LAST SAMURAI")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir? The imperial army of Japan demands your surrender. If you and your fellows lay down your arms, you will not be harmed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not possible, as Mr. Omland (ph) knows.

CRUISE: Captain Omland, we will show you no quarter. You ride against us, and you're the same as they are. I'll look for you on the field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with Tom Cruise at the Warner Brothers Museum in advance of the opening of "The Last Samurai," which could get him his fourth Oscar nomination. He's terrific in it, and it's a heck of a movie. And you can trust me when I tell you this. And if you didn't like it, there's something wrong with you.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: I don't know, what else can I say?

I learned something about you I never knew, that you were dyslexic and are dyslexic.

CRUISE: No, I'm not.

KING: What are you?

CRUISE: I'm not dyslexic.

KING: What -- do you have a problem with reading or writing?

CRUISE: No. No, I don't.

KING: And where did that come from?

CRUISE: Well, I was labeled with it when I was 7 years old and kind of lived with it my whole life. And you know, when I became a Scientologist in '86, '87, later on discovered also L. Ron Hubbard developed study technology that actually -- to help me realize that that -- you know, that the false labels that are out there...

KING: You were never dyslexic?

CRUISE: No. No, I wasn't.

KING: Why did they label you?

CRUISE: Because that's what they do.

KING: Were you having trouble reading?

CRUISE: That's what they do. No. And later on -- I mean, now we have, you know, this technology that he developed that actually helps people to learn how to learn and discover that -- you know, these -- I've actually helped people that have been diagnosed with ADD, ADHD. And it's extraordinary, what happens with this technology. We have centers all over the world now that help people get this technology, and it's also in various schools and educated millions and millions and millions of people in it.

KING: I interviewed him once.

CRUISE: I know! You told me that.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: ... science fiction writer...

(CROSSTALK)

CRUISE: Oh, my God!

KING: What drew you to Scientology?

CRUISE: Well...

KING: Did you grow up in a faith?

CRUISE: Different faiths. Different faiths. And what drew me to it -- it was so practical and it just made sense to me, and things that I wanted to figure out in my life. And I always -- what I discovered were the tools that helped me. You know, Scientology, the word means knowing how to know. And there are tools that I use every day as an artist, as a businessman -- you know, you look at it just this way. I was diagnosed being dyslexic. I came in, learned these tools, and now I -- you know, I mean, my literacy is -- it is where it is, and it'll go where I want it to go with these tools. It just kind of melts barriers, breaks them down. It helps you to recognize and understand the barriers and then overcome them. And it's just...

KING: So you use it in every facet of your life.

CRUISE: Yes because it is -- there's areas -- you know, you look at what we do with education, with, you know, helping people, getting them these tools -- if they're Christian, you know, they can read their Bible. If they're -- you know, it doesn't matter, whatever faith, atheists (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KING: Why is it so controversial?

CRUISE: It's not that controversial.

KING: I mean, the FBI looks at it...

CRUISE: No, it doesn't.

KING: ... investigate it. Remember that...

CRUISE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

KING: They wanted to raid their books. They tried to get...

CRUISE: Oh, that was -- you're talking decades...

KING: Yes, I know.

CRUISE: ... decades ago.

KING: I mean, they tried to get them not get -- get a religious deduction.

CRUISE: Well, that's all gone now.

KING: I know.

CRUISE: I mean, it -- definitely, now it does have its...

KING: Oh, I know.

CRUISE: ... religious...

(CROSSTALK)

KING: But it went through that...

CRUISE: ... recognized as a religion. Well, it's new. It was a new religion. It's also -- there's things that we do -- you know, you have to look at -- you look at the services and the things that we help. Narcanon is something that LRH developed that helps people get off drugs. And once you're off the drugs, you don't ever need those drugs again. And it's the largest drug rehabilitation center in the world. You look at Crimanon that he developed and found, which actually helps to rehabilitate criminals and used in you know -- in some of the toughest prisons in South Africa, and those prisoners have never gone back to the prisons. You look at his -- the moral -- secular moral code that he wrote, called "The Way to Happiness," that's used by, you know, communities in the world all over.

These things -- you know, any time -- where there's ignorance about something or people don't want to know about something, you know, it really gets back to gossip or, you know, just people don't know something, there you have racism. There you have bigotry. And that's where those things stem from. But when people come in and see what it is, people thank me for the things that I contribute to it and what we do. You look at our volunteer ministers and how they helped at the World Trade Center and...

KING: Is it faith?

CRUISE: Is it a faith? It's an applied religious philosophy, is what it is. It's a religion, but it's something that you apply to yourself, you apply to life. There is -- I mean, it's such a wide range, from business technology to help someone run their business better, tools that you use in your life that help improve conditions. We improve conditions. And those are the things that we do. We educate people on -- about the realities of drugs. And it's -- it's an individual's choice, you know, on things -- on how you want you to live your life. What do you want from your life?

KING: Do you proselytize? Do you try to get others to come into the movement or into the...

CRUISE: Well, you know, I talk to people about it. I mean, if you know -- if you know how to -- I've actually personally educated people and helped them with the study technology, to help get them off, you know, these vicious drugs that psychiatrists so -- you know, that they proselytize, you know, that they sell to people.

KING: Yes, it's anti-psychiatric, right?

CRUISE: Oh, most definitely.

KING: Yes. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

CRUISE: No, I mean, psychiatry doesn't work. You look at the things that psychiatry's brought to society. We now are living in a time where we spend over $700 billion a year on education, psych- driven, and where are we? We have still a decline in illiteracy. We know that electroconvulsive shock therapy, you know, drugging people, OK, with these vicious drugs -- when Prozac came out, it had the -- you know, the biggest -- I mean, in the first few months or a year, it had 14,000 complaints on that drug, yet it's still out there. You look at Paxil, OK, that's now banned in the United Kingdom for under 18 because of the vicious side effects of those drugs.

So here we talk about things that we know -- OK, if someone can't read, we know that we can give them these tools and help them to read. And it doesn't matter what religion you are, these things work. If you're on drugs, we can help get you off drugs. If you're a criminal, we can give you -- there's technology that he developed to help you not be a criminal.

KING: Tom Cruise. Passion, as well. "The Last Samurai" opens a week from tonight. We'll be right back. "


For those interested here's the full transcript: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... kl.00.html

[selfmademug]

He's a delusional idiot.

[SoLikeCandy]

A short, delusional idiot.