Everyone knew that Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg had something of a falling out, precipitated, we believed, by Spielberg's belief that Tom's couch-jumping, Scientology-flacking wackiness during the publicity campaign for War of the Worlds cost that film at the box-office. It turns out that there was more to it though. In the middle of a long article detailing the drama attending the merger of Dreamworks and Paramount, Vanity Fair writer Bryan Burrough refers to some bad shit that went down between Spielberg and Cruise, involving some of Cruise's more out-there personal beliefs. Burrough relates:
Spielberg felt [Cruise's] antics had hurt his own movie, 2005's War of the Worlds. Far worse, though, had been an episode when Spielberg told Cruise the name of a doctor who had prescribed medication to a relative and the doctor's office was subsequently picketed by Scientologists.
Presumably, the doctor referred to in the piece was a psychiatrist (this hasn't been substantiated apparently), and the picket was part of Scientology's efforts to highlight the evils of modern psychiatric drugs. It wasn't long after this incident that Cruise saw his development deal with Paramount expire, forcing him to seek out another umbrella under which to produce his films. Upon ending the 14-year business relationship with Cruise, Viacom (they own Paramount) President Sumner Redstone said:
As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.
I think Sumner was being kind when he said "as much as we like him personally." Cause I don't think he, or Steven Spielberg, or a lot of other people in the movie business like Tom much at all. Especially not when he goes around using information related in confidence, like when Spielberg spoke to him for whatever reason about the doctor, to help Scientology in spreading its twisted gospel of thetans, E-meters and niacin treatments.
It says something about Cruise, I think, that he would choose to go about his business in this way. First of all it says that he's a slimy bastard for whom friendship really isn't all that important. And second of all, it says that he places his idiot religion above his career - which is self-defeating, because without his career as a movie star affording him a platform from which to speak, he is of no particular value to Scientology. This guy is probably so deluded, though, that he thinks he was allowed into the inner-sanctum of Scientology just based on how brilliant he is or because people in the church really dig him. He's in denial about the fact that he bought his way into it, and people are only nice to him because he's rich and famous.
I'll never forget the story I heard once about Tom: It was the day he was to get his star on the Walk-of-Fame. He was waiting in his limo a short distance from the ceremony, overcome with nervousness at the fear that no one would show up. He sent the driver over to see what kind of crowd there was, and when the driver came back Tom said, "Is anyone there?" To which the driver replied, "Only thousands of screaming women." At which point Tom's face lit up, and he exited the limo and went to meet the adoring throngs. Sick, insecure little putz - he needs so badly to be loved and admired, but will still stab his friends in the back at the chance to advance his little nutty personal agenda. That guy is one confused, twisted little fucker.
(source)
