Those of you who have had a chance to watch CNN International realize that it
bears no resemblance whatsoever to its shallow American sibling (thank
God). Well, it appears that the members of the European MSM also have a
slightly, shall we say, different approach to celebrity journalism. Consider, if
you will, the
following interview in DER SPIEGEL, in which the interviewer takes Tom
Cruise 2.0 to task for his adherence to rather odd religious beliefs and his
insistence on proselytising. I wonder what was going through Steven
Spielberg’s mind? Perhaps something like this: "Oh for the love of Christ,
there he goes again. Fuck. Hail Mary time, I guess....better play the Holocaust
card. That should shut this arrogant Kraut up..:
SPIEGEL: We
visited one of your locations near Los Angeles and were amazed to find a fully
staffed tent of the Scientology organization right next to the food tents for
the journalists and extras.
Cruise: What were you amazed
about?
SPIEGEL: Why do you go so extremely public about your personal
convictions?
Cruise: I believe in freedom of speech. I felt honored to
have volunteer Scientology ministers on the set. They were helping the crew.
When I’m working on a movie, I do anything I can to help the people I’m spending
time with. I believe in communication.
SPIEGEL: The tent of a sect at
someone’s working place still seems somewhat strange to us. Mr. Spielberg, did
that tent strike you as unusual?
Spielberg: I saw it as an information
tent. No one was compelled to frequent it, but it was available for anybody who
had an open mind and was curious about someone else’s belief
system.
Cruise:The volunteer Scientology ministers were there to help the
sick and injured. People on the set appreciated that. I have absolutely nothing
against talking about my beliefs. But I do so much more. We live in a world
where people are on drugs forever. Where even children get drugged. Where crimes
against humanity are so extreme that most people turn away in horror and dismay.
Those are the things that I care about. I don’t care what someone believes. I
don’t care what nationality they are. But if someone wants to get off drugs, I
can help them. If someone wants to learn how to read, I can help them. If
someone doesn’t want to be a criminal anymore, I can give them tools that can
better their life. You have no idea how many people want to know what
Scientology is.
SPIEGEL: Do you see it as your job to recruit new
followers for Scientology?
Cruise: I’m a helper. For instance, I myself
have helped hundreds of people get off drugs. In Scientology, we have the only
successful drug rehabilitation program in the world. It’s called
Narconon.
SPIEGEL: That’s not correct. Yours is never mentioned among the
recognized detox programs. Independent experts warn against it because it is
rooted in pseudo science.
Cruise: You don’t understand what I am saying.
It’s a statistically proven fact that there is only one successful drug
rehabilitation program in the world. Period.
SPIEGEL: With all due
respect, we doubt that. Mr. Cruise, you made studio executives, for example from
Paramount, tour Scientology’s "Celebrity Center" in Hollywood. Are you trying to
extend Scientology’s influence in Hollywood?
Cruise: I just want to help
people. I want everyone to do well.
Spielberg: I often get asked similar
questions about my Shoa Foundation. I get asked why I am trying to disseminate
my deep belief in creating more tolerance through my foundation’s teaching the
history of the Holocaust in public schools. I believe that you shouldn’t be
allowed to attend college without having taken a course in tolerance education.
That should be an important part of the social studies
curriculum.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Spielberg, are you comparing the educational
work of the Shoa Foundation with what Scientology does?
Spielberg: No,
I’m not. Tom told you what he believes in, and after that I told you what I
believe in. This is not a comparison between the Church of Scientology, the Shoa
Foundation and the Holocaust. I was only showing you that some of us in
Hollywood have set out to do more than just be actors or directors. Some of us
have very personal missions. In Tom’s case, it’s his church, and in my case,
it’s the Shoa Foundation, where I’m trying to help other people learn about the
mortal dangers of pure hatred.
SPIEGEL: How do you set about doing
that?
Spielberg: I think that the only way we’re going to teach young
people not to kill each other is by showing them the reports by the survivors of
the Holocaust -- so that they can tell them in their own words man’s inhumanity
to man. How they were hated. How they were displaced from their homes. How their
families were wiped out and how by some miracle they themselves survived all
that.
Cruise: How did the Holocaust start? People are not born to be
intolerant of others. People are not born bigots and racists. It is educated
into them.
Spiegel: Mr. Cruise, as you know, Scientology has been under
federal surveillance in Germany. Scientology is not considered a religion there,
but rather an exploitative cult with totalitarian tendencies.
Cruise:
The surveillance is nothing like as strict anymore. Any you know why? Because
the intelligence authorities never found anything. Because there was nothing to
find. We’ve won over 50 court cases in Germany. And it’s not true that everyone
in Germany supports that line against us. Whenever I go to Germany, I have
incredible experiences. I always meet very generous and extraordinary people. A
minority wants to hate -- okay.
SPIEGEL: There is a difference between
hate and having a critical perspective.
Cruise: For me, it’s connected
with intolerance.
SPIEGEL: In the past, for example when "Mission:
Impossible" (1996) came out, German politicians called for a boycott of your
movies. Are you worried that your support for Scientology could hurt your
career?
Cruise: Not at all. I’ve always been very outspoken. I’ve been a
Scientologist for 20 years. If someone is so intolerant that he doesn’t want to
see a Scientologist in a movie, then he shouldn’t go to the movie theater. I
don’t care. Here in the United States, Scientology is a religion. If some of the
politicians in your country don’t agree with that, I couldn’t care
less.
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The flip side of celebrity journalism