Church Calls 'After Earth's' Scientology Links 'Silly Nonsense'
Disputes Founder L. Ron Hubbard's Racist Leanings
The Church of Scientology International has branded as “silly nonsense” claims that Will Smith’s movie, “After Earth,” is a thinly guised promotion of the church’s philosophy. The story line, it said, contains themes “common to many of the world’s philosophies.”
Karin Pouw, the church’s director of public affairs, made the claim in a statement released to TheImproper.
“The film and its story line contain themes common to many of the world’s philosophies, not unique to Scientology,” she wrote in the statement.
Pouw was reacting toTheImproper’s story, as well as others, noting that the movie’s themes, reflected in dialog, were clearly aligned with many of the church’s precepts.
She blamed a “handful of self-promoters” for creating “the myth” that “After Earth” is about Scientology.
Pouw didn’t dispute the similarities, but she countered: “‘After Earth” has as much to do with Scientology as ‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Moby Dick,’ ‘King Arthur,’ Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ or countless other stories.”
All, she said, are stories about “protagonists overcoming fears and opponents.”
“Scientology is not alone in addressing unwanted emotions such as fear, and this topic is hardly unique to any one religion when you consider overcoming fear has been a universal theme in stories for thousands of years as well central to countless film plots,” she explained.
“Using this same logic would seemingly make “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” a ‘Scientology-themed movie.’” The picture, for example, includes the dialogue, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” she noted.
Will Smith’s Scientology Ties Odd Given Founder’s Overt Racism
She also call TheImproper’s report that church founder L. Ron Hubbard was overtly racist “gratuitous” with “no basis in fact.”
“His record in support of equality of all races and human rights is unblemished,” she said.
But Hubbard’s views on race, as cited by TheImproper, come directly from his own writings. So, there’s no much room for misinterpretation there.
Smith’s science-fiction movie, which also stars son Jaden Smith, has been widely panned by critics and less than half the people who saw it say they would recommend the film to a friend, according to website rottentomatoes, which tracks movie reviews.
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The Top Gun and the Wolverine! Tom Cruise and Hugh Jackman shake hands at Wal-Mart event
By MIKE LARKIN
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They are two of the silver screen's top action stars.
And the testosterone levels were on overdrive when Tom Cruise shared the stage with Hugh Jackman at a Wal-Mart event in Arkansas this weekend.
The pair were drumming up support for the company's Fighting Hunger initiative, which aims to combat the problem in the US, during its AGM.
Holding hands: Hugh Jackman and Tom Cruise loved hamming it up at a Wal-Mart event in Arkasnas on Friday
But while the pair were ostensibly on a charity mission, there was also an element of macho grandstanding to their antics.
Showing his love of the business, Tom told the audience : 'Women make a difference to this company.'
And on the topic of hunger, he added: 'A great many people in America — and this is very hard to believe – they have little food to eat.'
But the Top Gun favourite will surely have been furious after being dwarfed by the 6'2 Australian, who was hosting the high profile event.
Saying hello to his little friend: Hugh walked over to an excited looking Tom as they hammed it up
Making waves: But Tom will have been furious at being overshadowed by 6'2 Hugh at the event
In fact he will have been ruing the decision not to wear his trademark extra chunky elevator shoes during their appearance, as standing next to the 44-year-old Wolverine star threw further doubt on his officially listed height of 5'7.
Tom has enjoyed playing mind games in the past about his stature, in 1988 claiming: 'I have always been pretty much the same weight, 147 pounds - at 5 feet 9 inches.'
However the Mission Impossible star's lack of height was mercilessly exposed by ex-wife Nicole Kidman, who after they split in 2001 said: ''Now I can wear heels again.'
Tom and Hugh were not the only big names featuring at the event, as singer John Legend turned out to entertain the crowd.
No wonder he is smiling: The Hollywood star will have picked up a hefty appearance fee for his spot
Fans of Wal-Mart would have been thrilled at the amount of information released at the AGM, with a $15 billion share buyback program announced.
There was also a serious turn to the events when shareholders in the audience stood to make proposals related to safety in Bangladeshi factories, Wal-Mart's Mexican bribery scandal and executive paychecks.
In particular, the company is facing pressure to increase its oversight of factory conditions abroad after a building collapse in April that killed more than 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh .
The discounter, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is also under scrutiny for how it treats its workers.
Mission Impossible? Tom talked about the company's drive to make hunger a thing of the past in the United States
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Isabella Cruise Cuts Hair Short: Tom Cruise & Scientology Angered by Independence? (PHOTO)
After years of changing hairstyles, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s daughterIsabella Cruise debuts her most daring haircut yet. She has chopped off all her hair for an inspired pixie cut, reminiscent of Miley Cyrus or Emma Watson’s short hair.
Lately, it seems more and more like Isabella’s starting to come out of her shell, after years of not seeing her in public or hearing about what she’s been up to. Of course, a very large part of that had to do with Isabella’s connection to Scientology, but Isabella’s slowly started to cut off all ties to that ‘religion’.
Several recent reports state that when Isabella’s musician boyfriend Eddie Frencher stepped away from that cult, Isabella made the decision to follow him, despite it being clear that her father’s allegiance was still with Scientology. The reports also state that Isabella’s started to become close to her mother, Nicole Kidman, after spending less time with Tom as a result.
Of course, Tom’s probably not been reacting to this news all that well. First, Isabella chooses freedom and Nicole over him right after he loses Katie [Holmes] and Suri, and now she’s cutting off her hair and opening up to the public. Tommy’s not going to like the fact that so many members of his family are slowly leaving his grip of control, and exercising their free will. And to be fair, it’s not so much Tom’s control than it was that crazy cult’s control.
You have to admire Isabella for finally breaking free, and living life the way she wants to live it. She has a new haircut, and hopefully she’ll be able to live a new life away from any lingering influences of Scientology and its members.
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