The new issue of Woman’s Day features a conservative-looking Nicole Kidman on the cover with the headline “I Lost My Kids To Scientology.” Inside the issue, the introductory teaser on the Woman’s Day website says that she talks about how upset she is to not see her children while they are indoctrinated into the cult. It doesn’t seem like she dishes much dirt on Scientology other than saying that her kids would rather spend time with their Scientology teachers in the states rather than visit her.

When I first read this story, I thought they had a new interview with her, but all they’re doing is rehashing her Vanity Fair interview and spinning to to make it seem like she’s dissing Scientology. They take a quote out of context from the VF interview and magnify it, making it the focus of the story.

They also claim she’s “threatening to reveal the darkest secrets of her marriage to ex-husband Tom Cruise,” but they seem to be referring to a cryptic comment she made in her Vanity Fair interview, in which she talked candidly about a miscarriage early in her relationship with Cruise and said that she might tell the whole story one day:

“From the minute Tom and I were married, I wanted to have babies. And we lost a baby early on, so that was really very traumatic. And that’s when it came that we would adopt Bella. There’s a complicated background to that, given that I never speak much about many things. One day maybe that story will be told.’

[From Vanity Fair, October, 2007 via I’m Not Obsessed]

In her Vanity Fair interview it seems the only thing she really criticizes Scientology for is the way it involves her kids so much that they don’t want to see her. She even says she’s doesn’t want to talk about it much. Women’s Day is making it out to be more than it is, and is misleading people into thinking that they have unique new quotes from Kidman that speak out against the cult when that’s not true at all:

Nicole Kidman has finally spoken of her anguish over her estrangement from her two Scientology-raised children and her feelings of failure as a mother. She is also threatening to reveal the darkest secrets of her marriage to ex-husband Tom Cruise.

With her adopted kids Isabella, 14, and Connor, 12, preferring to stay in the US with their Scientology minders rather than visit their own mother in Australia, Nicole has alluded to her antipathy towards the controversial religion.

“I don’t want to be the one discussing Scientology,” a wounded Nicole warily told US magazine Vanity Fair when asked about her children’s indoctrination during her latest interview. “My kids want to live in LA and they’re at a certain age where they dig in their heels.”

While Isabella and Connor briefly visited their mum in Australia earlier this year, they have chosen to spend their holidays at a Church of Scientology camp in Oregon.

A former Scientologist says the camp in Portland, where the kids are holed up, is really an intense learning program for Scientology teachings. “The summer camp is part of Scientology’s get-them-while-they’re-young campaign,” says the ex-member…

[Womansday.ninemsn.com via Gossip Rocks]

The quote about the Scientology camp is lifted straight from an article in Star Magazine from September 3, in which it was revealed that Nicole’s children were away at brainwash camp.

I wonder if Kidman has grounds to sue the pants out of Women’s Day for taking her quotes out of context and making it seem like she’s finally talking about Scientology’s negative effect on her family. Her quotes were pretty mild and non-committal.

Nicole Kidman has never really talked much about Scientology except to say that she considers herself Catholic. In 1999, before her split with Tom Cruise, she described herself as “a mishmash of religions… a little Buddhism, a little Scientology.” She left no doubt that her allegiance was not to Scientology, saying “I was raised Catholic and a big part of me is still a Catholic girl.” [Quote found at Catholic.org]

A conflict over Kidman’s commitment to the Scientology cult is said to have hastened the end of her marriage to Cruise.

Scientology is known for threatening, harassing, suing and blackmailing ex-members from speaking out against the cult. A recent suspicious double suicide of a well to do artist couple in NY was said to be influenced in no small part by their well-founded paranoia of Scientology. They spoke at length of the harassment and hounding they claimed to endure from cult members for years.

Kidman has a healthy fear of speaking out out against the cult and she’s got to be scared now that Woman’s Day is twisting her words like this just to sell copies.

You know how you used to see photos of Tom Cruise’s kids, Isabella and Connor, all the time before baby Suri made her triumphant but long overdue debut? Tom and Katie seemed to be attending a sports game for one of the preteens every week, but now like they’ve been missing for months.

Isabella dyed her hair blue the minute she was down in Australia visiting her mom Nicole Kidman, but that was back in May. Connor hasn’t really been seen much either.

According to Star Magazine, Tom Cruise’s other kids are away at Scientology camp learning how to be good little cult members who don’t question authority:

As Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and their 15-month-old cutie Suri were snapped romping around Berlin in between his filming the World War II drama, Valkyrie, noticeably absent from these family outings were daughter Isabella, 14, and son Connor, 12. Nor were the two with mom Nicole Kidman, who is currently in Australia filming her own WWII epic. So where have the Cruise kids been all summer? Star has learned that the youngsters are in Oregon, at a camp 60 miles south of Portland run by the Church of Scientology! “The summer camp is part of the Scientology’s ‘get them while they’re young’ campaign,” a source who attended the camp tells Star. “While they will be enjoying horseback riding, swimming and all kinds of fun activities, some of their day is devoted to Scientology coursework.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, September 3, 2007]

Oh so that’s why the Cruise kids have been discarded like last season’s PR tactic - they needed to get their personality chips reset! Just send ‘em to camp for another round of coercion and they’ll come out smiling and ready to pose for more paparazzi pictures.

Just you wait, little Suri, your free will is next.

While I was doing the research for this post I found an interesting article from nearly 10 years ago posted on Factnet.org. They interviewed a guy who was second in command of Scientology and left to reveal their secrets. He talked about how celebrities are paid to endorse Scientology and the tactics that are used to make sure they don’t leave the fold or criticize the cult. They blackmail people, put extreme psychological pressure on them, and will hound anyone high profile who dares to leave. Scientology arranged Cruise’s divorce from his first wife, Mimi Rogers, and made sure he remained under their influence afterwards.

Celebrities are constantly monitored and judged to make sure that they don’t leave the cult or question its practices. Anyone that dares to do so is subject to extreme harassment and exposure of all the secrets collected about them by the cult, which can potentially end their careers. John Travolta supposed wanted to leave when he met a guy he fell in love with, but the head of the cult, John Miscavige put the kibosh on that and made sure that his people were around to pressure Travolta to give up his relationship and marry fellow Scientologist Kelly Preston instead.

It’s one thing for people like Cruise and Travolta to be figureheads for the money-making soul-sucking cult masquerading as a religion. It’s another for their kids to be forced to join before they have a chance to learn about life.

Tom Cruise is playing a Nazi Colonel who attempted to assassinate Hitler in a new film called Valkyrie, which is out next year. I thought that Germany banned Cruise from filming scenes there due to his status as the International celebrity spokesperson for the evil Scientology cult. Maybe he has some personal experience as a brainwashed atomaton that he can draw on to help prepare for his character.

I’m confused because an article on Rope Of Silicon says that principal photography just began on the film in Germany, but I know I read that Germany banned Cruise from filming there. It turns out that the story was that Cruise was banned by the German military, The Bundeswehr, from filming at military sites in the country due to his well-known status as a Scientologist. This brings into question his ability to effectively portray an important historic figure, and the German military doesn’t want to be associated with that. Cruise was not barred from filming in Germany in general.

Here’s more information about the thriller Cruise is filming:

Valkyrie is set to hit theaters August 8, 2008 and just began principal photography today in Berlin. Along with Cruise the film stars Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard, Christian Berkel, Thomas Kretschmann, and Carice van Houten.

The “July 20 Plot” on Hitler’s life is one of the most heroic but least known episodes of World War Two. Severely wounded in combat, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg returns from Africa to join the German Resistance and help create Operation Valkyrie, the complex plan that will allow a shadow government to replace Hitler’s once he is dead. But fate and circumstance conspire to thrust Stauffenberg from one of many in the plot to a double-edged central role. Not only must he lead the coup and seize control of his nation’s government … He must kill Hitler himself.

“Valkyrie tells a story that is not only exciting but also important,” said Singer. “It’s something that Chris McQuarrie and I have wanted to do for some time. I can’t imagine shooting it anywhere else but on location in Germany, and I’m thrilled that we were able to get Tom Cruise to play Col. Stauffenberg.”

[From RopeofSilicon.com via Towelroad and ONTD]

The picture credit on Splash News says these pictures were taken near Berlin.

These picture were on ONTD and Rope of Silicon although it’s originally from Splash News and I’ll update it with a higher res version as soon a it becomes available. Thanks to ONTD and Towelroad for the story.

Here is Cruise’s profile next to Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the historic figure he is portraying.

I was certain that J.Lo was the one pressuring her husband Marc Anthony to join Tom Cruise’s Scientology cult, but a recent article in The National Enquirer suggests otherwise. Lopez recently said that she didn’t understand the negative portrayal of the soul-sucking Scientology cult in the media, because it seems benign to her since she’s buddies with so many brainwashed members and given the fact that her dad has been involved with it for 20 years.

It may be the case that if her dad couldn’t convert her that promises of movie roles from Cruise won’t either. The story has it that Lopez and Anthony were arguing at their Miami Superbowl show over whether they would tell an attending Tom Cruise that they were ready to join the cult for real instead of just trying it out and dabbling in the courses. Anthony urged J.Lo to say she was ready, but she told him she wasn’t so sure and that they should wait:

“Marc’s pushed Jennifer to embrace Scientology because he thinks it will boost her career. He also thinks it will benefit him and raise his profile in Hollywood,” revealed a source…

“It’s become a sore point in their marriage. And J.Lo’s unwillingness to accept Marc’s demands led them to fight in Miami, where they argued loudly and she was left in tears…”

“Tom and Katie (Holmes) travelled to Miami to see them perform at a pre-Super Bowl party, and Marc had wanted to tell Tom that night that they were fully committed, but he couldn’t - and that’s what led to the fight.”

[From The National Enquirer print edition, March 12, 2007]

They say that Lopez’s mother Lupe, a devoted Catholic, advised her against joining Scientology and said it could hurt her career. Marc Anthony has been influenced by a Scientology teacher with whom he’s been seen out with lately, and that likely prompted him to pressure his wife into joining.

If this news is true then good for J.Lo, it’s only going to cost her money and common sense if she joins Scientology.

Lopez is set to sing on American Idol on April 11, which is sure to be better for her career than being known as a cult member.

Here are pictures of Lopez and Marc Anthony performing at the Viva Romance concert in Miami on March 3rd. What lovely outfits she’s wearing. Pictures [via]

The gossip rags have moved on from calling wan Katie Holmes a brainwashed Stepford wife to championing the changes in her after she made an appearance at Paris fashion week without Tom. I guess a new face makes all the difference.

In Touch says she’s calling the shots now, and claims she’s trying to get her career back and is taking advice from Victoria Beckham to make sure her man is under control:

Until recently, Katie has rarely been seen unless she is attached to Tom’s hip at his kid’s soccer games, on the red carpet and at charity events. After she met Tom, Katie shut out most of her old friends in order to give Tom constant attention. However, her new, close friendship with Victoria Beckham is changing everything.

The duo travelled to Paris on January 23 to attend Couture Week. Strong, confident Victoria, 32, “is helping Katie assert her power and independence,” and insider says, and - as the mother of three boys… giving her tips on how to be a working mom…

Lately, Katie seems stifled around Tom. At a party for musician Prince at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on January 15, “Tom practically had to drag her around,” an onlooker tells In Touch. And when Tom had a conversation with 24 star Keifer Sutherland, “Katie just stood there, looking totally bored,” the witness says.

[From In Touch print edition, January 12, 2007]

The article goes on to say that Katie is focusing on her career now and that she is in talks to star in what is sure to be a crappy movie with Queen Latifah called Mad Money. They say Tom wants more kids but that Katie probably won’t be popping out another one soon.

In Touch is most likely checking out the pictures and making this story up, but it seems fundamentally true. Katie is branching out, and if we can be forgiven for engaging in this same overanalysis of paparazzi photos, she looks like she’s having a good time, but also that she’s acting for the cameras and no longer thinks Tom is a God like everyone else in his cult religion.

If you check out the pictures of her out with him in Miami on Superbowl weekend she has this faraway look in her eye. It’s possible that she’s planning her next move, and that she really has broken out of that Stepford mold. Those must be the thetans talking though, and some intense auditing should cure her.

Here are Katie and Tom leaving their hotel in Miami on 2/3.

Story via Sammie’s Effluvia. Pictures from KatieHolmes.com.

J.Lo said in a radio interview that her father is a Scientologist and that it’s oh so sad that people are trying to make the mudering, money-grubbing, insular cult into some negative thing. She affirmed that she’s Catholic, but when she defends the cult it seems like she might be open to a conversion:

When asked about what she thought about the negative perception some people have about Scientology, Lopez replied, “I, myself, am Catholic. But it’s just sad that people would look at it (Scientology) in that way.”

J.Lo also has a personal connection to the Church of Scientology.

“My dad has been a Scientologist for 20 years,” she said. “It’s weird people want to paint it in a negative way.”

[via TMZ]

Everyone was speculating that Catholic J.Lo would convert to the celebrity-courting cult after she started hanging out with Scientologist Leah Remini and went to TomKat’s Rome wedding/Scientology pitch. She was said to be using Scientology-speak in everyday conversation, and was rumored to be trying it out in a vain attempt to get pregnant.

We’ll see how long it takes J.Lo to fall prey to Scientology. It might seem A-OK to her, because celebrities are given special treatment and aren’t forced into servitude for years during their quest for brainwashed enlightenment. Maybe she’s not ready for a full conversion yet because she realizes how much money it would cost her.

The National Enquirer’s recent cover story claims that Katie Holmes is a shadow of her former self and has all aspects of her life controlled by her pint-sized cult-loving husband, Tom Cruise. They say he limits her phone calls to fifteen minutes, controls her extracurricular activities, and makes sure she approves all of her outfits before she is permitted to leave the house.

Pals of the 28 year-old actress are terrified that Tom and his fellow church members have virtually taken over eager-to-please Katie’s life, reducing an independent and free-spirited young woman to a submissive shell of her former self. Some insiders have even started calling her “The Stepford Wife” behind her back.

“It is like she obeys him like a pet or robot,” said a family insider. “It’s really creepy…”

Raised Catholic, she’s now dutifully following Tom’s lead and has immersed herself in Scientology, severing nearly all ties with her past.

“Any friends that Katie calls, and there are very few left since she hooked up with Tom, are cleared by him,” claims the insider.

Whats more, she spends only about 15 minutes per phone call, even when she’s speaking with family members….

Tom also approves his wife’s wardrobe, banning anything he considers too sexy.

“Tom doesn’t want Katie wearing anything flashy - and nothing too revealing either,” added the insider. “He’s very specific about what she wears - and if it’s not to his liking, she changes before leaving the house.”

[From The National Enquirer print edition, January 29, 2007]

To me, this sounds like a re-tread of an In Touch story from two weeks ago, in which they basically said the same thing about Katie. In fact, this Enquirer story even went on to repeat the anecdote about Tom overhearing Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom invite Kate to Hyde and putting the kibosh on their plans.

There’s not much new information in that Enquirer story, and it seems likely that the insider is just a person who read the In Touch story and filled in some more details. Of course it ’s probably true that Katie doesn’t have a lot of freedom under the evil watch of the Scientology cult, but she could also just be tired or worn out from being a mom or whatever.

A jucier story is the one that Tom and Katie were seen celebrating what looked like little Suri’s birthday while out at a restaurant recently. The catch is that it’s January, and they claimed Suri was born in April of last year. This lends some credence to all those “conspiracy theories” about Suri not being Toms or being older than they claim. It’s not a conspiracy if it’s true.

Here’s Katie at the opening of Georgio Armani’s shop in Paris yesterday with Victoria Beckham. She dresses a bit frumpy, and maybe that’s why The Enquirer is saying Tom approves her outfits, but it could just be her style. She looks pretty happy and normal here.

Update: Oh No They Didn’t! has before and after photographs that suggest that Katie Holmes had a recent nose job. It looks like it to me.

Pictures from KatieHolmes.com

Britian’s unreliable Sun is reporting that Victoria Beckham has nixed the idea of her family converting to the Scientology cult at Tom Cruise’s urging. They say that her husband, footballer David Beckham, is more impressionable and has been considering it after having some heart-to-heart conversations with the pint-sized actor, but that Victoria isn’t about to waste her money on anything other than fashion:

TOM CRUISE is trying to recruit the Beckhams to the Scientology cult — but Victoria has told him: “Hands off our cash”.

The Hollywood superstar is obsessed with the wacky religion and believes David would benefit from joining.

But Victoria, 32, has ruled it out — partly because members have to make large, regular cash donations. Last week David admitted he spent “hours” on the phone to Tom, 44, before quitting Real Madrid for LA Galaxy.

There’s another report that David Beckham was so distraught over leaving Madrid for LA-based soccer team Galaxy that he needed ice packs to bring down the puffiness of his eyes from constant crying. He is now said to be content with his decision and excited about the move.

Victoria has gushed that she loves the fashion in Hollywood and that she’s excited to hobnob with the stars.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are throwing a big welcome party for the Beckhams this summer. Guests are said to include Steven Spielberg and Jennifer Lopez.

David is still in Madrid playing out his contract with Real Madrid, and will join his family in the states to play for LA Galaxy starting this summer.

Posh and Becks have enrolled their oldest child, Brooklyn, seven, in the Brentwood private day school in Bel-Air, where he will start school in August.

Here are pictures of Victoria and Katie Holmes out to dinner at The Ivy on 1/16. Tom dropped the two off and then left them to pick at their food.

Victoria is still wearing that god-awful Giambattista Valli belt that Chic Mommy made fun of earlier.

Commentors here note that it looks like Katie had some work done on her face. I don’t see it, but it could be the case. Pictures from KatieHolmes.com

One of the ways the Scientology cult ropes in vulnerable recruits is through their sham drug rehab front, Narconon. Narconon tries to sound official with a name that can easily be confused for the legitimate self-help group, Narcotics Anonymous, with which they are in no way affiliated. They make addicts go cold turkey and advocate a medically unsound detox regimen that includes saunas and vitamins. Narconon uses mind control tactics to convert people to Scientology.

It’s not surprising, then, that Cruise is said to have recommended Narconon to Keith Urban, who was just released from an accredited rehab for alcoholism treatment. The National Enquirer reports that Tom Cruise and his ex, Nicole Kidman, are battling a religous war over how to raise their two children, Isabella, 14 and Conner, 11.

Now Cruise is pushing Nicole to get back into the fold and to bring her troubled new husband along with her.

Tom has suggested that Keith explore Scientology as a means to conquer his addictions, continued the friend.

That opened up a lot of old wounds from Tom and Nicole’s previous religious clases.

Tom, 44, also is worried about the children being around Keith until he can be sure Keith has conquered his demons, and he’s made that clear to Nicole…

Another close source confirms that Tom and Nicole’s long-standing friction over Scientology has resurfaced with a vengeance - especially since Tom has offered to help Keith get clean through the religion.

“Nicole feels she’s got everything under control and Keith is well on the way to a full recover,” said the source.

“The last thing she wanted to hear was a Scientology pitch from Tom - especially regarding Keith…”

[From The National Enquirer print edition, January 22, 2007]

They also claim that Tom’s new Stepford bride Katie Holmes backs him on the Scientology issue, and that Nicole probably feels like she’s being teamed up on.

The article quotes a cult expert who says that Nicole, who has left Scientology and is now a Catholic, risks losing her children entirely if she says one bad thing about the cult. It sounds like Tom is threatening to take away her children if she doesn’t play along. She seems to barely see them as it is.

Keith Urban has been released from rehab and was seen out at a Golden Globes after party with Nicole. He will start touring Europe in April, which is sure to test his newfound sobriety.

Here are Katie and Tom leaving a Golden Globes after party. Pictures from KatieHolmes.com.

The latest issue of In Touch, not the most reliable source I know, claims that “The Honeymoon is Over” for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and that Cruise limits Katie’s time on the phone with friends and has tried to change her interests and hobbies. They say that Katie was chatting with Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom at their second wedding party/stateside Scientology recruiting blitz, and that Tom shut her down when she mentioned an interest in going to the exclusive nightclub Hyde. The article draws a lot of conclusions about Tom and Katie’s home life and implies that Katie is Tom’s shadow of her former self:

Tension was already in the air at Tom and Katie’s LA wedding reception on December 9, where a guest saw Katie talked to Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom about the Hollywood hotspot Hyde.

“Katie was asking what it’s like and saying she’d never been,” the onlooker shares. “Kirsten and Orlando were telling her that a lot of their friends go.” But when Tom walked up and joined the conversation, the tide turned. “Kirsten said they had invited Katie to Hyde, and Tom got a concerned look on his face. He said, ‘Oh, that’s no plance for you or me to go, Kate.’”

When Katie walked off with Tom, 44, “she looked really embarassed,” the witness says. “It was like she’d just gotten into trouble.”

[From In Touch print edition, January 8, 2007]

If this is indeed a true quote, I would guess that the “guest” that overheard it was one of the servers, but who knows if it’s accurate?

The article goes on to say that Tom forces Katie to keep her phone calls with girlfriends short, and has convinced her to give up her favorite hobbies like ceramics, painting and singing Karaoke. The only things that she seems able to do are Tom-approved activities like shopping, attending his children’s sports games with him, and taking up his hobby of learning to fly an airplane. He is also controlling her career and insists on having approval of any new projects she takes on.

They say that Katie seems to be comfort shopping as she routinely drops tens of thousands of dollars on clothing and shoes with no concern for the price.

If all this is true and is more than conjecture on In Touch’s part it wouldn’t be surprising. Cults retain power over new members by limiting their social contacts with outsiders and coercing them into adopting a new identity so they can’t escape back to their old one. It seems like Scientology’s most visiible spokesperson Tom is using those same tactics in his relationship with Katie. I for one am not fooled by their PR wedding and cute baby.

Here are pictures of Katie out shopping on 12/19.