It really is celebrity pregnancy season. Katie Homes’ husband’s ex, Nicole Kidman, just announced that she is pregnant with her first biological child. Last night at the premiere of Holmes’ female crime caper movie, Mad Money, her first film in three years, she wore a strapless silver dress with a band right above her stomach. From some angles her stomach is sticking out and she looks pregnant. A false bump was spotted on Katie last year when she wasn’t pregnant, and she looks like she’s really sticking her stomach out from some angles. Katie also wore an odd toga-like dress to the People’s Choice awards and some people speculated that it was an attempt to hide a growing baby bump. So is she pregnant or just slouchy? She could be trying to look less tall next to her husband.

Homes is very athletic and thin, and I can’t see her having a bump like this unless she’s pregnant. It’s hard to tell in that dress, but I’m voting for yes. How convenient for Holmes and Cruise’s PR that she’s pregnant again right at the same time as Kidman and right around the release date of Andrew Morton’s negative biography of her husband. We’ll have to wait and see, though. She really does look like she’s slouching in these photos, but maybe that’s because she wants everyone to get the hint.

There was a rumor that Tom Cruise couldn’t get Katie Holmes’ pregnant on his presumably second attempt, and we’ve all heard the theories that Suri isn’t Tom’s biological baby and that he’s really sterile. Whatever the case, congratulations to Tom and Katie on their second baby if this is true. They aren’t my favorite couple by a long shot, but if they want to have another baby and they’ve been successful we can wish them well. Katie probably feels the same about her husband’s ex. She said on the red carpet that “I’m so happy for [Nicole]. It’s wonderful.”

I hope Mad Money tanks at the box office, though, because it looks like a piece of crap. Fox News reports that the film makes no sense and is not entertaining. They also note that Katie and Tom skipped the post-premiere party. None of Tom and Katie’s friends like the Pinkett-Smiths or the Beckhams showed at the premiere.

Update: Everyone is voting for slouchy, so I’ll have to go with the majority on this one. Oh and she’s also going to run the Boston Marathon. My pregnancy-dar needs to get recalibrated after Nicole Kidman broke it.

Thanks to WENN and PR Photos for these pictures.

Tom Cruise is flaming. And by that, I mean the little bugger is flaming mad. Famous celebrity biographer Andrew Morton’s new, highly unauthorized biography of Cruise is hitting American bookshelves next Tuesday, despite attempts by both Cruise and the Church of Scientology to halt the publication. What could possibly get the Scientologists so riled up? The usually low-key, live-and-let-live followers of Xenu have got their panties in a bunch over the majority of the revelations in Morton’s book. As we had previously written, Morton actually had to go into hiding a few months ago due to threats from Scientologists. Then why am I writing this? Well I’m a horrible combination of highly principled and incredibly stupid, which just so happens to be the most successful personality combination for a celebrity blogger.

Scientology is one of those religions/cults (depending on your view) that’s so secretive it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction. And frankly, I think that if you’re going to keep so much of your “religion” private, you’ve got to expect that people are going to call it a cult and all sorts of urban legends are going to be invented. The problem with the secrecy is that it makes it hard for the rest of us non-cult members… I mean those of us who are not Scientologists… to make educated guesses about what’s fact and what’s fiction. And considering the whole legend of Scientology, I don’t think it’s ridiculous to believe a lot of the stories we hear about the inner workings of the cult/religion.

According to Andrew Morton, Tom Cruise has risen so high in the Scientology echelon that he’s effectively the number two in charge. This is one of many points in the book that’s being disputed by the church.

Tom Cruise has become the de-facto second in command of the Church of Scientology, according to a new biography - which makes an extraordinary attack on the star by comparing his 20-month-old daughter Suri to the Devil’s child in the film Rosemary’s Baby. Andrew Morton’s unauthorised biography claims Scientology has taken over the 45-year-old actor’s life, with its officials selecting many of the staff at his Hollywood mansion. The biographer of Princess Diana alleges Cruise is consulted by Scientology leader David Miscavige on “every aspect of planning and policy” and is tailoring his career to fit the aims of Scientology.

[From the Daily Mail]

Frankly, that’s one of the least salacious points in the book.

He [Tom Cruise’s lawyer Bert Fields]criticized a passage in which Morton claims some “fanatical” Scientologists believed Suri Cruise was actually the result of a sperm donation by Scientology’s dead founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Morton writes that Ms Holmes may feel she was in “the horror movie Rosemary’s Baby, in which an unsuspecting young woman is impregnated with the Devil’s child”.

[From the Daily Mail]

You’ll note that Andrew Morton doesn’t claim that Katie Holmes was impregnated with L. Ron Hubbard’s sperm, but simply that some fanatical Scientologists think she was. I’m going with ex-fiancé Chris Klein, but L. Ron Hubbard is a good second choice.

The book appears to portray Scientology leader David Miscavige as Tom Cruise’s biggest fan – to an almost creepy extent. Morton mentions a story that has been told for several years about Tom Cruise wanting to run through a field of wild flowers with Nicole Kidman before they were married. An earlier mention of this anecdote said it was a field of wheat, but the point remains the same.

Miscavige is said in the book to have gone to extraordinary lengths to charm Cruise, even ordering his staff to plant a field full of wild flowers at a Scientology base in California after Cruise had told him of his fantasy to run through a wildflower meadow with his then newlywed wife Nicole Kidman.

“A team of 20 Sea Org disciples was set to work digging, hoeing, and planting wheat grass and wildflower seed near the Cruises’ bungalow. Naturally the work was regularly inspected by David and Shelley Miscavige [his wife], who would ride over to the site on his motorbike. They were apparently unhappy with the finished appearance and had the area ploughed over and reseeded.”

Although Scientologists deny the wildflower planting ever happened, Morton claims to have legal affidavits from several witnesses.

[From the Daily Mail]

Much of the Daily Mail’s article about the book focuses on Scientology’s recruitment attempts. While they’ve always paid special attention to their celebrity followers (who many people claim are actually just paid celebrity endorsers), Scientology gets the bulk of their wealth from charging exorbitant fees to regular parishioners. Thus the more converts they have, the more money they get, and Morton accuses them of recently targeting the German people.

The author says Germany’s population of 80 million made it a perfect “new market” for Scientology, although the church is not recognized officially as a religion there.

“David Miscavige and his lieutenants were in Scientology’s war room at Hemet, planning the invasion of Germany. From time to time they were joined in their desert bunker by Tom, who these days is the organization’s second-in-command in all but name, involved in every aspect of planning and policy.”

[From the Daily Mail]

That’s interesting, considering how unwelcoming the Germans appeared to be towards Tom Cruise when he was filming Valkyrie around Germany. The film initially had trouble getting permission to do much of the necessary filming, though the German government eventually acquiesced. However it doesn’t appear that Tom Cruise – or Scientology – won over the hearts and minds of the German people during his tenure there.

Andrew Morton’s Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography comes out January 15th, and I’ll be in line to get it that day, and I hope I’ll see the rest of you at Barnes and Noble.

Let the conspiracy theories commence. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are reportedly trying to have another baby. The two have had no luck in the supposedly second attempt to impregnate Katie with the seed of Tom.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are reportedly seeking medical advice following a series of failed attempts to conceive a second child.

[Contact Music]

After the miracle of Suri, Tom and Katie want a biological boy to add to the clan. They have been trying to conceive since this summer according to sources. Holmes feels that having a son for Tom is “what she wants more than anything.” I guess she forgot about Connor. Nice way to show your love for someone who you claim calls you “mom.”

The fact that she has been unable to produce another Cruise offspring in the last 5 months has worried her. The two sat down and decided to take Katie to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to get the problem identified and solved. (Yes, that is the same hospital where Dennis Quaid’s infant twins nearly died of an overdose.)

Yes, I am sure Katie is the problem here. Being that Tom is 45 and creepy probably isn’t a factor. I know being creepy doesn’t have anything to do with potency, but I am sure Katie’s eggs are hiding in fear. Let’s not forget the fact that he and Nicole had the same problems getting knocked up. I smell a dirty plot afoot!

Picture note by Celebitchy: Katie Holmes is shown looking like she’s going to a business meeting, but she’s really just trying to look fierce while she’s out spending Tom’s money on designer luxuries she won’t wear for more than a few hours out of her privileged life. There was speculation after the Bambi awards that Katie might be pregnant after she was seen with a tiny amount of bloat, but these photos from 12/22 show that she’s probably not. Thanks to Splash News.

While you were enjoying your egg nog, Christmas cookies, and those excellent peanut butter chocolate ball things that only seem to appear around the holidays, Will Smith said something incredibly stupid that he quickly backtracked from. Smith’s comments were so taboo that they could lead to a career setback - he invoked the name of Hitler to make a philosophical point. Many news outlets are claiming that Smith is dismissing the atrocities that Hitler committed, and the Jewish Defense League called for theaters to stop showing Smith’s blockbuster film “I am Legend.” In a recent interview, Smith tried to make an asinine point that no one is essentially bad by using Hitler as an example and saying the mass murderer set out to do what he thought was “good,” using “twisted… logic.” When you read the next part of Smith’s statement, though, it’s quite clear where he’s getting these ideas and why he would be making such an outlandish claim. He went on to say that “Stuff like that just needs reprogramming.”

Remarkably, Will believes everyone is basically good.

“Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘let me do the most evil thing I can do today’,” said Will. “I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was ‘good’. Stuff like that just needs reprogramming.”

[Daily Record via http://uk.news.yahoo.com/wenn/20071223/ten-smith-hitler-was-a-good-person-c60bd6d_1.html“>We Smirch]

Smith isn’t saying that Hitler was good, but that he somehow thought what he was doing was good through his own faulty reasoning. Sociopaths feel little or no guilt over the very manipulative and cruel acts they are capable of committing, and it’s not like they feel they have to justify their behavior even to themselves, so good and bad don’t enter into the equation for them. They just don’t care about other people or feel more than superficially expressed remorse.

Smith is making an argument that Hitler could have been cured through “reprogramming,” an essential component of the Scientology cult, which maintains that their own methods can cure all problems and that psychological disorders should not be treated with medication. Let’s hope that he got the stupid idea directly from his good buddy Tom Cruise and that he’s not personally going through Scientology training, but there may be no hope for him now.

This is the guy who was so excited over butt wipes and bidets that he had to personally spread the word, so he’s quite easily impressed and has the need to let everyone know about it. Just like his claim that Scientology is 97% similar to the bible, he has issued a follow-up statement in an attempt to do damage control. At first I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that it maybe wasn’t an original interview and that someone either put words in his mouth or re-worked an older statement, but no, he really said this, and just said it was “misinterpreted.” He’s probably referring to the writer’s benign editorial comment that Smith “believes everyone is basically good.”

“It is an awful and disgusting lie,” Smith said in a statement. “It speaks to the dangerous power of an ignorant person with a pen. I am incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such ludicrous misinterpretation.”

“Adolf Hitler was a vile, heinous vicious killer responsible for one of the greatest acts of evil committed on this planet.”

[From DailySnack.com via Fark]

It took Tom Cruise a long time to recover after he told Matt Lauer that postpartum depression should not be treated with medication, and that it could be cured with vitamins. Smith should realize that he should keep all his newfound “knowledge” to himself or it will cost him millions in future revenue. There’s a reason why the rest of the population doesn’t agree with that belief system.

Here are Tom Cruise and Will Smith at the “I am Legend” premiere in NY on 12/11/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Katie Holmes has an upcoming interview in Parade Magazine in which she reveals that Tom’s children from his marriage with Nicole Kidman, Isabella and Connor, call her “mom.” She also said that she and Tom and both of their families will be celebrating Christmas in Telluride, Colorado, where they’ll ski and cook holiday favorites like pecan pie.

How will you and Tom celebrate?
KH: My whole family and Tom’s whole family will go up to Telluride [Colo.] again. We ski. We have big dinners and laugh. We love cooking. My mom’s stuffing is my favorite. I’m a huge fan of pie, especially pecan. I will probably cook some garlic mashed potatoes and maybe a cheesecake. We always make a lot of sugar cookies with decorating and sprinkles. Suri will be in the dough everywhere. Tom has shown me the greatness of extra chocolate chips. Tom’s really good in the kitchen. He makes great pasta carbonara and lemon pasta.

With all that, how do you both keep fit?
KH: We ski a lot. And we’ll get back to normal eating in January, like everyone else.

Did you have fun shooting “Mad Money”?
KH: It was a blast. We got our morning female talk in the trailer every day.

Does Tom get the way women talk together?
KH: My husband has three sisters. He was raised by a single mother and has two daughters–and he’s a great father and husband. His first two children are incredible, really smart and kind. They call me “Mom.” So Tom understands the female bond, and he loves it. He was so excited for me to do this movie. He loved hearing all the stories.

[From Parade Magazine as found on Huffington Post]

As for her life with Tom she still has some of that wide-eyed glassy wonder that characterized their early relationship, but she’s graduated from calling everything “amazing” to describing her life with other superlatives.

On how she copes with being married to one of the most high profile cult spokespeople in the planet, she said that all the adventure, high end shopping and jet setting keep her one step ahead of insanity. That and a healthy dose of denial:

Everyone asks, “What’s Katie really like now?” How would you answer that?
KH: With everything that’s happened, I still feel the same. I’m really happy being a mom, being a wife. I understand the curiosity. It’s a reality for me, another dimension of awareness. I appreciate the man that I’m with and my family and my work. I feel very lucky to be able to say that. I mean, what we do in a week is extraordinary.

Did you expect such a busy and public life?
KH: I am up for it. I love adventure. We do a lot of things that I couldn’t imagine doing when I was younger. And yet, at the same time, I always wanted to see the world. It is a big life, and it’s exciting. I learn from my husband, and I learn things about myself. I learn about things from my daughter. She teaches me a lot. Every day I do count my blessings.

[From Parade Magazine as found on Huffington Post]

Isn’t it odd the way Katie phrases things? Who says things like “every day I do count my blessings”? She sounds like a school teacher from the 1950s. It is nice that she appreciates her life and isn’t smug about all the opportunities she has.

She also told a cute story about how little Suri said “Good Morning Berlin” when she was in Germany with Tom. (The story about Suri getting fitted for a custom pair of baby Louboutin high end shoes that we reported a couple of weeks ago was unfortunately false. In Touch reported this week that they contacted the Louboutin company, who denied the report.)

You could say that Nicole Kidman might be hurt by the news that her two kids call their stepmom “mom,” but that seems common with blended families and she’s probably more hurt by the fact that she rarely gets to see her children. She lost those kids to Scientology years ago and seems resigned to her fate.

There was a lot of speculation that Katie Holmes was pregnant after she was seen out with what looked like an obvious lower belly baby bump, but in these latest pictures it’s hard to tell as she’s wearing a loose coat.

Tom and Katie are shown outside The Raffles L’Ermitage Hotel In Beverly Hills yesterday, after which they headed to the Celebrity Scientology Center. Thanks to Splash News for these pics.

Update: Thanks to commentor Kolby and an anonymous commentor for mentioning that the kids call Nicole by her first name according to a recent interview. That’s not exactly true, though. Nicole Kidman said that Connor and Isabella call her “Mum” not “Mummy” (I assume this is translated to British vernacular) and that they sometimes call her Nicole. This isn’t exactly the same thing as not calling her “mom” and reserving the title only for Katie:

“Golden Compass” star Nicole Kidman appeared on Great Britain’s GMTV to promote the film, in which she plans the evil Marisa Coulter. After saying she read the books to her kids, she had this exchange with the host:

Host: Did your kids sit there and think, hey mummy, Mrs. Coulter, that’s you?
Nicole: They don’t call me mummy.
Host: What do they call you?
Nicole: Mum. Or sometimes Nicole. I’m like, “Hey!”

[GMTV interview as published in The Huffington Post]

If I worked for Star or the National Enquirer, right now I’d be telling you how Will Smith is encouraging teenagers to have as much sex as possible. That’s right, Will Smith wants you (or your kids, depending on your age) to have as much freaky lovin as possible – as long as you don’t get high first. Alright in reality, Will Smith was just talking about what kept him off drugs in high school, and that was his preoccupation with getting with the ladies. That’s right, Will had bigger things to think about than getting high. And frankly, if you could do a lot of (bad) drugs or have a lot of (good) sex, which would you choose?

Hollywood actor Will Smith has credited his sex obsession with keeping him away from drugs as a teenager. The 39-year-old star has maintained his aversion to alcohol and drugs throughout his life, and he steered clear of addictions in his younger days by spending every waking moment fantasizing about women.

He says, “Through my teenage years I was too focused on sex to even think about any other vices. I’m much the same now. No drugs and only the occasional drink.”

[From Starpulse]

Alright so he’s not exactly telling your kids to drop their bong and grab a boob instead. Boy I sure would like to see that “Anti-drug” commercial. “T&A: the anti-drug.” It’d probably work. I bet if we told teenagers, “Alright, if you agree not to ever so much as touch a drink or a drug, you can have as much sex as you want,” most of them would agree. I’m not saying we should, I’m just pointing out it’d probably be pretty effective. And in my little hypothetical, there would be no STDs or pregnancy as a result of this… because it’s my hypothetical universe and I can make whatever rules I want. Which means that in it, Paris Hilton would have monopolized all the STDs – as she’s the most hospitable environment for that sort of thing – and the rest of us would be immune. Will Smith didn’t mention that part, but I’m pretty sure that’s the natural conclusion.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Will Smith is shown at the premiere of I Am Legend with Tom Cruise and Jada Pinkett Smith last night. Jada looks thrilled to be standing between those two, or maybe she’s just practicing her “Posh face.” Thanks to PRPhotos.

Suri Cruise is an adorable little girl, with a bob to match her mom’s and the cutest dresses. It seems she also has footwear to match mommy’s too, and it isn’t from Target. She’s Christian Louboutin’s smallest customer.

Christian Louboutin has custom-designed a pair of shoes for tiny Suri Cruise, OK! magazine reports. The company had made a mold of the tot’s feet and hand-crafted a pair of bespoke shoes for her. “She’ll be the youngest client,” said a source.

NY Post

I had wondered if this was a joke because who would risk ordering those shoes, if they aren’t made quickly they won’t even fit 19-month-old Suri by the time they arrive. But then I checked out the rest of Suri’s designer duds and realized that if you’re willing to spend that much on clothes, you really need the shoes to match.

This apparently isn’t Suri’s first pair of designer shoes – Kelly Ripa gifted a pair of Roberto Cavalli crystal encrusted crib-shoes. At least she couldn’t walk and scuff them up. Or do as my kids do and take them off at the park and leave me wandering around looking for both sneakers and children.

Still, I bet Suri vomits on her clothes, fills her shoes with sand and water (usually at the same time), and poops her pants as often as any other kid. If you could pay to get rid of that part of child rearing, that would be some money well spent.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Suri, Katie and Tom are shown in Washington on 11/8/07, thanks to Splash News. I love how that woman in the picture only has eyes for Suri.

Update: According to the December 24, 2007 issue of In Touch, this story is false. They contacted the Louboutin company, which denied the report.

Add Will Smith to the list of celebrities duped into endorsement Scientology by rockstar-level perks and star treatment not afforded the members who end in forking over their life savings and all free will to the harmful cult. There are even rumors that along with giving celebrities free vacations and catering to their every whim, Scientology pays heavily for the priceless endorsements given by high-level stars.

While not admitting that he’s a current member of the cult, Will Smith gives an implicit endorsement to them. He compares Scientology to the Bible in a new interview with Men’s Vogue. He shows that he has little understanding of Scientology by saying “like 98 percent of the principles [of Scientology] are identical to the principles of the Bible”

Fox News says that Smith is “coming out” as a Scientologist, but while he gives them a raving endorsement he minces words a little, never directly admitting that he’s a member. He says “in all of the experiences I’ve had with Tom and Scientology,” suggesting he’s a dabbler doing a favor to Tom in mentioning it, and isn’t a full blown follower of the cult. So, like Jerry Seinfeld, maybe he’s just saying stupidly that it’s A-OK with him but that he isn’t currently involved with it:

Smith admits in the issue of Men’s Vogue on sale Tuesday that he has studied Scientology with Tom Cruise and doesn’t disagree with its basic tenets.

In doing so, he finally “comes out,” joining Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and a handful of other Hollywood types in their devotion to this controversial religion.

For a long time, Smith has denied joining the Church of Scientology with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, explaining that it would go against the beliefs of his late grandmother. But for some time, insiders in Hollywood have insisted the Smiths were, indeed, brought in by Cruise.

Smith concedes that his kids are being home-schooled, just as are those of Cruise, Travolta and other Scientologists.

In the article, Smith refers to “Thetans,” who are space aliens in the vernacular of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

“… in all of the experiences I’ve had with Tom and Scientology, like 98 percent of the principles are identical to the principles of the Bible,” Smith tells Men’s Vogue writer Hudson Morgan.

“The Bible says, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ And you know, there’s a Scientology principle: ‘Do not create experiences for others that they cannot comfortably perceive.’”

He continues: “The Bible talks about your spirit being immortal, that you were created for existence beyond your physical body. Well, that’s no different from Scientology. I don’t think that because the word someone uses for ’spirit’ is ‘thetan’ that the definition becomes any different.”

[From FoxNews.com via The Huffington Post]

By acting like Scientology is this benign religion, celebrities are doing their part to help dupe countless people into trying it. It’s a harmful cult that stops at nothing to discredit and harass anyone that dares question their illogical, sneaky, and cruel tactics. It’s not a religion, nor do it’s teachings have more than a superficial resemblance to the bible. And unlike the Bible, which is free and available to all, the Scientologists have gone to great pains to hide their central beliefs, holding out on their version of the origins of mankind and what will happen at the end of the world until members reach the highest levels, which take years of study and tens of thousands of dollars.

Scientology was started by a failed drug addict science fiction writer whose express purpose was to get rich by bilking people. Will Smith may make a living out of pretending to slay evil-doers, but he’s sure stupid enough in his personal life to do their bidding. Maybe good will prevail in the end and Will Smith will denounce Scientology, but they probably have enough dirt on him to make that very difficult for him.

Update: US Weekly notes that Smith lumps Scientology in with more established legitimate religions in that same interview, saying “I’ve studied Buddhism and Hinduism, and I’ve studied Scientology through Tom [Cruise].” So he’s not saying that he’s a member, just that he tried it. They also note that his wife, Jada, is “more gung-ho about Scientology than Will.”

Tom Cruise and Will Smith are shown at the Lions for Lambs premiere on 11/1/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

We already knew that Tom Cruise was a big ball of crazy. So crazy, in fact, that nothing you say about him is really all that surprising to people anymore. And that’s sort of a letdown, to be honest. “Tom Cruise eats the flesh of living baby birds” or “Tom Cruise has a tree in his backyard made from human skin that he uses in his ritual sacrifices” or “Tom Cruise said he was going to eat Suri’s placenta.” That last one is actually true, though he claimed after the fact that he was joking. One thing Tom can never be accused of joking about is Scientology. Xenu’s favorite son has been proselytizing for years, and it’s gotten to the point where he’s so rabid and crazy and drooling that we don’t pay any attention to him anymore.

But famous biographer Andrew Morton has decided to take a much deeper look into Tom Cruise’s psyche than any of the rest of us would ever be comfortable with. I imagine discovering the inner workings of Tom’s brain would kind of be like that movie “The Cell” – sort of like a Salvador Dali painting brought to life. You must just want to run away. But Morton – who is known as a very thorough researcher and has written the authoritative biography of Princess Diana - has managed to write a book about Cruise that is anticipated will expose a lot of the skeletons in Cruise’s closet.

Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) Morton is being hounded by Scientology thugs, likely dispatched at the behest of Cruise.

FORMER tabloid royal reporter Andrew Morton – author of revealing books on Princess Diana, Monica Lewinsky and Madonna – has run into serious trouble with his latest subject, Hollywood star Tom Cruise. Dewsbury-born Morton, 54, says he has been forced to sell his flat in London and go “underground” because of aggressive pressure to drop the bio­graphy from Cruise’s associates in the Church of Scientology. “I have received threats from the Scientologists and things have become pretty heavy – to the extent that it’s almost more than my lawyers can ­handle,” Morton tells me. “I’ve sold my flat and I’m not telling anyone where I’m moving to. I intend to disappear for a while.”

Cruise was said to be furious to learn that Morton was investigating his love life, the rumors about his sexuality and his involvement with Scientology. The cult was founded by sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard in 1954 and holds that humans are descended from an exiled race of aliens called Thetans. Similar attempts to reveal the extent of Cruise’s links with Scientology have been abandoned by American journalists after heavy-handed warnings from the cult, whose Hollywood members include John Travolta and Lisa Marie Presley.

Cruise has always been sensitive about criticism over his involvement with the movement, to which he gives considerable financial support. He also insisted actress Katie Holmes, join the religion before they married last year. Compared to Morton’s success with his first Diana book (from which he made millions thanks to the Princess’s collaboration) his project on Cruise is proving far more problematic. When Morton was in Toronto to meet sources who knew Cruise from when he filmed Cocktail in the city, he was overheard complaining that, compared with the Church of Scientology “reporting on the Royal Family was a walk in Hyde Park”.

[From the Daily Express]

I have to say - whatever the Scientologists are doing - if it’s too much for lawyers, they must be going really, really far. I’m assuming they’re drowning them in paperwork or something. But they must be doing a lot more to Morton personally if he’s selling his home and going into hiding. You generally don’t do that over lawsuits run amok.

As much as we joke about Scientology, it is a dangerous cult/religion/whatever you want to call it. There have been reports of Scientologists kidnapping members who tried to leave, and making them go to Scientology boot camps to be reprogrammed. There are too many claims to go into, but here’s a quick example of one case, which led to a lot of legal trouble.

Scientology killed Lisa McPherson in Clearwater, Florida, on December 5, 1995. She was held against her will for 17 days, denied medical care, and forcibly sedated. When her guards tried to force her to undergo the Introspection Rundown and she refused, she was kept in an isolation lock-down until she died from severe dehydration. Forensic entomologists later identified 110 cockroach feeding sites on her body, and three nationally prominent forensic pathologists opined that the manner of death was “homicide”. (The pathologists were Calvin Bandt, M.D. (affidavit), Werner Spitz, M.D. (affidavit), and John Coe, M.D.)

[From Carnegie Mellon]

If I were Morton, I’d be scared too. Freedom of the press is not a value the Scientologists hold highly. Though I’m sure if he gets his book out, it’ll get a lot of press, make him a lot of money, and be pretty interesting. He might find himself chained up in a basement at some point, but I’m sure Tom Cruise will have nothing to do with that.

Katie Holmes ran the NY City Marathon on Sunday, finishing in just under five and a half hours. She was greeted at the finish line by her husband, Tom Cruise, and their supposedly 18 month-old daughter, Suri. Holmes’ parents and Cruise’s mom were also there to cheer her on. She is quoted as saying she loves running and that it helped her lose weight after she had Suri.

“I have always loved to run,” Holmes told Harper’s Bazaar in March. “It has helped me lose the extra baby weight.”

[From the New Zealand Herald]

This was one rumor that I didn’t believe at first, assuming that Katie was just running for exercise and that some over-eager gossip magazine turned it into training for a marathon.

Splash News reports that Holmes walked at about 17 miles in, but as someone who hasn’t run more than five miles at a stretch in my life, I have to say that’s hardly comment-worthy. Kudos to Katie for going through with it. It’s ironic that Holmes ran the NY City Marathon, considering that people have been urging her to “run” since she got involved with cult-loving Cruise back when she was pregnant. I mean, right before she got pregnant.

Holmes’ next movie, her first since 2005’s Thank You For Smoking, is the female crime caper, Mad Money. The film also stars Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah and is due out on January 18, 2008. It’s a shame they’ll miss Oscar season. Check out the trailer below.

Katie Holmes is next set to star in The Other Side with fellow Scientologist, Jason Lee. Production is set to start sometime this month.

Good job, Katie! Maybe your career will pick up now after the Mad Money bump. Considering that your next film is with the guy who is going to be in the Alvin and The Chipmunks movie, I doubt it.