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Tom Cruise & John Travolta: Secret Scientologist Feud Revealed?

If you watched the recent HBO documentary Going Clear, then you know the importance of the roles that Tom Cruise and John Travolta play within the Church of Scientology. Sources have claimed that Cruise has been “brainwashed” by Scientology and relishes his role as the controversial religion’s poster boy. By contrast, Going Clear depicts Travolta as a victim of the church, held prisoner by an elaborate blackmail campaign orchestrated by COS chairman David Miscavige. Now, in an interview that was recorded in 2010, but picked up by several media outlets today, Miscavige’s former right-hand man, Marty Rathbun, discusses the volatile relationship between Travolta and Cruise, as well as the Miscavige’s role in producing the Scientology-based box office bomb, Battlefield Earth: Marty Rathbun Reveals Scientologist Secrets According to Rathbun, Miscavige and Cruise both blamed Travolta for the movie’s failure, and their desire to find a scapegoat nearly cost the actor dearly. “It was that JT [Travolta] motherf–ker with all his out ethics,” Miscavige reportedly railed after the movie tanked. “If I had anything to do with that thing, it never would’ve seen the light of day.” Miscavige then launched into a tirade about the specifics of Travolta’s “out ethics” (beliefs or activities that are out of step with COS teachings) Rathbun refuses to go into specifics about what the alleged crimes were, but based on the revelations in Going Clear and past rumors about Travolta’s love life , we can assume that they related to his alleged homosexual affairs. Witnesses have claimed that the COS has repeatedly threatened to out Travolta several times during his career. While Rathbun offers no specifics on Travolta’s perceived misdeeds, he does reveal that Cruise happily joined at least one conversation in which he and Miscavige eagerly trash-talked Travolta: “[Miscavige] and Tom just sat there, nattering away full-tilt on what a criminal, out-ethics son of a bitch Travolta is,” Rathbun says.  It’s just the latest in a long line of startling revelations about the 50,000-member organization, and like so much of Going Clear, Rathbun’s latest bombshell reminds us that for all its misconduct, the COS is made up primarily of victims. View Slideshow: 52 Fun Photos of Tom Cruise

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Tom Cruise & John Travolta: Secret Scientologist Feud Revealed?

WATCH: ‘World War Z’-ero! Ranking The Super Bowl Movie Trailers From Worst To Best

Even if you didn’t watch the big game last night, you know that a) Beyonce brought the house — or was it the lights? — down, and b) six big movie trailers aired during the game: Star Trek Into Darkness ,  Iron Man 3 , The Lone Ranger , Oz The Great and Powerful , World War Z and Fast & Furious 6 . All were designed to whet the record-setting viewing audience’s appetite for these films. Not all of them were successful.  Below, I rank the trailers from worst to best in terms of how effective they were at making me want to see the movies they were promoting.  6. World War Z I’m no demographics expert, but I’ve got to imagine that there’s a fair amount of overlap between guys who like brutal football games and guys who like violent zombie stories. So, Paramount seems to have squandered a big marketing opportunity by running a commercial that was essentially a distillation of the trailer the studio released in November . The mayhem-on-a-plane scene doesn’t add much, although, taking into account similar scenes from the  Iron Man 3 and Fast & Furious 6 ads, all the hot trailers have them these days. What this spot needed was at least one memorable close-up of the zombie terror that Brad Pitt & Co. face. Instead, I’m left with the impression that the notoriously troubled World War Z production may be seriously lacking in chills and thrills when it’s released in June.  5. The Lone Ranger Johnny Depp trumps Brad Pitt in my book, so this trailer has a slight edge over World War Z , but in 2013 it’s hard to get worked up over horses and railroads and a hero ( Armie Hammer ) whose costume consists of a party mask. And despite the powerful distraction that is the dead bird on Depp’s head ,  I can’t help but think of   Wild Wild West   when I see this movie advertised. 4. Oz The Great And Powerful Although there’s  not a lot of new stuff to see in this trailer, the clip does a good job of selling this Wizard of Oz prequel as an action-packed and visually trippy story. (The bubble travel scene should appeal to Flaming Lips fans.) With Sam Raimi orchestrating all those A-list witches and special effects, this movie has potential and the Super Bowl clip got that across. 3. Fast & Furious 6 I came very close to putting this trailer higher up in the ranking because it’s so much damn fun to watch. But then I thought about the  Fast & Furious movies that have come before this latest installment. The scenes of a tank crushing cars on a freeway and the F&F crew bringing down a jet plane with a grappling gun and a sports car are riveting, but this has never been a weighty franchise. So,  I worry this is one of those trailers that gives away all the movie’s best bits — like Michelle Rodriguez’s unlikely return, for instance. 2. Star Trek Into Darkness J.J. Abrams had a little fun at our expense with this pulse-quickening spot.  He has none other than James T. Kirk ask the question Star Trek fans are dying to have answered about the character Benedict Cumberbatch plays :  “Who the hell are you?”  The answer, as presented in the trailer, is pretty cheeky, too.  “I am better…at everything!” really does make me want to see this guy get a one-way proton torpedo ride to Mustafar. Oh wait! That’s a Star Wars planet. Then again, that scene of Spock looking like he’s about to be engulfed my molten lava sure does look like the place where Obi-wan and Anakin Skywalker had their fateful Episode III duel. But I digress. If the Benedict Cumberbatch tomfoolery makes you groan, the scenes of a seriously malfunctioning U.S.S. Enterprise crash-landing on Earth will rock you. 1. Iron Man 3 (Extended Version)  Even more proof that Robert Downey Jr. is the heart and soul of the Marvel movie universe right now. Having the actor break the fourth wall with an “extensive,” as he puts it, melodramatic look was a beautiful thing, and then the trailer just got better from there. We got to see a little more of Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin character — his mouth moved! Words came out of it! — Don Cheadle in the War Machine suit, and Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan looking anything but gleeful. In fact, he’s on the floor and looking kind of wet, which is often PG-13-speak for bloody. That’s not a good sign. But what I’m really obsessing over is the trailer’s thrilling climax cliffhanger in which Iron Man has to figure out how to rescue 13  people who’ve been sucked out of a sabotaged Air Force One. As Jarvis, the Marvel equivalent of Siri, explains, Tony Stark’s superhero suit can only carry four. Do the math. That is effective marketing. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter.  Follow Movieline on Twitter. 

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WATCH: ‘World War Z’-ero! Ranking The Super Bowl Movie Trailers From Worst To Best

‘Going Clear’ Author Lawrence Wright Says It’s Time For Tom Cruise To ‘Open His Eyes’ To Scientology

New Yorker writer,  Lawrence Wright appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe  talk show to discuss his new book,  Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief , and Tom Cruise quickly became the focus of the conversation. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author — who did some 200 interviews with current and former Scientologists, as well as other sources for his book — was in the process of  discussing  reports of “abuse and involuntary confinement” within its Sea Org unit — the equivalent of Scientology clergy, according to Wright — when  host Joe Scarborough brought up the Top Gun star (around the 6:20 mark of this clip). “Do you think Tom Cruise knows of these alleged problems with Scientology . And secondly, what’s in it for a guy like Tom Cruise, who has the freedom to do whatever he wants and chooses to stay in the church”. Wright’s response: “I’m glad you’ve put your finger on Tom Cruise, because I think he has a moral responsibility — he’s been the front pitchman for this organization for years. More people have heard about Scientology through him than any other person. There may be some willful blindness on his part, but if so, it’s time for him to open his eyes because he’s been selling this.” In the video, Wright points out that Cruise is “being treated very well” by church members. He even says they “hand-crafted a limousine for him.” I’ve asked Cruise’s spokeswoman if the actor would like to respond to Wright’s comments and will post them if they are forthcoming.  As you might guess, the Church of Scientology doesn’t have good things to say about Going Clear, and has called it an “Error-filled unsubstantiated bigoted anti-Scientology book.” Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

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‘Going Clear’ Author Lawrence Wright Says It’s Time For Tom Cruise To ‘Open His Eyes’ To Scientology