Will Tom Back Down?
Even after Germany officials told Tom Cruise he would not be permitted to film on the Germany military bases he’d hoped to shoot at, he is still wanting to film there.
“[Filmmakers] will not be allowed to film at German military sites if Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise, who has publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult,? Kammerbauer is quoted as saying.
“In general, the Bundeswehr (German military) has a special interest in the serious and authentic portrayal of the events of July 20, 1944 and Stauffenberg’s person,” Kammerbauer added.
Germany does not recognize the Church of Scientology as a church. According to Reuters, Berlin believes Scientology “masquerades as a religion to make money.?
Okay, I don’t know if he’s just hoping that they’ll change their mind or what, but I’m pretty certain it ISN’T going to happen..at least not there. I think Germany made their point very clear that they did not want this filmed by anyone that is into Scientology. What’s your take?
RTE Entertainment is stating…..
Tom Cruise is now speaking out stating that he doesn’t believe his religion, Scientology will make a difference in the movie. His beliefs have nothing to do with the film and that he still wants to shoot the movie on location in von Stauffenberg’s homeland.
I must say I do believe that his religion would have nothing to deal with this movie or even the plot behind it. But Germany is a whole other country and has their own set of rules, if they are saying no then the answer is NO.
After Germany announced their decision, Tom Cruise’s spokesperson Paula Wagner released this statement.
“To set the record straight, ‘Valkyrie’ is a historically accurate thriller that presents the World War Two resistance hero Col. Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg as the heroic and principled figure he was, and we believe it will go a long way towards reminding the world that even within the ranks of the German military there was real resistance to the Nazi regime. ‘Valkyrie’ was originated and brought to United Artists by Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie. Based on the fantastic screenplay written by Mr. McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, we gave it the green light. Mr. Singer, the director, then offered the role of Col. Stauffenberg to Tom Cruise because he thought he was perfect for the part. Aside from his obvious admiration of the man he is portraying, Mr. Cruise’s personal beliefs have absolutely no bearing on the movie’s plot, themes, or content. And even though we could shoot the movie anywhere in the world, we believe Germany is the only place we can truly do the story justice.”
My guess, since “Valkyrie” is still set to be filmed next month is they’ll be looking for another location very soon. I don’t think Tom will allow this movie not to be filmed, but I do think he’ll be having to be looking for another location to do it. What other place do you think they could film such a movie?
Photo Source: TheAge.com.au, Success.co.il
Tom Cruise, Germany, Valkyrie, Paula Wagner, Sceintology
June 27th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
In my opinion, there’s a little overreacting going on here. Tom Cruise is an actor, and will be portraying the character the way the script is written. Whether or not they recognize or support Scientology should have no bearing on anything. However, it’s their decision to make, not mine.
June 27th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
I just read about this the other day. Stauffenberg’s son is very upset that Cruise would be portraying his father, but he doesn’t have any say.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,490147,00.html
Germany views scientology as a cult. From the US Department of State human rights country report on Germany:
“The government did not recognize several belief systems, including Scientology, as religions; however, the absence of recognition did not prevent their adherents from engaging in public and private religious activities.
Federal and some state authorities continued to classify Scientology as a potential threat to democratic order, a view that led to employment and commercial discrimination against Scientologists in both the public and private sectors. Administrative action and court rulings, including in Leipzig and Hamburg in late 2005 and during the year, reduced or eliminated some governmental impediments to Scientology. For example, unemployment offices were no longer required to inform job seekers if prospective employers were Scientologists, or whether they employed Scientologists.
During the year several public and private organizations issued public warnings about Scientology after‑school study programs. ”
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78814.htm
The US government has tried in the past to liberalize Germany’s treatment of scientology with little success. It was actually the subject of a lecture I went to at the Kennedy Center in Kiel, Germany.
Regardless of what his agent says, Germany is not likely to separate the movie from Cruise’s scientology beliefs.