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Tom Cruise's South Park episode banned

I

Irishfl

It was suppose to air this past Wednesday, but didn't. Here's why.

" CRUISE CONTROL SCARES 'PARK'

March 17, 2006 -- HOLLYWOOD bully Tom Cruise got Comedy Central to cancel Wednesday night's cablecast of a controversial "South Park" episode about Scientology by warning that he'd refuse to promote "Mission Impossible 3," insiders say.

Since Paramount is banking on "MI3" to rake in blockbuster profits this summer, and Paramount is owned by Viacom, which also owns Comedy Central, the tactic worked.

The "South Park" episode, "Trapped in the Closet," pokes fun at Scientology and shows Cruise, John Travolta and R. Kelly (who is not a Scientologist, but has a song called "Trapped in the Closet") literally in a closet.

The episode, which first aired last November, was set to rerun Wednesday night, but was mysteriously pulled at the last minute.

Now, hollywoodinterrupted.com reports Cruise went straight to the top - to execs at Viacom - and warned he'd boycott the promotion for "MI3" unless the "South Park" episode was pulled.

Series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been told not to discuss the matter - to avoid embarrassing Cruise as they did Isaac Hayes last week when Hayes, also a Scientologist, quit his role as the voice of the Chef character.

Hayes claimed he couldn't stand by while "South Park" made fun of religion, but Stone pointed out that Hayes had cashed plenty of checks while the show made fun of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Stone hinted that Hayes was pressed to quit by his minders in the Church of Scientology.

A rep for Comedy Central, asked if Cruise was responsible for the "Closet" episode being yanked, attributed it instead to Hayes' resignation, saying, "In light of the events of earlier this week, we wanted to give Chef an appropriate tribute by airing two episodes he is most known for." But TV insiders weren't buying that explanation.

Now the question is whether Comedy Central will ever again air "Trapped in the Closet" and whether it will be included on the DVD of the show's ninth season.

Cruise has a history of playing hardball. He is allegedly responsible for the missing sex scene his fiancée Katie Homes filmed (before she started dating Tom) in "Thank You for Smoking," which opens today.

And who will ever forget the way Cruise shouted down Matt Lauer on the "Today" show when Lauer argued that some people have been helped by prescription drugs?"
___________________

Matt Stone and Trey Parker have issued a statement in today's edition of Daily Variety in response to the Scientology episode being pulled on Wednesday.

""So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu."



http://www.variety.com/VR1117939918.html"
 
God Bless America

Where anyone with money and fame can censor what you see on TV. I am so sick of Tom Cruise..how about we boycott his sorry ass movies? Don't go see them..don't rent them...don't watch them on tv. Oh wait....I already do that!
 
Re: God Bless America

> Tom Cruise..how about we boycott his
> sorry ass movies? Don't go see them..don't rent them...don't
> watch them on tv. Oh wait....I already do that!
>
I agree let's lauch a national boycott of MI 3. Not that i was going to see it anyway.
 
Re: God Bless America

> > Tom Cruise..how about we boycott his
> > sorry ass movies? Don't go see them..don't rent
> them...don't
> > watch them on tv. Oh wait....I already do that!
> >
> I agree let's lauch a national boycott of MI 3. Not that i
> was going to see it anyway.
>

This is absurd!

Christians, Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Italians, Irish, Hispanics (and the list can go on) are mocked every day in the entertainment industry, often played by people of the very background being stereotyped. Why? Because it's their job, and they're being paid.

Maybe he should get out of the show business if he can't keep his work and private lives separate.
 
Re: God Bless America

>
Its all about the cash. Little Tommy threatened to cancel all promotion for Mission Impossible 3. If he did that, Viacom (new owners of Comedy Central) would lose money. If Comedy Central and Paramount were not co owned, this wouldn't have happened.

The episode was banned in the UK as well because of Tommy's little hissy fits.

Luckally for the people who didn't get a chance to see it, Bittorrent exists.

<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Re: God Bless America

> Its all about the cash. Little Tommy threatened to cancel
> all promotion for Mission Impossible 3. If he did that,
> Viacom (new owners of Comedy Central) would lose money. If
> Comedy Central and Paramount were not co owned, this
> wouldn't have happened.

I would buy that excuse except that Cruise is an exec producer on the film and is getting paid based on it's performance. I believe it's basically the same arrangement from MI:2. So if he doesnt do promos, no one will care about it and he will stand to lose a lot of money, not that he really needs it anyway.
 
Re: God Bless America

> > Its all about the cash. Little Tommy threatened to cancel
> > all promotion for Mission Impossible 3. If he did that,
> > Viacom (new owners of Comedy Central) would lose money. If
>
> > Comedy Central and Paramount were not co owned, this
> > wouldn't have happened.
>
> I would buy that excuse except that Cruise is an exec
> producer on the film and is getting paid based on it's
> performance. I believe it's basically the same arrangement
> from MI:2. So if he doesnt do promos, no one will care about
> it and he will stand to lose a lot of money, not that he
> really needs it anyway.


Just more of Hollywood's "elite" money and power people thinking that their half baked ideas drive the world. Mr. Cruise and those of his ilk fail to realize, except for their money, they would be just so much debris floating by in the gutter. Time for Cruise control to be engaged.>
 
Re: God Bless America

> I would buy that excuse except that Cruise is an exec
> producer on the film and is getting paid based on it's
> performance. I believe it's basically the same arrangement
> from MI:2. So if he doesnt do promos, no one will care about
> it and he will stand to lose a lot of money, not that he
> really needs it anyway.
>
Who knows if the part about Cruise's saying he wouldn't promote the movie is true. Cruise's people deny it, and comedy central is saying they only canceled the show, inorder to pay tribute to Chef (Which i would buy had hayes died, not quit) Only reason i'm sure Cruise did something, is because Matt and Trey released a statment that paints a perfect picture that Cruise/Scientology are behind it. I dount they would have said anything had it only been CC wanting to have a best of Chef night.
 
(These comments are not really directed at the original poster as much as the article he brings to our attention.)

> The "South Park" episode, "Trapped in the Closet," pokes fun
> at Scientology and shows Cruise, John Travolta and R. Kelly
> (who is not a Scientologist, but has a song called "Trapped
> in the Closet") literally in a closet.

It's a little late, considering Comedy Central has shown this episode repeatedly already, it's all over the net for download, and goes on DVD with all of the other episodes. What regular South Park viewer HASN'T seen it?

> Now, hollywoodinterrupted.com reports Cruise went straight
> to the top - to execs at Viacom - and warned he'd boycott
> the promotion for "MI3" unless the "South Park" episode was
> pulled.

Yeah, okay, but let's consider the source here. Hollywoodinterrupted is a blog straight out of the Drudge School of News Reporting, right down to the "Developing..." at the end of some pieces. "Sources say" in the blog world often means they made it up, giving credibility to assumption.

The part of Variety you didn't quote was:

A spokesman for Cruise denied that Cruise had ever made such a threat. "He never said any such thing about 'Mission: Impossible 3," the spokesman said.

Variety attributed the Cruise reports exclusively to bloggers, which makes me suspicious at the outset.

> Series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been told
> not to discuss the matter - to avoid embarrassing Cruise as
> they did Isaac Hayes last week when Hayes, also a
> Scientologist, quit his role as the voice of the Chef
> character.

Which is completely ridiculous. Matt Stone and Trey Parker have -never- listened to suits, and they aren't going to start now, and this part of the blog report is already discredited because they most certainly did speak on it in the Daily Variety article you noted.

> A rep for Comedy Central, asked if Cruise was responsible
> for the "Closet" episode being yanked, attributed it instead
> to Hayes' resignation, saying, "In light of the events of
> earlier this week, we wanted to give Chef an appropriate
> tribute by airing two episodes he is most known for." But TV
> insiders weren't buying that explanation.

No... bloggers aren't buying that explanation.

> Now the question is whether Comedy Central will ever again
> air "Trapped in the Closet" and whether it will be included
> on the DVD of the show's ninth season.

Yes, it most certainly will be on the DVD.

> Cruise has a history of playing hardball. He is allegedly
> responsible for the missing sex scene his fiancée Katie
> Homes filmed (before she started dating Tom) in "Thank You
> for Smoking," which opens today.
>
> And who will ever forget the way Cruise shouted down Matt
> Lauer on the "Today" show when Lauer argued that some people
> have been helped by prescription drugs?"

I am no great defender of Tom Cruise. I personally think he's nutty. But this is shoddy "reporting" if you can even call it that. Point one is total speculation. Point two isn't "hardball" - it's his Scientology beliefs being megaphoned into Matt Lauer's ear. Those beliefs are nutty, but hardly proof of "hardball."
 
Re: God Bless America

> > I would buy that excuse except that Cruise is an exec
> > producer on the film and is getting paid based on it's
> > performance. I believe it's basically the same arrangement
>
> > from MI:2. So if he doesnt do promos, no one will care
> about
> > it and he will stand to lose a lot of money, not that he
> > really needs it anyway.
> >
> Who knows if the part about Cruise's saying he wouldn't
> promote the movie is true. Cruise's people deny it, and
> comedy central is saying they only canceled the show,
> inorder to pay tribute to Chef (Which i would buy had hayes
> died, not quit) Only reason i'm sure Cruise did something,
> is because Matt and Trey released a statment that paints a
> perfect picture that Cruise/Scientology are behind it. I
> dount they would have said anything had it only been CC
> wanting to have a best of Chef night.
>
A couple of the tabloids are promoing that they will on their Monday shows "expose all" about Cruise's actions. Of course those type shows always claim to "expose" but it'll be interesting to see the story angle each program plays.
 
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