Tom Cruise, other Scientology members dislike portrayal of a cult leader in new film 'The Master'
Source: NY Daily News
Tom Cruise’s fellow Scientology members would like to master “The Master.”
A source familiar with Paul Thomas Anderson ’s film about the founder of a Scientology-like religious movement tells us officials of the controversial church group “hit the roof” when they learned — presumably through Cruise — that the movie contains a scene which suggests the belief system was little more than a product of the leader’s fertile imagination.
In May, Anderson, who is friends with Cruise and directed him in “Magnolia,” the 1999 film that earned Cruise a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination — reportedly screened his film for the “Rock of Ages” star.
“The Master” is said to be loosely based on the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd, the founder of a 1950s religious movement called The Cause.
Hubbard, a onetime writer of pulp and science fiction , founded the Church of Scientology in the ’50s.
Both the Wrap.com and Huffington Post reported other similarities between the fictional Dodd and the late Hubbard.
According to Wrap.com, Dodd, like Hubbard, creates his cultlike movement while on a boat trip.
HuffPo also noted that both Dodd and Hubbard “had wives named Mary Sue,” and said this “has caused some to wonder if the film will raise the hackles of the notoriously secretive group.”
After Cruise saw “The Master,” Wrap.com reported the actor “had issues” with parts of the highly anticipated movie .
According to our insider, one scene that didn’t sit well with Cruise takes place on a patio where Joaquin Phoenix , who plays Freddie Sutton, a troubled drifter who becomes Dodd’s right-hand disciple, watches Dodd pontificate about the religion he has created.
During the scene, the source says, another character close to the founder turns to Phoenix and says of Dodd, “You know he’s making it up as he goes along.”
Referring to the actual Church of Scientology, our source says, “Tom Cruise’s people are grumbling about this line — amongst others — but Anderson is not taking it out.”
Cruise’s spokeswoman declined to comment on this story. Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw responded: “No one in the church has seen the film, and we have no comment. ”
Although the Weinstein Co. will not release “The Master” until Oct. 12, Anderson’s movie has become a hot topic since Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise on June 29.
The Weinstein Company declined to comment and Anderson did not respond by deadline.
The “Dawson’s Creek” actress is seeking sole custody of their daughter, Suri Cruise , amid rumors that Holmes feared the influence Scientology was having on the 6-year-old girl.
