Will Smith Talks to USA Today About Tom Cruise
June 27, 2008 by Julie Bonner
In a new interview with USA Today, Will Smith defended his pal Tom Cruise. Smith mentioned that all the criticism Tom received because of his Scientology faith was “painful for me to see. I’ve met very few people committed to goodness the way Tom is.”
Many, many people have said that Will Smith has obviously converted to Scientology because he is best buds with Tom. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Will raised Baptist and said that he still remains a Christian today.
Will said, “We disagree on a lot of things. But even with different faiths and different beliefs, at the end of the day, goodness is goodness.”
I love what Will says about their friendship next. He says that it thrives on rivalry. What’s their current competition? Who can sign autographs longer. LOL.
“It’s hard to beat that dude,” Smith said. “He has another gear. He did two-and-a-half hours in France for Mission: Impossible on the red carpet. Now when I go to France, people will say, ‘You know, Tom was out here for two-and-a-half hours.‘”
If I only had friends that agreed with all my beliefs and ideas, I would be one lonely, pathetic and angry woman. 
I have friends from all walks of life, and from all religious backgrounds. I admire the friendship that Will and Tom have.
(Side note: I know that anything that has to do with Scientology is a touchy subject here. Feel free to argue your points or state your opinion, but please, no name calling or disrespect for each other’s opinions.)
Image used with permission by Newscom
I think Will would be one cool dude to meet! I admire the way that he has lived his life. Though he’s made mistakes, he has always owned up to them & really learned from them. He really turned his life around after going bankrupt several years back, and he still seems just as down to earth as any regular Joe. I saw an interview (”60 Minutes” maybe?) where he talked about what he was like growing up - his parents did an excellent job raising him, and I think in turn he is doing a great job with his own family. I love watching any interview he’s in because he’s such a straight-forward “tell it like it is” kinda guy.
(OK, my gush fest is over… for the moment!)
He’s very craftily letting the world know that he’s of the Christian faith.
He has always been a very funny man. He has a new movie coming out next week.
It has storied that Will Smith OWNS July 4th weekends at the box office!
But with different faiths and different beliefs, at the end of the day, goodness is goodness. to me , that pretty much sums it up. from when i was little my dad always said, that as long asyou are a good person and have a good heart everything else comes second. will smith has always come across as a hugely decent man. i like his movies too.
I have grown to like Will Smith more and more these last few years. By now his career would have been over like many of his counterparts but his positive attitude and his wife has really helped him.
If you ask people who Hate Tom why they do, they have lame reason which sound pathetic with each passing day. Problem is that they are very vocal and determined. Will is right, I can’t see Tom ever caving, for that I admire him since he does not even resort to alcohol or drugs to keep him strong.
It’ll be interesting to see if Will can keep it going.
Will Smith is a tremendous guy….I have always liked him!!!!
People dwell too much on the bad and the negative… there’s so much good in this world… worrying about someone’s beliefs is petty. Live life to the fullest and enjoy one another… after all, we have this one life to live … why live it with nasty cut downs.
Will is living the life he wants and so is top - they’re enjoying what they’ve built - honestly, we’re but small specks in their world.
Enindoodle, we’re but small specks, but our dollars mean a lot to them. LOL.
Julie: You neglect to mention that his wife and kids are Scientologists too. That will have more impact than Tom Cruise.
Can we honestly say who care’s what this man’s religion is? He does a lot of good and decent things for this world and he gives back. From what I heard, he is a very down-to-earth kind of guy and doesn’t take himself to seriously.
Maybe that can rub off on Cruise and his wife.
I like Will Smith, not so much his movies (except Hitch, POH, and Independent Day) but love the guy. He was on Jonathan Ross on friday and he is one the funniest and decent guy. On the show Jay-z was also there and they both seem really nice ppl. (check the link for Will Smith on JR show)
I agree with you Julie, if we all had friends who agreed with all our beliefs and ideas, we’d be lonely, and life would be very boring.
If Scientology and ‘clearing’ the planet is such a worthy cause, why does it COST hundreds of thousands of dollars? Reportedly, Tom has put roughly upwards of a $100 million dollars to get to the level he is at today. Jason Beghe said that he put all that money and time in taking the auditing to realize it was just empty, he wasn’t a better Jason Beghe just a better Scientologist.. Always another course that of course cost more and more money. If he had a problem then it was because he needed to take a course again and of course pay for it.
Most of the world currently views it as a cult. That is far far different than a faith or even a religion. There is too much information on the net today to just say, oh well he has done lots of good and is full of goodness when his ‘church’ is under investigation in numerous countries and many of the higher ups including LRH’s wife herself went to prison for fraud. LRH was a science fiction writer who made it widely known that the way to make a whole lot of money was to make a ‘religion’. True fans of these people would actually explore some of the information with an open mind and realize that TC and clan are victims of a mind blowing cult. Will Smith is opening a new school which would be a wonderful thing except it is using the brain-washing method of ’study tech’. He is wise to say he is of a different faith because as long as that can be sort of believable his career won’t do what Tom’s has done. If he should come out as a full blown Scientologist, the world would soon show his box office the same door Tom’s has currently taken..
WHAT??? lol
Con.mom, Will Smith didn’t say “Scientology and ‘clearing’ the planet is such a worthy cause”.
He is right in defending TC by saying that, he find it painful to see him getting all the criticisms because of his faith, just like I do as a fan..
Regarding how much it cost to to join the “church” who bloody cares? If people are rich and gullible enough to pay that much money, then its upto them!
And yes, he has done lots of goodness (NOT “Scientology” but Tom Cruise) regardless of the “investigations” of his “church”. I’m going to add that, other “churches” and their appointees have been “under investigations” in the past, over be it because of fraud or because of priest molesting kids….I’m glad I don’t belong to any of these “religions” because if I did, according to Con.mom I’d have been held accountable too.
You know I don’t even want to find myself defending CoS or any other religion for that matter, but when ppl like you go on and blame the “world’s problem” on Tom Cruise, it just brings out the the reasonable person in me.
Here is something for you to read about Catholic church.
http://eatingfish.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/how-rich-is-the-rcc/
“He is wise to say he is of a different faith because as long as that can be sort of believable his career won’t do what Tom’s has done. If he should come out as a full blown Scientologist, the world would soon show his box office the same door Tom’s has currently taken..”
Con.mom, Tom Cruise has been a Scientologiest for over 20 years, and that was a well known fact way before 2005, he just didn’t answer questions about his faith before 2005. Yes, he made mistakes with the way he answerd some questions in regards to Brooke and etc. (that was what most ppl had problem with and what happened on Oprah, more than the fact that he was a Scientologist).
John Travolta is another Scientologist whose box office takings are going from strength to strength…and who has openly talked about his faith. If Will Smith says that he is not a Scientologist then I believe him…I’ve no reason not to, not that, it makes any difference to me what religion he belongs to. I think Will Smith will be fine as long as he keeps making the right movies and keeps his publicist. And as long as the media doesn’t have grudge against him and tries to destroy him.
Scientology’s plan Tia, not Will Smith’s unless he has actually “gone over to the dark side”, is to clear this planet. If you are a Scientologist, that is the goal. Non-scientologists or folks who have gotten out are Suppressive People or Wogs and not worthy of much thought.
I agree that Will is a great guy and Tom is a great guy. Y’know, America has a constitution and it has freedom of religion in it. Why get into dissing someone else’s religion? If you don’t like it, fine, but keep your mouth shut on that subject, at least publically. We don’t need to hear it. Let’s spend time on doing good for others- like these two do.
America also has freedom of speech. Which is what many here are allowed to practice.
Which is also what Will Smith and Tom Cruise are practicing as well.
Isn’t it wonderful Mary, that we can hear and know what others think and believe?
As long as we keep our ears open and truly LISTEN (READ) to what others are saying, we will continue to learn and grow.
This is off-topic but topical enough with the last few comments:
__________________________________________-
It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear -It is all based on one recurring theme which happens to be the subtitle of the book: Dr. Frank Luntz - Words that work.
You can have the best message in the world, but the person on the receiving end will always understand it through the prism of his or her own emotions, preconceptions, prejudices and preexisting beliefs. It’s not enough to be correct or reasonable or even brilliant. The key to successful communication is to take the imaginative leap of stuffing yourself right into your listener’s shoes to know what they are thinking and feeling in the deepest recesses of their mind and heart. How that person perceives what you say is even more real, at least in a practical sense, than how you perceive yourself.
_________________________________________
Julie - Apolgies for the off-topic.
Considering that most of the countries on this planet consider Scientology to be a cult and NOT a religion, I don’t feel I am trampling on anyone’s freedom of “religion”. I believe if Will is as smart and saavy as I think he is, he will keep the scieno thing on the down low. The school he is sponsoring has already removed all the Scientology phrases from their website. I am currently a fan and am believing that his new movie will do great box office the first weekend.
Concerned mom as far as I have read Scientology is recognized as a religion in the US and by the European court and has been recognized and registered as a religion in many countries that have a religious registry.
It’s under heavy, heavy scrutiny and heavily criticized in many of those countries but they have been allowed to set up churches in many countries.
Also from I read the school that Smith is sponsoring is secular and never had Scientology phrases on it’s website.
Like was said previously this country allows freedom of religion and Scientology is registered and acknowledged as such here.
The school the Smith and his wife are sponsoring has scientology teachers and will be using the L. Ron hubbard method of teaching. They do not deny any of this.
No, they don’t deny it PuckHappy but they have clarified what the school is about and what it is.
The school’s director said some of the school’s staffers are Scientologists, Muslim, Christian or Jewish and according to its Web site, students receive an individualized learning program in core curriculum areas that are tailored to their strengths. Leadership development and a focus on arts and technology, including a film festival, are among the programs offered.
Students also get their own laptops and start taking computer classes in pre-K.
Good luck luck to all involved………….It’s a noble endeavor.
__________________________________________
Will said, “We disagree on a lot of things. But even with different faiths and different beliefs, at the end of the day, goodness is goodness.”
I think the above statement shows what true friendship should be based on. I just love what Will said.
In regards to the Scientology curriculum, from what I read it is very good at teaching the kids to read and read well. In fact, California looked at the curriculum.
They rejected it because there were serious Church-State issues. The curriculum, as stated by the California State Board of Ed, said it is very heavy in indoctrination of Scientology beliefs.
So, if Smith is using that curriculum, than it is a school for scientology indoctrination. Smith can say that it is not all he wants, but if he is using that curriculum, it is!
Mary, the school will not be teaching “technology” as in a technology trade. It is a scientology method of teaching.
This is what they say:
One teaching method the school uses is study technology, which was developed by Hubbard and focuses on students gaining hands-on experience, mastering subject matter before moving to the next level, and being taught not to read past words they don’t understand.
The LA Times did a report and this is part of what was said:
One teaching method the school uses is study technology, which was developed by Hubbard and focuses on students gaining hands-on experience, mastering subject matter before moving to the next level, and being taught not to read past words they don’t understand.
“People tend to think study technology is a subject, but it is really just the way the subject is taught,” Olivier said. “They then come to the conclusion that we are teaching Scientology when actually a methodology doesn’t have anything to do with content.”
The school, she said, will use many philosophies, including Montessori, Bruner and Gardner.
____________________________________________
The head of the school, Jacqueline Olivier is a respected educator.
Apparently that study technology is used successfully.
PuckHappy I think we were typing at the same time.
I’m sure the state will investigate and we’ll hear what happens.