Friday, December 6, 2024

Tom Cruise’s Former Scientology Assistant, Photographer Now Hollywood Movie Producer

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Michael Doven. He and his wife Andrea are long time Scientologists with close ties to Tom Cruise. Michael Doven is a photographer who functioned as Tom Cruise’s Scientology assistant for years. In 2012, the intrepid Tony Ortega reported that Doven had been secretly monitoring Cruise and reporting back to the cult leaders.

But now Doven has started a movie company called United Pictures Group. He’s got a slate of films he is producing with other Scientologists including soap opera actress Michelle Stafford. One of his projects his called “Mission Accomplished.” Last year, he produced a straight to video feature with Terry Jastrow, the Scientologist husband of Anne Archer. Archer’s son, Tommy Davis, used to be Scientology’s celebrity wrangler.

For years, Michael Doven  got credits on Cruise films, from Vanilla Sky to Collateral to Mission Impossible 2.  Doven’s bio on the imdb might be a little broad: “CEO and founder of United Pictures Group, Producer Michael Doven is a 25 year movie industry executive with Associate Producer credits on films which have grossed billions of dollars World Wide (box office Mojo). These include: The Last Samurai, Minority Report, Mission ImpossibleII, Collateral and Vanilla Sky. He was the Production Associate on Mission Impossible, Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia and worked assisting Mr. Cruise on Jerry Maquire, The Firm, A Few Good Men, Far And Away, Interview With A Vampire and worked (un-credited) on War of The Worlds, Mission Impossible III & Valkyrie.”

It’s unclear who’s funding United Pictures Group. But Scientology is investing heavily on a state of the art film production facility in Hollywood.

Doven’s wife, Andrea, by the way, is the daughter of beloved “Mad Men” and Broadway star, and non Scientologist, Robert Morse.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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