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Tom Cruise Won’t Be Getting Any Help from Lisa Marie Presley

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I wrote this on Forbes.com on May 26th. It seems appropriate to revisit it now. Tom Cruise won’t be able to get any help from former fellow Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley. Read why:

Lisa Marie Presley and her mother, Priscilla, have long been members of Scientology. But recently things have changed. It’s been signalled in the tabloids, but suddenly Lisa Marie has made a declaration at least in song that she’s disillusioned with the notorious sect.

On her new album, “Storm and Grace,” Presley makes several allusions to Scientology that are unmistakable. In the new single, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” she sings:

“You can think that I’m evil and I’m off the rails
You ain’t seen nothing yet
That I’m a bit transgressive and suppressive as well
You ain’t seen nothing yet
Am I a disruption to your corruption
You ain’t seen nothing yet”

She also sings:

“Lay down the truth don’t make a sound
Just a piece of fruit who has hit the ground
I don’t respond, I lost the plot
Unethical, not what I thought”

The song uses language from the Scientology lexicon. A “suppressive” is a Scientology outcast. Then she is more pointed as a “disruption to your corruption.”

There are other references to her dissatisfaction with Scientology throughout the abum produced by T Bone Burnett. In “Storm of Nails” she sings:

“It’s been a long highway
Where do I get off and drive away
I’m looking for a sign that should say
When you’ve had enough, exit this way
If only I were a gopher now
I’d dig a hole and I’d not come out”

There’s another song, too, called “So Long” that alludes to the end of her road with Scientology.

On her website, www.lisamariepresley.com, the daughter of legendary rock pioneer Elvis Presley has also wiped out almost all reference to Scientology. Where she once promoted the group’s causes, she’s now down to just one. Otherwise, her emphasis is on her own foundation and one named for her father. They are each dedicated to people and causes in Memphis.Presley said in interviews with Billboard, USA Today and “Access Hollywood” recenntly that she’d cleaned house and gotten rid of a lot of people whom she’d trusted. It does seem like it’s all associated with Scientology. If the group has lost Lisa Marie, then it’s a blow. She was one of their chief celebrities to whom they pointed, and from whom they were guaranteed some sizable coin.

Here’s the video for “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” in which the singer puts a lot of objects in a trunk then throws the objects in a lake before rowing away. There’s a teddy bear–does that represent her mother, who’s still with the group? There’s also a trumpet and a wooden doll of a man. And don’t miss the rattlesnake–that’s some imagery.

I’ve met LMP about a half dozen times over the years. She always seemed like a straight shooter, not mysterious at all, and quite straightforward. It also seemed like the one thing that separated her from the music career that eluded her so long was her connection to Scientology. Now, that may be over.

Katie vs. Tom on Scientology: She Could Spill Beans About the Other Kids, Etc.

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It seems like most of the media has turned the Katie Holmes-Tom Cruise story into one of Scientology being the cause of the divorce, particularly as the cult–as it now called by Rupert Murdoch–affects six year old Suri. But if Cruise insists publicly that Suri be raised as Scientologist, and Katie objects, the group’s leader David Miscavige may tell Cruise to let it go. Why? Holmes, more than anyone, could shine a glaring light on the inner workings of the sect. Once the divorce really gets going, and affidavits are filed, depositions are taken, things could get nasty for the secretive group.

For one thing, Holmes could finally describe what happened when she met Cruise in April 2005, where she was for an unexplained 16 days before surfacing in Rome with him and announcing she was in love. That was on April 27, 2005. Prior to approximately April 12th, Holmes didn’t know Cruise. Her reps sent her to L.A. for a meeting with him about “Mission Impossible 3” that may have taken place at the Scientology Centre in Hollywood.

From then on, Holmes cut off her family and friends. When she finally spoke, she was– as I reported then exclusively–monitored closely by Scientologist Jessica Feshbach Rodriguez, whose family are heavy Scientology donors. Feshbach even spoke for Holmes during a magazine interview that summer. For most of the time until they married in November 2006, Holmes was never alone without someone from Scientology. But all of her prior friends–including actress Rebecca Gayheart, and her ex castmates from “Dawson’s Creek”–were banished.

Inside the world of Tom Cruise, Holmes presumably saw everything there is to know about Scientology. One movie director told me in 2006 how Cruise’s Beverly Hills house–in which his sister, her three children, and Cruise’s mother all lived–was filled with people working through the night on various Scientology projects. “At midnight,” the director said, ” the house was lit up.”

Holmes would also have vital information about Cruise’s two older children, Connor and Isabella, and how they were raised apart from their mother, Nicole Kidman. Years ago, there was a public outcry when Bella Cruise’s name turned up on a list of Scientology “completions” when she was very young. It was obvious she was being indoctrinated. The children were home schooled by Cruise’s sisters, who joined the group, as well as his mother, who left her husband and her life in Marco Island, Florida when Suri was born, at Cruise’s demand, to come watch his new wife and daughter.

Cruise and his lawyers will have to decide if the gamble is worth it–that anything could come out, that all of it could impact Cruise’s career, and is it worth it. It’s probably not. As it is, former Scientologists have written books, and several high profile members have left or openly criticized the group including Lisa Marie Presley, director Paul Haggis, and actor Jason Beghe.

Tom Cruise Has A Long History with Lawyers and Private Eyes

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TMZ cooked up a whole story on Sunday about Katie Holmes possibly being under surveillance by Scientology. They denied it, of course, and I kind of believe them. The story of Tom Cruise, private eyes, and lawyers actually has more to do with Cruise and his personal team than with Scientology. Cruise’s two lawyers–Bert Fields and Dennis Wasser–had long histories with currently incarcerated private investigator Anthony Pellicano. The Pellicano stories should be legendary by now, and took in a lot of powerful people.

But when it concerns Cruise, Wasser, Fields and Pellicano the episodes concerned the last Cruise divorce, from Nicole Kidman. She and Cruise were each questioned by the FBI regarding Pellicano, which was reported widely. Pellicano’s in prison, but that doesn’t mean Wasser or Fields isn’t using an investigator in the Holmes case. Read this New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/movies/MoviesFeatures/25fields.html?pagewanted=all or Google it yourself. http://tinyurl.com/85b6k57

Another lawyer who works for Cruise and with Fields, Ricardo Cestero, actually used to work for Pellicano.

As I wrote in 2006:

“But what most people don’t know is that before he went to law school and came to work for Fields, Cestero labored in the office of Anthony Pellicano as a private investigator. In fact, he was schooled at Pellicano’s very knee.
Ricardo P. Cestero graduated from Oberlin College in 1991. According to the Greenberg Glusker Web site, he got his law degree in 1997 from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. This differs from the Martindale.com Web site, which has biographical info for all attorneys. Cestero graduated from law school there in 1999.
Either way, in the years between graduating college and getting his law degree, according to sources and reports, Cestero worked exclusively for Pellicano, who in turn worked for attorney Bert Fields. Fields has maintained throughout the Pellicano investigation that he knew nothing of the private detective’s activities and sanctioned nothing illegal.”

Rupert Murdoch Labels Scientology a “Cult,” “Creepy,” “Weird”

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Is Rupert Murdoch really doing his own Tweeting? Today, spreading like wild fire, Murdoch Tweeted:  “Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people.”

More: “Scientology back in news. Very weird cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in hiearchy.”

And: “Scientology back in news. Very weird cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in hiearchy.”

A little later, the 81 year old owner of News Corp and the owner of 20th Century Fox added: “Since Scientology tweet hundreds of attacks. Expect they will increase and get worse and maybe threatening. Still stick to my story.”

Oh really? It was Murdoch’s company that released Cruise’s “Knight and Day” a couple of years ago. They also took a strong position on “Valkyrie,” taking the international distribution. But that will be the end of that.

Of course, Fox was already responsible for the infamous “South Park” episode called “Trapped in the Closet.” It’s maybe a sign of how desperate Cruise was in his post-Oprah couch jumping free fall that he agreed to be in a Fox movie after that episode. But now the head of the company has called him “evil” and dismissed his “religion.”

And how ironic, considering how Roger Ailes trembled three years ago when Kelly Preston Travolta — the devout wife of another Scientologist, the now much scandalized John Travolta–complained about my reporting at Foxnews.com. That was only in the fall of 2008, after Preston attacked me verbally in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel before Isaac Hayes’s funeral. Then she and an associate came to see Ailes just to see if they could cause trouble. And now Murdoch is calling the whole gang “evil.” And standing by his story. Wow.

Missing from Alec Baldwin Wedding: Brother Daniel, at UK Horse Races

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Daniel Baldwin didn’t make brother Alec’s wedding tonight to Hilaria Thomas at the old St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We’ll never know if he was supposed to get a silver or black wristband for the reception at NYU’s Kimmel Center. While brothers Billy and Stephen were there, Daniel was apparently in the United Kingdom. It’s a little unclear why, but he’s been Tweeting from there for a few days. He’s also now a Born Again Christian, from the Tweets. Almost every day his single Tweet is either “I’m up,” something about god, or an indication that he’s alive and well. That’s reassuring. Baldwin, who’s had a lot of public problems with alchohol and substances, seems to be living in Oregon otherwise. But in the last week he Tweeted that he visited with actor Albert Finney and his wife. He also sent out pictures from a race car event, went to horse races, and mentioned Wimbledon. He’s made no mention of his brother’s wedding. He did Tweet: “The LORD works in mysterious ways” on June 30th around 12am, the day of the wedding. It’s unclear why he’s in Britain: according to the imdb, he just made a low budget film that shot in the U.S. It’s also unclear if his references to the “Lord” are to god or to Lord March, his host in the UK at Goodwood Horse Races. (see picture).  Daniel, 52, is two years younger than Alec.

PS Guests at the wedding included Tina Fey, Woody Allen, Mariska Hargitay, and Baldwin’s daughter, Ireland. The exclusive on photos, etc was sold to People magazine, and will appear on Tuesday.

Alec Baldwin’s Wedding Will Feature Black and Silver Wrist Bands

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The original St. Patrick’s Chuch in Little Italy is right now having a mass that started at 5:30pm. The public was/is welcome. Then Mike Zimet’s security team will sweep everyone out for the Alec Baldwin wedding to Hilaria Thomas. There are guards everywhere, and metal blockades running up and down the narrow streets in front of the church. There’s a crowd at the back of the church, hoping to see Hilaria Thomas. There’s a small clutch of paparazzi in front, across the street, behind barricades. It’s 92 degrees outside, and threatening to rain. Inside the church there is no air conditioning. It will be the ‘hottest wedding of the year.’ There are nice white flowers in large sort of buckets within the entryway. There’s a box with black and silver laminated wrist bands–de riguer at a celebrity wedding. Maybe some people don’t get to go to the reception. There’s also a little tent inside the lobby, which might used as a ‘will call’ booth. There is no red carpet that is visible. They say two hundred people are expected at the church. The traffic will be backed up for miles on a Saturday night in Little Italy. No one seems to know where the reception is taking place, but it can’t be far away. Local pigeons are installed with video cameras for TMZ. (Just kidding, I think.) Along the street, people are eating gelato and shopping for shoes, unaware that a state event is about to take place. Mazel tov, as we say.

Tom Cruise’s Bad Week: Divorce, and “Rock of Ages” Sinks At Box Office

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This is not Tom Cruise’s week. If he didn’t have hundreds of millions of dollars, I would feel sorry for him. But back to reality, so to speak: First, Katie Holmes sacked him with a divorce filing. And then his movie that’s out right now, “Rock of Ages,” is DOA at the box office. Last night “ROA” did less than a million bucis–$865,000. That brings its total to $33,047,000. It will be lucky to get to $35 million this weekend. The divorce can’t be good publicity for Cruise, whose career is already a kind of marketing disaster. Other than “Mission Impossible,” his standing at the box office has fallen tremendously. The curious thing here is that he seems totally unaware of the situation. One method of recourse would be to leave Scientology, if he can, renounce it publicly, and go through a total image change. The public would embrace him wildly. But it’s unlikely to happen. It would mean removing his entire family from the religious sect. Meanwhile, his next film, “Reacher,” comes out at Christmas.

Motion Picture Academy Sends Invites to “The Artist” Winners, Stephen King, Kristen Wiig

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The Motion Picture Academy has invited a bunch of new people to join up. These folks will now all be Oscar voters — and very popular come the fall and winter. Let the campaigning begin!

The 2012 invitees are:

Actors
Simon Baker – “Margin Call,” “L.A. Confidential”
Sean Bean – “Flightplan,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
Bérénice Bejo – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies”
Tom Berenger – “Inception,” “Platoon”
Demián Bichir – “A Better Life,” “Che”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help,” “The Tree of Life”
Clifton Collins, Jr. – “Star Trek,” “Traffic”
Bryan Cranston – “Contagion,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jean Dujardin – “Les infidèls, “The Artist”
Richard E. Grant – “The Iron Lady,” “Withnail & I”
Jonah Hill – “Moneyball,” “Superbad”
Ken Howard – “J. Edgar,” “In Her Shoes”
Diego Luna – “Milk,” “Y Tu Mamá También”
Margo Martindale – “Secretariat,” “Million Dollar Baby”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids,” “The Back-Up Plan”
Matthew McConaughey – “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “A Time to Kill”
Janet McTeer – “Albert Nobbs,” “Tumbleweeds”
S. Epatha Merkerson – “Mother and Child,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”
Sam Rockwell – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Noon”
Andy Serkis – “The Prestige,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help,” “The Soloist”
Lili Taylor – “Being Flynn,” “High Fidelity”
Nia Vardalos – “For a Good Time, Call…,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Kerry Washington – “Django Unchained,” “Ray”
Michelle Yeoh – “The Lady,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”

Designers
Laurence Bennett – “The Artist,” “Crash”
David Brisbin – “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” “Dead Presidents”
Scott Chambliss – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Mission: Impossible III”
Wendy Chuck – “The Descendants,” “Sideways”
Maria Djurkovic – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Hours”
Sanja Milkovic Hays – “Battle: Los Angeles,” “Mission to Mars”
Mayes Rubeo – “Avatar,” “Apocalypto”
Anne Seibel – “Midnight in Paris,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Sharon Seymour – “The Ides of March,” “Friday Night Lights”
Sammy Sheldon – “X-Men: First Class,” “V for Vendetta”

Cinematographers
Florian Ballhaus – “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Oliver Bokelberg – “Win Win,” “The Station Agent”
Anna J. Foerster – “Anonymous”
Larry Fong – “Super 8,” “300”
Alwin Kuchler – “Hanna,” “Proof”
Toyomichi Kurita – “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Waiting to Exhale”
George Mooradian – “Crazy as Hell,” “Nemesis”
Guillaume Schiffman – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies”
Terry Stacey – “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” “Friends with Money”

Directors
Joseph Cedar – “Footnote (Hearat Shulayim),” “Beaufort”
Jean-Pierre Dardenne – “The Kid with a Bike (Le gamin au vélo),” “The Child (L’enfant)”
Luc Dardenne – “Lorna’s Silence (Le silence de Lorna),” “The Son (Le fils)”
Philippe Falardeau – “Monsieur Lazhar,” “It’s Not Me, I Swear! (C’est pas moi, je le jure!)”
Asghar Farhadi* – “A Separation (Jodaieye Nadar az Simin),” “About Elly (Darbareye Elly)
(also invited to the Writers Branch)
Rodrigo Garcia – “Albert Nobbs,” “Mother and Child”
Michel Hazanavicius* – “Les infidèles (The Players),” “The Artist” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Kasi Lemmons – “Talk to Me,” “Eve’s Bayou”
Terrence Malick – “The Tree of Life,” “The Thin Red Line”
Michaël R. Roskam – “Bullhead (Rundskop)”
Wong Kar Wai – “My Blueberry Nights,” “In the Mood for Love”

Documentary
John Battsek – “The Tillman Story,” “One Day in September”
Amy Berg – “Bhutto,” “Deliver Us from Evil”
Simon Chinn – “Project Nim,” “Man on Wire”
Marshall Curry – “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front,” “Street Fight”
Johanna Demetrakas – “Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche,” “Bus Riders Union”
Daniel Junge – “Saving Face,” “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
Mary Lampson – “Kimjongilia,” “Harlan County, USA”
Sam Pollard – “Gerrymandering,” “4 Little Girls”
Glenn Silber – “El Salvador: Another Vietnam,” “The War at Home”
Lucy Walker – “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom,” “Waste Land”

Executives
James Amos
Michael Bostick
Richard Brener
Howard Mark Cohen
David C. Glasser
Jeffrey B. Goldstein
Frederick Huntsberry
Jon Jashni
Michael Marshall
Tony Safford
Gregory Silverman
Nigel Sinclair

Film Editors
Kirk Baxter – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Social Network”
Nicolas De Toth – “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “The Sum of All Fears”
Scott Hill – “Zookeeper,” “Bruce Almighty”
Dan Lebental – “Iron Man 2,” “Elf”
Glen Scantlebury – “Transformers,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”

Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
Mark Coulier – “The Iron Lady,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
Linda Flowers – “The Hunger Games,” “The Social Network”
Toni G – “Salt,” “Monster”
Amanda Knight – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” “Mission: Impossible”
Tami Lane – “Superman Returns” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”

Members-at-Large
Wendy Aylsworth
Kyle Cooper
Patrick Crowley
Bud Davis
Chris deFaria
Sarah Katzman
John Kilkenny
Heidi Levitt
Kerry Lyn McKissick
Elizabeth Sayre
Michael Tadross
Mary Vernieu

Music
Ludovic Bource – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Lost In Rio”
Alberto Iglesias – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Constant Gardener”
Conrad Pope – “My Week with Marilyn,” “The Rising Place”
Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Love Is the Devil,” “The Last Emperor”
Theodore Shapiro – “The Big Year,” “I Love You, Man”

Producers
Letty Aronson – “Midnight in Paris,” “Match Point”
Michael Barnathan – “The Help,” “Rent”
Jean Bréhat – “London River,” “Days of Glory (Indigènes)”
Susan Cartsonis – “Beastly,” “What Women Want”
Tracey Edmonds – “Jumping the Broom,” “Soul Food”
Dede Gardner – “The Tree of Life,” “Running with Scissors”
Grant Heslov* – “The Ides of March,” “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Thomas Langmann – “The Artist,” “Mesrine: Public Enemy #1”
William Packer – “Think Like a Man,” “This Christmas”
Aaron Ryder – “The Raven,” “The Prestige”
Peter Saraf – “Our Idiot Brother,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Mary Jane Skalski – “Win Win,” “The Station Agent”

Public Relations
Larry Baldauf
Cindi Berger
Matthew P. Brubaker
Brian Daly
Rebecca Kearey
Adam Keen
Katie Martin Kelley
Eric Kops
Derek McLay
Michelle Sewell
Mark Woollen

Short Films and Feature Animation
Paul Cichocki – “Brave,” “WALL-E”
Eric Daniels – “Tangled,” “Meet the Robinsons”
Amanda Forbis – “Wild Life,” “When the Day Breaks”
Emily Hubley – “The Toe Tactic,” “Pigeon Within”
William Joyce – “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” “Meet the Robinsons”
Marv Newland – “CMYK,” “Tête à Tête à Tête”
Floyd Norman – “Waking Sleeping Beauty,” “Mulan”
Jonas Rivera – “Up,” “Cars”
Michelle Steffes – “The Interview,” “Day Labor”
David Verrall – “Dimanche/Sunday,” “Madame Tutli-Putli”
Jennifer Yuh Nelson – “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Madagascar”

Sound
Erik Aadahl – “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Monsters vs Aliens”
Deb Adair – “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” “Moneyball”
Stephen M. Bartkowicz – “Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds,” “Red State”
John T. Cucci – “Snow White & the Huntsman,” “Prometheus”
Chuck Garsha – “Misery,” “Die Hard”
Mildred Iatrou – “The Green Hornet,” “The Tree of Life”
Tim LeBlanc – “For Greater Glory,” “Something Borrowed”
Bo Persson – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Fanny & Alexander”
Gary L.G. Simpson – “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”
Philip Stockton – “Hugo,” “Brokeback Mountain”

Visual Effects
Scott Benza – “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Iron Man”
Greg Butler – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Sheena Duggal – “The Hunger Games,” “Spider-Man 3”
Christopher Evans – “Hugo,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ben Grossmann – “Hugo,” “The Italian Job”
Dan Lemmon – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “King Kong”
John Rosengrant – “Real Steel,” “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”
Eric Saindon – “Avatar,” “X-Men The Last Stand”
R. Christopher White – “The Lovely Bones,” “Jurassic Park III”
Guy Williams – “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Avatar”
Joss Williams – “Hugo,” “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

Writers
J.C. Chandor – “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi* – “A Separation (Jodaieye Nadar az Simin),” “Beautiful City (Shahr-e ziba)”
(also invited to the Directors Branch)
Michel Hazanavicius* – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies” (also invited to the Directors Branch)
Grant Heslov* – “The Ides of March,” “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (also invited to the Producers Branch)
Stephen King – “Pet Sematary,” “Creepshow”
Oren Moverman – “The Messenger,” “I’m Not There”
Annie Mumolo – “Bridesmaids”
Nicholas Stoller – “The Muppets,” “Get Him to the Greek”
Peter Straughan – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Men Who Stare at Goats”
Kristen Wiig – “Bridesmaids”

Additionally, the Academy invited Fritz Gabriel Bauer, Lee S. Berger, Ronald Bernstein, Ariel Emanuel, Jean-Marie Lavalou, Bryan Lourd, Dale Oliver, Jeremy Plager, John B. Quinn and Steve Weinstein to Associate membership.  Associate members are not represented on the Board and do not have Academy Awards® voting privileges.

Three individuals (noted above by an asterisk) have been invited to join the Academy by multiple branches. These individuals must select one branch upon accepting membership.

New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception in September.

The Academy’s Board of Governors also approved a recommendation from the Art Directors Branch; moving forward, the branch will be known as the Designers Branch. The branch includes production designers, art directors, set decorators and costume designers.

Katie Holmes Files in New York, Uses Non-Hollywood Lawyer for Divorce

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In Hollywood there is a small circle of lawyers who handle the superstar divorces. The last time Tom Cruise got unhitched he used Dennis Wasser, a mega divorce lawyer who filed first and managed the whole deal. Nicole Kidman was blindsided, she said. But lawyering up in Hollywood for divorce is common. So Katie Holmes’s choice of New Jersey lawyer Jonathan Wolfe is very interesting. For one thing, Wolfe filed in New York. So there won’t be a typical Hollywood situation. Katie has managed to go way outside that small circle where Cruise has power, influence and friends. In New York, he’s not a player and there’s no community for him to play in. It was very smart.

Katie’s father and brother, attorneys in Toledo, Ohio, no doubt had a hand in this strategy. Wolfe has an impressive background. His career started at the very heavy Manhattan firm of Milbank Tweed. He’s not a lightweight. His bio reads: “Mr. Wolfe utilizes his background in financial disputes to represent leaders or the spouses of leaders from the business, professional and entertainment/sports communities in complex matrimonial matters.  A significant portion of his practice is devoted to business valuation, the treatment of trust assets in divorce and the protection of non-marital assets.  He also assists clients in all other aspects of matrimonial and family law, including custody, parenting time, and the negotiation and preparation of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.”

It’s not clear whether Wasser will represent Tom again, or if he’s a license to practice in New York. Cruise may have to call in a Manhattan heavyweight to deal with this. I’ve no doubt his regular attorney, Bert Fields, is all over it.

Exclusive: Katie Holmes Fires Publicist, Returns to Pre- Tom Cruise Agency

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Exclusive: I’m told Katie Holmes has fired her publicist, the very good Ina Trecoikas, and has returned to Nancy Ryder, Leslie Sloane and BWR after seven years. Amazing stuff! This is a clear signal that Holmes is repudiating her last seven years. More to come…Radaronline.com is reporting that Katie will retain primary custody of Suri. But my emails to Cruise’s publicist regarding the subject have gone unanswered…also whether Scientology was cause of the rift…

Rewind: I met Katie Holmes on April 4, 2005 on the opening night of “Steel Magnolias” on Broadway. She was there to support her friend, Rebecca Gayheart. At the intermission, Katie and I discussed the fact that she’d moved to New York, was excited to do theater and indie films. The world was her oyster. Two weeks later, she turned up in Rome, in love with Tom Cruise.

According to her reps, she’d gone to Los Angeles to interview for “Mission: Impossible 3.” “We never heard from her again,” the rep said. In short order, Holmes fired publicist Leslie Sloane. No one she knew could explain what had happened. Between April 11 and the 27th, there was no record of what happened to her. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160192,00.html. Once she was with Cruise, she was never out of his sight.

Two years later, after she’d married Cruise, had Suri, and was mostly off the radar, Holmes materialized at a Giorgio Armani fashion show held at Ron Burkle’s estate in Hollywood. She looked dazed when I approached her and said, “Do you remember me? You disappeared.” She replied, “I fell in love.” Immediately, Tom’s sister and mother came between us physically, and Katie’s Scientology minders appeared as well. She was being watched closely. For most of the first year, she was followed everywhere by Jessica Feschbach. Her family had given millions to Scientology. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162082,00.html

The best example of all this was a frightening interview with Holmes the August 2005 W Magazine by Rob Haskell. Feshbach answered Holmes’s questions for her, and said to the actress of Cruise–in front of Haskell–” you adore him.” Not any more. http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/archive/katie_holmes?currentPage=2