TomCruiseFan.com
TomCruiseFan.com |
| More insight on the Germany/Valkyrie production story Posted: 29 Jun 2007 09:16 AM CDT So what exactly is all the fuss about? Read the following and see where the story comes from. Germany now would welcome Tom Cruise production News reports earlier this week had started officials would ban “Valkyrie” from shooting at German military sites because of star Cruise’s belief in Scientology. The producers have expressed interest in shooting at the Bendlerblock memorial in Berlin. It is the actual location where Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators hatched the plot to assassinate Hitler with a bomb hidden in a briefcase. It also is where Stauffenberg and the other plotters were executed after the attempt failed. Now a memorial site, the Bendlerblock also houses part of the Defense Ministry. The source of the “Valkyrie” controversy seems to have stemmed from a posting on the Web site of conservative German member of parliament Antje Blumenthal. Blumenthal posted a statement Friday claiming that Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung had pledged to her that Cruise would not get permission to shoot because of the purported danger posed by his Scientology. [RTE.ie adds: Conservative German member of parliament Antje Blumenthal, an outspoken opponent of Scientology, claimed on her website that Defence Minister Franz-Josef Jung had said that such a film involving Cruise could not be made at his Ministry - where Stauffenberg’s offices were and where he was shot after the plot failed. A Defence Ministry spokesman said that the moviemakers had not asked to film in his ministry’s areas, and said if they did, the application would be considered like any other.” - end of quote from RTE.ie] Blumenthal is a cult expert for the conservative CDU/CSU party and a longtime opponent of Scientology. The German government does not recognize Scientology as a religion and sees it instead as a dangerous cult, which brainwashes and exploits its members. Scientology is under official observation by Germany authorities as a potentially threat to German democracy, putting the organization on par with neo-Nazi groups. Germany’s film industry, however, has embraced the “Valkyrie” project. |
| Tom Cruise is finally shown the money Posted: 29 Jun 2007 05:47 AM CDT Nikki Finke reports on her “Deadline Hollywood Daily” page the following: “I’m told Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner have completed that $500 million production financing arranged by Merrill Lynch for United Artists. (This had been in the works for months and months.) There should be an announcement before the end of June. As I first reported on Sunday, their new campaign to raise the profile of UA continues. The latest: Cruise and Wagner will make an “unannounced” stop at the European exhibitors confab Cinema Expo in Holland today to unveil a 5½-minute clip of Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs, the company’s first release that also stars Tom.” Note from Chantal: Of course Tom’s visit is already in the past, see the news and pictures posted earlier by me and Des. |
| Germany says ‘Valkyrie’ not banned Posted: 29 Jun 2007 05:40 AM CDT Ministry would welcome Cruise’s WWII film BERLIN — Despite calls by some German officials to ban Bryan Singer’s World War II drama “Valkyrie” from shooting at government locations — due to Tom Cruise’s ties to Scientology — the project is getting plenty of support from the local film industry and looks likely to get the greenlight from authorities to film at historical sites here. Cruise talked up the project at length at Cinema Expo in Amsterdam, where the new UA made its first presentation to attendees, but didn’t refer to the ruckus in Germany. “It is a very powerful film in a very crucial moment in history about the resistance in Germany against the Nazi regime,” Cruise said. “This man had incredible integrity … a real hero. I have great admiration for him and what they tried to do.” The courtyard in which Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators were shot is now a memorial, but the building in which it’s located, the Bendlerblock, also houses part of the German Ministry of Defense. That, and not Cruise’s affiliation to Scientology, poses the main hurdle to a film permit for Singer and his crew, according to Dirk Kuehnau, head of the Bundesanstalt fuer Immobilienaufgaben (BIMA), the company in charge of government buildings. “In this country, we have constitutionally guaranteed rights,” Kuehnau said. “Articles four and five of the constitution protect freedom of faith and creed and freedom of expression. I don’t think those rights would be denied a film actor.” If anything, it would be the lights and cables and camera teams that could disrupt work at the Defense Ministry, Kuehnau said, adding that if an arrangement is found where filming does not interfere with government business, a filming permit should be no problem. Contrary to earlier reports, the defense minister has not banned the project from shooting at the site. In fact, the Defense Ministry, which would lease the building, does not have the right to grant or reject filming permits — that is up to BIMA. Recent reports of government opposition to the film were triggered by Antje Blumenthal, a member of the Bundestag and cult expert for the conservative CDU/CSU party, who said she had been assured by Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung that the film would not be allowed to shoot at the site, due to the alleged danger posed by Scientology. The German government does not recognize Scientology as a religion, and sees it as a dangerous cult with totalitarian aims as well as an exploitative, profit-based business. For the local industry, however, Singer’s project is more of a godsend. Studio Babelsberg toppers Christoph Fisser and Carl Woebcken are in negotiations with Gil Adler and Paula Wagner of United Artists to come aboard the film as co-production partners. Fisser praised the project, saying there are sadly far too few examples of the military opposition to Hitler’s regime during the war. “The assassination attempt against Hitler is hardly known outside Germany. We should therefore be delighted and welcome this wonderful opportunity to improve the image of our country.” (Leo Barraclough and Archie Thomas in Amsterdam contributed to this report.) |
| Tom in Holland promoting Lions for Lambs and pictures Posted: 29 Jun 2007 12:32 AM CDT
|
| Germany now would welcome Tom Cruise production Posted: 28 Jun 2007 11:00 PM CDT By Scott Roxborough COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) - The German Defense Ministry is scrambling to qualify its stance on the Tom Cruise World War Two thriller “Valkyrie,” saying Thursday that, despite reports to the contrary, it has no opposition to the film shooting in Germany. News reports earlier this week had started officials would ban “Valkyrie” from shooting at German military sites because of star Cruise’s belief in Scientology. The ministry now says that, while it hasn’t received an official request from “Valkyrie” producers United Artists to shoot in the country, it would “look agreeably” upon any such application. The film, slated for a 2008 release, tells the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise), the leader of a failed German military plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. The film’s title comes from Operation Valkyrie, the plot’s code name. The producers have expressed interest in shooting at the Bendlerblock memorial in Berlin. It is the actual location where Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators hatched the plot to assassinate Hitler with a bomb hidden in a briefcase. It also is where Stauffenberg and the other plotters were executed after the attempt failed. Now a memorial site, the Bendlerblock also houses part of the Defense Ministry. The Defense Ministry said Thursday that it wasn’t even responsible for approving film shoots at Bendlerblock because they are only tenants on the land. The location is under the authority of Germany’s Finance Ministry, a Defense Ministry spokesman said. The source of the “Valkyrie” controversy seems to have stemmed from a posting on the Web site of conservative German member of parliament Antje Blumenthal. Blumenthal posted a statement Friday claiming that Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung had pledged to her that Cruise would not get permission to shoot because of the purported danger posed by his Scientology. Blumenthal is a cult expert for the conservative CDU/CSU party and a longtime opponent of Scientology. The German government does not recognize Scientology as a religion and sees it instead as a dangerous cult, which brainwashes and exploits its members. Scientology is under official observation by Germany authorities as a potentially threat to German democracy, putting the organization on par with neo-Nazi groups. Germany’s film industry, however, has embraced the “Valkyrie” project. The heads of Studio Babelsberg, Christoph Fisser and Carl Woebcken, on Thursday praised “Valkyrie” as one of the “too few examples of military opposition to Hitler’s regime.” Fisser and Woebcken are in negotiations with United Artists to join the project as co-producers. If UA executives reach a deal, “Valkyrie” could begin shooting at Babelsberg next month. “The assassination attempt against Hitler is hardly known outside Germany,” Fisser said. “We should therefore be delighted and welcome this wonderful opportunity to improve the image of our country.” Reuters/Hollywood Reporter (Source: Yahoo) |
| Cruise schmoozes at Cinema Expo Posted: 28 Jun 2007 05:58 PM CDT Actor, Wagner tubthump for ‘Lions,’ ‘Valkyrie’ Cinema Expo went out with a bang as Tom Cruise made his first trip here for UA’s presentation to Euro exhibs while Universal took the limelight Thursday morning. UA plans to release four to six films a year. Although the pair revealed no new projects, Wagner told exhibs to save a space for UA’s upcoming slate. “We are working on a number of other wonderful projects so please set aside some playing time for us,” she said. Both Wagner and Cruise referred to UA’s history and promised to live up to it. Cruise spoke to delegates at length about helmer Bryan Singer’s “Valkyrie,” which begins principal photography in Germany in mid-July. Cruise plays the leader of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. The script was written by Christopher McQuarrie (”The Usual Suspects”) and newcomer Nathan Alexander. Cruise’s high praise for popular Dutch thesp Carice van Houten (”Black Book”), with whom he co-stars in “Valkyrie,” drew whoops of approval from local industryites. The UA presentation closed with the first public screening of footage from “Lions for Lambs,” which is released worldwide on Nov. 9. Attendees were treated to 5½ minutes of footage from the Robert Redford helmed pic about the war on terror, which Wagner described as “a powerful and emotional story about courage, sacrifice and the human consequences of a complicated war that has divided our world.” Cruise paid tribute to Redford. “He is a cinema icon and a legend and he has really changed cinema, the way pictures are looked at and released.” Dutch entertainment program RTL Boulevard has a video of Tom at the Expo, click here to watch it! (The presenter of the show introduces the video clip by saying Tom’s here to promote his new movie Lions for Lambs but all the presenter wanted to know if Tom knows Carice van Houten and if he had met her). Tom Cruise hasn’t let his Dutch fans down today. The 44-year old superstar arrived with three black limousines at the Amsterdam RAI, where he held a speech for its fifteenth edition of the Cinema Expo International, Europe’s greatest gathering of the film- and theatre industry. More than one hundred admirers of the actor came to the congress centre to catch a glimpse of their idol. Cruise, who ignored the mass of gathered press, really appreciated that and spend more than half an hour signing autograph after autograph and let his fans take pictures of them. Dressed in a slim, black tuxedo, shiny leather shoes and dark sunglasses he looked like a true megastar. Not until a reporter handed him some wooden shoes for his wife Katie Holmes and their daughter Suri, Cruise paid some attention to the journalists. He was eager to accept the wooden shoes. To the question how Suri is doing he answered she’s great. He didn’t meet Carice van Houten, who will play Cruise’s wife in the movie ‘Valkyrie’, yet, he told reporters. But he did see her work and named her a great actress. He also said he was sorry not to have visited The Netherlands before, since it’s such a great country. At the expo, where important productions like ‘Evan Almighty’ and ‘Surf’s up’ are presented, Cruise speaks about his new movie ‘Lions for lambs’, which is directed by Robert Redford. Next to Cruise and Redford there’s a part for Meryl Streep in the movie, which will be in Dutch theatres this November. People also mentioned Tom’s visit to Amsterdam: “Cruise, who spent last week in the French Riviera with Holmes and daughter Suri, 1, was in the Dutch capital promoting his drama Lions for Lambs on the final day of Europe’s Cinema Expo movie-distributors’ convention. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from TomCruiseFan.com To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner |
Inbox too full?  Subscribe to the feed version of TomCruiseFan.com in a feed reader. | |
| If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: TomCruiseFan.com, c/o FeedBurner, 549 W Randolph, Chicago IL USA 60661 | |
posted by Rex at 6:35 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home