As Us notes, Kidman opened in both London and New York productions of The Blue Room at the same time as Eyes Wide Shut was gearing up to open in movie theaters. The only Stanley Kubrick film to open in the number-one spot, the ritzy S&M flick had more than freaky costumes going for it — Kubrick passed away before its premiere, the film itself wasn't too shabby and, most importantly, Tom Cruise and Kidman were enjoying their final year as Hollywood's golden couple. People went to see his movies and couldn't wait for the chance to see both in the same one. He used to be an actor! One the Academy considered worthy of an Oscars nom! So Holmes' failure isn't really hers — well, in so much as her miserable confinement as a prisoner of Scientology isn't really her fault, either.

• KATIE HOLMES LESS POPULAR THAN NICOLE KIDMAN ON BROADWAY [Us]

"If a student is learning how to make a robot, he or she needs to see or touch the materials and computer right in front of him or her rather than just imagining how to make it."

"If a teacher is showing a student how to make the robot and the student suddenly is confused, the teacher makes sure to go back to the place the student stopped understanding and re-teach that point."

"In addition, NVA teachers make sure children understand the meanings of all of the words related to each lesson whether in math or in music, or as in the robot example - all of the words related to making the robot."

"Similarly, if the student is learning how to program the robot and comes across a word that he is unfamiliar with, the student must look it up in the dictionary or have the word explained by a teacher."

What the fuck is going on here? Has Will Smith learned nothing from starring in I, Robot? Here he is hell-bent on making these kids build robot after robot, yet he knows full well that they will rise up against humanity one day. Talk about irresponsible. I'd rather send my kid to the Scientology Celebrity Center!

• New Village Academy

Touretzky said many phrases and concepts on the school's website are specific to Scientology. For example, the school lists a "Director of Qualifications" and another teacher who is an assistant in the "Qual" department. The "Qual," said Touretzky, is where people who have completed a Scientology counseling, or "auditing," session or a course in the Church of Scientology are tested by a qualifications teacher.

"There is no reputable educator anywhere who endorses [study technology]," said Touretzky, a critic of Scientology. "What happens is that children are inculcated with Scientology jargon and are led to regard L.R. Hubbard as an authority figure. They are laying the groundwork for later bringing people into Scientology."

Certainly, these fringe educational techniques should give any parent cause for concern—as should the enrollment procedure, which involves the whisking away of potential students "for testing" by a pair navy-blazered school officials. Several weeks later, a letter comes in the mail alerting the anxious parents that not only did their child "pass our rigorous admissions process with flying colors," but that they could "actually come visit your son or daughter floating in our Subaqueous I.Q.-Infusion Tanks" at mid-semester break.

• Scientology is focus of flap over Will Smith's new school [LAT]

We started with the recent Tom Cruise controversy. Pinsky told us he has yet to receive any Scary Hollywood Lawyer letters for his comments regarding Cruise being "drawn into a cultish kind of enviroment" due to "neglect in childhood." He did express regret for the choice of terms he used, and apologized if what he said had offended Cruise—but the Jewish-American doctor also expressed outrage at Cruise's lawyer's Bert Field's Nazi comments, questioning if the comparison was racially motivated.

Following that, there's some nice talk previewing what's to come on the second season of Celebrity Rehab, including the return of Jeff Conaway, who, according to the doctor, is "even sicker" than last season. And if you recall what that was like—yikes.

Thanks again to Dr. Drew for being such a great sport. We look forward to sitting down with him again.

• Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew [VH1]

Which would all be well and good—there's more than one way to skin a once-famous cat who's lost everything to an expensive coke habit, after all—except that Pinsky has now publicly come out against Cruise. Not just his qualifications as a dependency counselor who has personally—personally!—helped hundreds of people get off drugs, but the man himself, throwing the megastar's very sanity into question in an upcoming Playboy interview. From Page Six:

In next month's Playboy, Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," says: "A lot of people in the public eye who behave strangely have mental illness we can learn from, and much of it is based on childhood trauma, without a doubt. Take a guy like Tom Cruise. Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology? To me, that's a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood - maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect."

Cruise's lawyer, Bert Fields, told us: "This unqualified television performer who is obviously just looking for notoriety is so grotesquely unprofessional as to pretend to diagnose Tom and others without ever meeting them. He seems to be spewing the absurdity that all Scientologists are mentally ill. The last time we heard garbage like this was from Joseph Goebbels."

Certainly, Pinsky must have realized that by uttering these statements, he would be inviting a danger far greater than just a terse Scary Hollywood Lawyer statement likening him to a Nazi leader. (The very thing, it bears mentioning, his client hunts down in United Artists's upcoming historical-action-epic, Valkyrie!) It's at his own risk that he pay no mind in the coming weeks to any white vans idling outside the Pasadena Recovery Center, for it would take only seconds for the doctor to suddenly find himself staring at the inside of a pillowcase, only to wake up however many hours later shackled to the deck of the USS Asbestos somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico.

• TOM RIPS 'NAZI' DIAGNOSIS [Page Six]

Although the film has yet to be completed, several people I trust have seen Valkyrie and testify that it's a superb thriller. "Bryan Singer is back in form," says one source, referring to the Valkyrie director whose last film was Superman Returns.

Cruise will be shooting three scenes in North Africa within the next three weeks. In one, his character, Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg, is badly injured but survives, a key moment in the film's first act.

It gets really good from there, with 130 comments and counting by everyone from a disgruntled Joseph Stalin to a contrarian Adolf Hitler, who claims, "There is no way that someone so short as Tom Cruise nearly assassinated me. This film is a farce." Look for Hollywood's original blogger Army Archerd to crack the Rolodex and have a fully reported follow up by noon.

• Tom Cruise Dons His Eye Patch and Starts Shooting Again [PeterBart.com]

With other guests like Kyra Sedgwick, Eva Longoria and Tobey Maguire attending, it's no surprise the security was so tight, but why the golf carts? Did Tom and Katie really force their guests to go scootering around their mansion just to say, Look! We're Rich! You Knew That Already But, But...Look!

Though paparazzi weren't allowed to snap anywhere near the actual party, they did manage to get a good handle on just how pricey the guests' rides were: Bentleys, Lexuses and Porsches galore. We're just relieved Jeremy Piven wasn't on hand to witness the rides, lest he throw a very Ari Gold-esque fit and begin pounding away at his beloved hoopty chick magnet with his hairy bare fists.

[Photo credits: X17, Splash]

• TOM CRUISE AND KATIE HOLMES HOST A-LIST HOUSEWARMING PARTY [Us}
• TOMKAT HOST THE PARTY OF THE YEAR (WITH POSH AND OPRAH ON THE GUEST LIST) [Daily Mail]

We don't know what the hell it is, either, but we'll all learn together after the jump.

[S]tudy technology focuses on three principles. First is the use of "mass" (manipulatives and hands-on experiences) to foster understanding - children need to see and feel what they are learning about. Second is the attention to the "gradient," which ensures sure students master one level before moving on to the next. Third is the "misunderstood word," in which students master word definitions and are taught not to read past words they don't know the meanings of in order to understand completely what they are reading and learning. NVA uses study technology as an umbrella methodology woven through the subjects.

We presume that "umbrella methodology" is a euphemism for at least six of its faculty and staff having achieved various degrees of Scientology study — and would you expect anything less for your $12,500 per year? And does this mean Jaden and Willow won't be home-schooled any longer? Do they get free rides for their Dad's philanthropy? Would any teacher ever give them less than an A? Do they even get letter grades? Or just OT levels? Just how "open" is open house, anyway? So many questions!

• New Village Academy

As it turns out, Katie and Suri picked an odd moment to make their escape. True, the pair were allowed to take tap dancing lessons together without supervision, but they were on the set of Tom's Other Child Connor's big break in (coincidence!) Cruise BFF Will Smith's new movie. And, as we can see, Tom hardly let his girls get very far before swooping in from his perch atop a trailer and distracting Suri with a pink bunny. Katie appears to put up a halfhearted fight for a moment, but Tom predictably wins the battle, removing Suri from her escape wagon and most likely, plucking that sippy cup from her little hands and crushing it with his famous air-punching fist.

[Photo credits: X17]

• SURI CRUISE MOVES FROM BOTTLE TO SIPPY CUP [Us]

Hello Magazine is reporting that Tom Cruise was plum out of ideas for what to get recently drifting BFF David Beckham for his birthday. So instead of a fruit basket or a lifetime supply of Tom Cruise Purple, the Hubbard-loving Clear decided to treat both Posh and Becks to a private weekend getaway at one of Cruise’s favorite romantic spots in Napa Valley: his very own home!

”They wanted [Posh] and David to make use of their property [and] insisted that it should be just the two of them and that they should thoroughly spoil themselves.”

But after hearing more details on just how Tom planned this so-called “private” getaway, we’re worried the Beckhams are about to be abducted by a Xenuphobic SWAT team...

It's true that TomKat's birthday surprise might very well be an innocent gift, or a way of saying "We've never had sex in this place, but someone should!" But as the story's source continues, "Tom even booked his jet for them and told them they had to be at a private airfield at a specific time so work commitments couldn't get in the way." Let's see: Tom's private jet, taking off from a private airfield at a time designated by Cruise. Is no one else getting the creepy feeling this "vacation" is Cruise's sole tactic remaining in Scientology's official bag of conversion tricks? We'd like to request the assistance of British feds in setting up spies at both the Freelands dock and Gold Base stat.

[Photo credit: Socialite's Life]

• TOM CRUISE GIVES THE BECKHAMS A BIRTHDAY SURPRISE [Starpulse]

Though Hubbard's crowned prince did his best to quite literally shove little Suri towards the more age-appropriate 3-year old Cruz, Suri was visibly smitten with Brooklyn. Anyone else hear "Suri, Brooklyn" and get just as uncomfortable as David Letterman's Oscar audience did post "Uma, Oprah"? In any case, it seems Tom may have given up the fight towards hooking up Posh 'n Becks to e-meters, and has begun using Suri as a delectable treat for the kids. We can just little Brook Becks now: "Mommy Posh! Suri says honey babas are brilliant! I must have ten this instant!" But Brooklyn may have some serious competition...

As Us reports, Suri's favorite movie thus far is Travolta's drag vehicle Hairspray, leading the Cruise fam to a viewing of the Broadway show while in New York early this month. And Suri's giggles and shy grin upon leaving tend to mean only one thing: she can "hear the bells," and they've been rung by star Ashley Parker Angel. We're just left feeling sorry for Tom's Other Daughter (Isabella, 15, who appears to have overcome that "awkward" stage). When will Katie take her along to the next Scientology mixer at the House of Hubbard?

[Photo credits: Getty, Wireimage]

• TOM AND KATIE PLAY BABYSITTER FOR THE BECKHAMS AS THEY TAKE BABY SURI TO WATCH DAVID PLAY FOR LA GALAXY [Daily Mail]
• SURI CRUISE'S FAVORITE VIDEO IS HAIRSPRAY! [Us]

On a segment from the Rachael Ray show a few weeks back, a visibly exhausted and seemingly brainwashed Remini told viewers in the most melancholy of tones how addicted her daughter Sophia is to "the baba." And if self-professed Scientologist Remini is following the religion's doctrines correctly, this means she is obeying founder L. Ron Hubbard's instructions to never breastfeed and, instead, feed babies a mixture consisting of barley water, homogenized milk, and oodles of sugar-heavy honey. But this is hardly the scary part. You see, Hubbard, who we must note claimed he had visited Heaven several times during his life, also claimed he discovered this baby formula after magically traveling back in time to hang out in ancient Rome: "I picked it up in Roman days and have used it since...Modern hospital formulas and patent mixes for babies are not just bad, they are criminal." While we're pretty sure that keeping one's baby on a proper nutritional diet is the furthest thing from criminal, we're equally sure that keeping the little ones sucking down Hubbard's formula well past their third birthday isn't doing any favors for the child's social development skills. As they say, this one is developing...

[Photo Credit: INF]

• SURI CRUISE AND HER BOTTLE: IS SHE TOO OLD? [Us]
• SCIENTOLOGY'S RECIPE FOR BABY MALNUTRITION AND, QUITE POSSIBLY, INFANT BOTULISM [Chello.nl]
• Is Leah Remini A Pushover Mom? [Rachael Ray]

While in New York, the Cruises had dinner with Jessica Seinfeld, possibly to discuss kid stuff (the third Seinfeld spawn is just about the same age as Suri). And though Katie's offer to star in a Broadway play this fall has allegedly been vetoed by Tom, she was at least allowed to accompany him to the Frances McDormand and Morgan Freeman-starring Country Girl. And as the photos above show, Suri is beginning to resemble Katie more and more with every passing month. Which has us thinking, maybe it's time to put those Rosemary's Baby rumors to rest.

[Photo credits: Splash, Vanity Fair]

• HAVE BABY, WILL TRAVEL: TOM AND KATIE TAKE SURI ON A MANHATTAN MINIBREAK [Daily Mail]

As we can hear in the phone call reportedly placed by what sounds like a muckraker to the Freewinds HQ, an operator tells the potential cancer patient that the trip has been postponed, due to what we think he describes as a "refit." The operator continues, "It's not only a refit, it's basically a brand new ship that's being made." When the caller asks when he can expect to set sea, he's given the vague "we don't have a date" response. A brand new ship? And yet, there were no problems whatsoever with the original? We can think of at least one: whatever toxins were streaming from the Freewinds' walls caused Tom Cruise to dry hump and scream-sing his big head off. That, Scientology spokeswoman, is a problem in itself.

[Photo credit: Just Jared]

• CANCER ON THE LIDO DECK: SOMETHING'S FISHY ON THE S.S. SCIENTOLOGY [Radaronline.com]

"It included various tests, confession sessions, tons of reading and physically challenging purification processes"...a series of intensive auditing sessions, some which have lasted for 36 hours straight — with little sleep or food."

While Tom hasn't exactly been sending us postcards regarding Katie's conversion and all the progress she's made over the years, we'd always assumed she'd been hooked up to a lie-detecting e-meter for a session or two by now. But apparently those fun interrogations hadn't yet been thoroughly completed (are they ever?). The only issue we have with Star's report has to do, of course, with this "purification" obsession and the alleged 36-hour periods spent without food. Wasn't Katie's dieting tactic one of the reasons Tom became so upset with her in the first place? Apparently splitting meals is far more harmful than that whole Knights Of Hubbard detox plan Kirstie Alley would simply die without following.

• EXCLUSIVE: SCIENTOLOGY BOOT CAMP FOR KATIE HOLMES [Star]

According to People, Connor went through the audition process just like every other nobody pounding the kid star pavement and, lo and behold, won the part of playing a young Will Smith in the film. We hate to play the cynical card here, but there is one giant elephant in that casting room. Seven Pounds also stars he of the firmest buttocks in the land, Woody Harrelson, and internet TV star Rosario Dawson. So how did Connor, a kid whose acting experience has thus far been limited to pretending he loves his kooky dad, nail the part? Something tells us Cruise's all-powerful wizardly ways as gifted to him by the late King Hubbard, may include the ability to whisper evil nothings in Will's ear, leading to an instantaneous confirmation that Connor is The One. Call it a conspiracy theory, but we're just pondering out loud (well, pondering silently at our laptops, but you catch our drift).

• CONNOR CRUISE IS MAKING HIS BIG SCREEN DEBUT [People]

"Holmes is annoyed Beckham is choosing to spend most of her time with new friends Eva Longoria and Kate Beckinsale."

After reports surfaced that Katie and Tom were not invited to Posh's dinner at Eva Longoria's restaurant last week, Victoria was predictably labeled the villain in the situation. But as we learned yesterday, Cruise had a conflict, which suggests it wasn't Posh's decision to ban the couple from her small gathering. However, as we just noted, Katie is reportedly jealous that Victoria has become chummy with Eva and Kate. But really, Katie, are we still in high school? Sure it's lovely to have a BFF, but this new jealousy-driven behavior is striking us as being very Single White Female of you. We know that Tom keeps you on a short lease, but surely you could find some other pro-Scientology friends to play with. Say, maybe, Erica Christensen or Laura Prepon? We know they're not quite as major as Posh, but at least with those two, you'll always be the queen bee!

[Photo credit: Getty]

• VICTORIA BECKHAM AND KATIE HOLMES' FRIENDSHIP 'STRAINED' [Showbiz Spy]

As we reported, on the night of April 16th when Posh and Becks held an intimate dinner the night before her actual birthday, only a select few glamour girls were invited, like Eva Longoria and Kate Beckinsale. But being the clever talentless superstar that she is, Posh sneakily planned a bigger, better, over-the-top celebration last night, inviting the more usual suspects like Will Smith, Elton John and Gwen Stefani.

And, thankfully, Tom and Katie. But it turns out Tom had a good excuse for missing last week's gathering; he was busy saving the world one gala at a time by presenting an award at the Will Rogers Motion Picture dinner that night.

And as for Katie, we're never ones to jump on the premature pregnant guessing game, but compared to her most recent trend of showcasing her trim figure with body-hugging dresses, this loosely fitting shift dress is the ideal shape when it comes to hiding baby bumps. Has the all-mighty Cruise sperm struck again?

[Photo credits: X17]

As we heard last week, Tommy had just about had it with Katie and Posh's buddy system when it came to losing weight, and intended on splitting up the power union so he could have his regular-sized wife back. And we'll never know how they do it (or who "they" is, for that matter), but all the forces of Scientology seem to have come together to dissuade Katie from hanging out with the Beckham bunch in order to please Hubbard Hall of Famer Cruise. But really, we somehow suspect Beckinsale and Longoria are far more fun to hang out with. They both have that ginormous toothy laugh going on, and don't come accompanied by men who are over a foot shorter than them in their heels.

[Photo credit: Pacific Coast News via Daily Mail]

• POSH AND NEW BEST FRIENDS KATE AND EVA DINE OUT AHEAD OF 34TH BIRTHDAY...BUT WHERE WERE THE CRUISES? [Daily Mail]

"[Cruise] was out for like ten years...Some are out but don't talk about it. Why? The church is scary. These are bad motherfuckers...Let Will Smith know that his shit was fucking recorded. And tell him to look them in the eye and see if he believes it when they deny it."

In his VV interview, Beghe says the three-minute YouTube video "barely scratches the surface" of a much longer session he recorded with Operation Clambake leader Andreas Heldal-Lund and the Anonymous group's "wise beard man," Mark Bunker. Though Beghe seems to be attempting to shoot down Scientology's cred by claiming the religion "stunts your evolution" and saying members aren't happy even after spending enormous amounts of money to reach level OT-VIII (beyond Clears), his maniacal laugh midway through the clip is eerily similar to Cruise's high-pitched giggles. And while a member of the Church, Beghe was declared "clear as a fucking bell." If the actor's aggressive ranting isn't enough to scare potential Scientologists like Smith out of joining the Knights of Hubbard, his current state of insanity certainly is.

• SCIENTOLOGY'S FIRST CELEBRITY DEFECTOR REVEALS CHURCH SECRETS [VV]
• EX-SCIENTOLOGIST RIPS CHURCH [NY Post]

"[Tom] is keen to put some distance between his actress wife and Victoria, who have morphed into each other...it concerns Tom that Katie has lost so much weight recently."

Rumors surfaced a few weeks ago that Katie and Posh are fond of splitting meals together, or ordering one tiny entree and cutting the whole thing in half (even the soda). But apparently all this dieting is turning Katie from fit to scary skinny. And Tom, in true form, isn't happy. Frankly, we wouldn't be either if our significant other was following this freaky food regiment: "She is following Victoria's strict 900-calories-a-day eating plan. She is copying Victoria's fad of eating seaweed shakes, frozen grapes and edamame beans. She is tiny." Frozen grapes and seaweed shakes? We would imagine this diet, aside from shrinking Katie's waist size, would wreak havoc on those rare once-a-month occasions when Tom insists she kiss him on the lips.

• POSH AND KATIE ACT IS WEARING THIN ON TOM CRUISE [Daily Mail]
• TOM WORRIES AS KATIE FALLS FOR PEER PRESSURE [MSNBC]

boomp3.com

In attempt to cheer him self up after learning that his latest film's release date has been pushed back for a second time, Tom Cruise played with his toy robot at a local park. At first, Cruise had difficulties in engaging in traditional activities with the animatronic girl; case in point, when Cruise forgot to bend the legs before sending it down the slide and tumbled down face first. Cruise asked other parents at the park about the model number of their particular "children," but then Cruise got distracted by how dirty the Suri-Bot was getting. Cruise quickly dragged the robot by hand to a near by SUV explaining that he doesn't want mommy to be at them for having so much fun without her.

[Photo Credit: Bauer-Griffin]

Reports claim that Cruise has already bought the twins your average baby essentials: You know, like $200,000 worth of christening clothes and a giant aquarium for their nursery. So why the interest in these particular babies, we wonder?

It's well-documented that L. Ron Hubbard was obsessed with numbers, and the fact that Lopez gave birth to 2 babies on 2/22 seems a little unusual. Also unusual? Choosing a godfather for your children who - at least as far as the public knows - has not been part of your life for more than a year. Oh, and did we mention: J. Lo's father, David Lopez, has been a Scientologist for 20 years. So call us crazy, but either Scientology skipped a generation, or some big-bootied girl, who inexplicably shot to stardom after years of mediocrity, isn't telling the truth about which church she's been praying in for the last decade.

• Jennifer Lopez wants to Tom Cruise to be her twins' godfather [Showbiz Spy]

At an industry screening Tuesday night of the forthcoming comedy Tropic Thunder from Paramount Pictures and its unit DreamWorks, Tom Cruise brought down the house with his surprise portrayal of a bald, hairy-chested, foulmouthed, dirty-dancing movie mogul of the kind who is only too happy to throw an actor to the wolves when his popularity cools. ...

[T]he performance is likely to draw attention, since Paramount is weighing a plan in which it would build buzz with extensive screenings of Tropic Thunder before its Aug. 15 release, much as 20th Century Fox did in 2006 with Borat... At Tuesday's screening Mr. Stiller told attendees that his new film was still in rough form. "If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them directly on the Internet," he said.

More specifically, please post them directly in our inbox. Presuming Redstone has already seen his nemesis' handiwork, we'd like to know if, say, any morning coffee was spit out, how far, what it was chased with and, of course, whether or not Tropic Thunder is either the surest signal or the certain ruin of a Cruise/Redstone rapprochement. Operators are standing by!

• Tom Cruise, in Bit Role, Nips Studio's Top Gun [NYT]

As some of you may recall, after Kate Moss finally and triumphantly dumped Pete after one too many caught-on-camera drug/sex/rock 'n roll escapades, he poured his barely pumping heart out to the UK tabs, revealing everything under the sun about their sex life and all the bad behavior she'd allegedly engaged in while they were dating. With that in mind, we have all of our fingers and toes crossed that Doherty manages to weasel his way into the church. We would be ecstatic if Doherty reached OT-VIII, only to fall off the wagon and turn back to the white lady, which would undoubtedly lead him to divulge just about everything that's been going on inside the House of Hubbard for a dimebag of skunkweed. Go forth, Pete, and come back with some great stories. We support you!

• PETE DOHERTY - BABYSHAMBLES FRONTMAN - GETS INTO SCIENTOLOGY [The Sun]

Considering the fact that a line like Whitney Kros (with its zebra-crotched pants and paint-splattered white jeans) is not exactly Chanel couture, we're not entirely caught off-guard to see that Tom, Katie, Will, Jada and the Travoltas didn't make the trek. While we'll never know exactly why the "cool kids" of Scientology weren't there, there is one question that is weighing even heavier on our minds — how sick do you think Jason Lee is of that ridiculous Earl mustache? We're betting that answer lies somewhere between really sick and really really sick. But we've been wrong before.

[Photo Credits: Getty, Filmmagic]

• YOU TOO CAN DRESS LIKE A SCIENTOLOGIST [Janet Charlton]

While we have no idea whether or not Will Smith is a Scientologist (we have our theories, though), we do know that the prospect of the American public beginning to think that The Fresh Prince might be a Scientologist is enough to make the suits at Sony get nervous. After all, they are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into producing, releasing and marketing their big tentpole film for the summer, Hancock; the last thing they want or need are Anonymous protesters picketing the cineplexes over the July 4th weekend when the movie is released. With that in mind, we would just like to reiterate again that the story we ran yesterday was both fair and accurate, and that we will not be pulling it down.

PREVIOUSLY: Exclusive: Sony Execs Tried To Pressure MSNBC Into Killing Will Smith Scientology Story

"After word got out that Will was a secret Scientologist, reps from Sony [the studio behind Hancock] completely flipped out, and asked that the online exclusive be taken down immediately. After being refused, Sony forced Smith to speak out and release a denial statement."

As our source explained, it appears the folks at Sony weren't the only ones up in arms about the Smith and Scientology claims. Apparently Will and his family have been giving money to the Church for years, though they've done a fantastic job keeping their donations under the radar. Says our source, "After Smith's Scientologist friends saw the denial today, they got incredibly pissed and some asked him, 'you're still gonna donate money, right?'" Considering the secretive nature of many celebrity Scientologists, coupled with an urgent request from a major studio to remove a rumor on a gossip site, it's time to take this story up a notch from rumor to fact. Since when do execs at a studio as powerful as Sony reach out to news-gathering organizations and attempt to use their leverage in order to kill potentially damaging stories? Oh yeah, that's right, since forever! We applaud the folks over at MSNBC for sticking to their guns (and their story).

• Will Smith, Jada the new faces of Scientology? [MSNBC]

You don't have to be Jewish to be a friend of Steven Spielberg. You don't have to be a Muslim to be a friend of Muhammad Ali. And you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise," Smith tells us.

"I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions. And I respect all people and all paths."

Despite reports she distributed the Scientology book "The Way to Happiness" to N.Y. school kids, Simmons' reps also denied her involvement.

Statements on being a non-partisan student of world theology notwithstanding, there's no doubt that Smith, in becoming a close friend to Tom Cruise, has been exposed to at least some of the sacred teachings, imparted via countless spiraling-pupil mind-meld sessions with the OT-VIII. Smith's reconditioning is just Phase One of a much larger plot, however: Ultimately, his signal will kick in every time he sees a quartet of black Connect Four pieces in diagonal formation, triggering his directive to assassinate the headstrong Kanye West before he becomes President of the United States, toppling their evil regime forever.

• Will Smith and Jada: Don't know much Scientology [nydailynews.com]