The German Defense Ministry has said it will not permit Tom Cruise to film scenes in a movie about a plot to kill Hitler at historical World War II sites in Berlin. The reason: Politicians don't want Germany to be seen as promoting the Scientology cult.
Cruise's producing partner, United Artists Entertainment CEO Paula Wagner, issued a sharp rebuke, saying that the actor's "personal beliefs have absolutely no bearing on the movie's plot, themes or content."
press release | Spiegel
thanks Conscientious
~Reading this I can't tell if Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung statement, "there was no question" about whether filming could take place at German facilities means he's singling out this particular film and Cruise's connection to it, or if he's stating a matter of policy, in that no foreign filmakers are granted permits to access certain historic locations.
I.e. does somebody at Der Spiegel have it in for (or lost a bundle of Euros to) Scientology or is a sub-committee at the Bundeswehr (German Military) taking this hard line on Cruise and his fellow cult members? Would Bruce Willis or Vin Diesel in the lead role change their attitude?
Or is the subject matter of the film the deciding factor? And the swipe at Cruise and Scientology a smokescreen?
Wanna bet the Germans grant permits to and help select look-a-like non-historic sites?
Do many films draw protestors while they're being filmed?
What a unique way to create a buzz.