Another blow to the Cof$!!!

Looks like some of the Scientology cash flow may have just dried up.

Yep, one of the cult, er religion's, richest members, James Packer, has decided to distance himself from the group.

The timing couldn't be better for his wife Erica, who it seems will now be able to scream and yell as loud as she wants when she goes into labor next month.


Still on the silent front, and pal Tom Cruise must be seething on the inside, after introducing his pal to Scientology way back in 2002.

Apparently, our Aussie billionaire feels he no longer "needs it."

Friends however, claim that James' growing casino empire might have had something to do with him leaving.

Scientologists believe "an obsessive gambler is a psychotic just like a drug addict or an alcoholic."

Sure.

Sounds like a reason to me. [Trash Talk, Melbourne Age, 12 May 08]

*Good for him! Maybe James and his wife can find a reasonable semblance for their family life!*

Valkyrie to never be seen?

from reuters.com:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Tom Cruise's World War II thriller "Valkyrie" has pushed back its release date to 2009, the second postponement for a production that has endured its share of headaches.

The MGM release has been moved from October 3 to February 13, coinciding with the U.S. Presidents Day holiday weekend. Last December, it was pulled from its original July 4 holiday weekend berth where it would have competed with the Angelina Jolie thriller "Wanted."

"When an opening became available for President's Day Weekend, we seized the opportunity," said MGM distribution president Clark Woods, referring to Universal's recent decision to pull "The Wolf Man" out of that slot and into April 3.

"Valkyrie" is the true story of a German officer, played by Cruise, who tried to assassinate Hitler. The German government initially banned the production from shooting on location at the Berlin site where the plot was hatched and the conspirators executed. It later changed its mind after months of national debate that focused in part on Cruise's Scientology beliefs.

Some of the footage shot at the site was later damaged during processing, requiring re-shoots. Last August, 10 extras were injured when they fell off the back of a truck during shooting in Berlin.

The movie is being produced by MGM's United Artists banner, which Cruise runs with business partner Paula Wagner. UA's debut release under the new regime, the Cruise vehicle "Lions for Lambs," bombed at the box office last November.

Wha?

This blew my mind.....from Cracked.com:

CHARLES MANSON: SCIENTOLOGIST

Best Known For: viciously murdering people, ordering people to viciously murder other people; carving swastikas into his forehead

Why You Wouldn't Expect Him To Be a Scientologist: One of the biggest lunatics in American history is actually precisely who we'd expect to be down on the ground with psychotic theories about aliens and immortal spirits. But here' the kicker: Manson took over 150 hours of Scientology courses, rejected it as too crazy, and then went on to murder a whole bunch of people.

We're just saying.

Connections: Peter "Big Gunner" Skinner, the guard he supplies cigarettes to so he can avoid getting raped all the time.

According to X17....

So that's the big news, y'all -- it appears that ADNAN IS NOW LIVING WITH BRITNEY!!!

Yes, that's right -- a paparazzo is living with Britney Spears!!! I repeat, Adnan Ghalib is staying at the home of Britney!

Talk about sleeping with the enemy ...

*Is he sleeping on her couch? I just don't get it and....nice Goth Phaze there Brit....and someplace I read is now referring to Adnan as A-Fed*

The Crazy is worried...

and he should be

By Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop

It seemed curious that Katie Holmes was in heels and promoting hubby Tom Cruise’s new movie, “Lions for Lambs,” just hours after she ran the NYC marathon, but as it turns out, there’s a good explanation.

“Tom is extremely worried about his new movie,” one insider tells me. In other words, not only does his better half have to pull her weight to help promote the flick, but so does every Scientologist who’s ever uttered Xenu’s name. (Cruise’s rep counters predictably: “Mr. Cruise is not nervous about the release of his film.”) “Lions” is the poorest-tracking Tom Cruise flick ever made, according to reports, and if it tanks, as many insiders predict it will, Cruise could have an uphill battle when it comes to raising money for future flicks.

“In this business, appearances are everything. This is Tom’s first film under his resurrected United Artists studio,” says a source, “and he’s worried about how the industry will view him [if the film does poorly]. This has to be a home run, and it isn’t looking good.”

OMG!

Found this on ONTD and it actually makes me very sad....obviously Britney isn't very mature....but this story makes the whole situation even sadder, especially if this hardresser and friend is telling this story just to use Britney. But it fits the other rumors that FedX just wanted to take advantage of Brit the whole time, so I'm not sure.

Britney Spears has put her wedding dress on display at her California beach house, claiming she was tricked into the divorce that led to her bitter custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

The troubled singer is convinced that the dancer and failed rapper set up the blazing row at a Manhattan hotel last year which culminated in her suing to end their marriage and the fight over their sons, Sean, two, and Jayden, 14 months.

His behaviour plunged her into a breakdown, during which she desperately begged him to take her back, according to a hairdresser who became her friend and assistant. The astonishing revelations, in the new issue of the American magazine US Weekly, are expected to be used by Britney's legal team to try to refute K-Fed's attempt to portray the 25-year-old star as an incurably debauched bad mother. The magazine claims Federline was jealous of his wife's stardom, which he feared drew attention away from his faltering attempts to launch a hip-hop career.

He allegedly took advantage of her volatile temper after the pair had a Halloween 2006 argument. K-Fed flew to New York the next day and checked into a £270 a night Times Square hotel. A distraught Britney bundled up their sons and followed him a day later. She said she went there with the two babies and Kevin wouldn't even let her into the hotel room,' said Machado, 23. 'So she had to get a hotel room for herself.'

Four days later, she announced that she was petitionning to end their two-year marriage. She told Machado this was an attempt to demonstrate her anger to Federline and she had no desire to go through with a divorce. However, her husband refused to take her back. 'She stood up for herself and it kind of backfired. (It) was what Kevin wanted,' Machado said.

Machado said the singer hung her wedding dress up in her Malibu bedroom and kept framed photos of her and Federline all over the house. Last Christmas, she fell into a black depression and pleaded with Federline to meet her in Arizona, where she and Machado were heading to a luxurious resort. 'She told Kevin she would fly him to Arizona - and he wouldn't come,' said Machado.

When Federline finally visited her in California, Machado charges that he seemed reluctant to resume his role as a father. 'I had Jayden in my arms and Sean ran up to Kevin,' says Machado. 'I went up to him and tried to hand him Jayden, and Kevin backed away and said, "I have smoke on my hands -I smell like smoke," and he wouldn't hold him,' says the former assistant. He did, however, play with Sean, she concedes.

During three months on Britney's staff, and forays on the night scene with the singer, Machado insists she never saw her abuse drugs. She did, however, drink heavily and became a binge eater, Machado claims as an antidote to her misery over Federline.