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<ul class="summary-list"><li>As of Sunday, the death toll in <keyword id="57389" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Haiti">Haiti</keyword> following the <keyword id="6362774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="earthquake">earthquake</keyword> sits at 1,297.</li><li>Government agencies in the country are working to clear main access roads and collapsed houses.</li><li>Meteorologists forecast that a tropical depression will bring heavy rainfall to Haiti on Monday night.</li></ul><p>Following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14, Haitians are scrambling to find and rescue any survivors as <keyword id="11865848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tropical-depression-grace">Tropical Depression Grace</keyword> approaches. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-quake/rescuers-race-to-find-haiti-quake-survivors-as-death-toll-hits-1297-idUSKBN2FG046">Reuters reported Sunday</a> that the death toll had risen to 1,297, with another 5,700 individuals injured.</p><p>Drone footage from CBS shows the aftermath of the early morning earthquake's epicenter, which struck Haiti's southwestern peninsula near Saint-Louis-du-Sud, <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/magnitude-72-earthquake-haiti">according to the United States Geological Survey</a>.</p><p>Haiti's Ministry of Public Works, Transportation, and Communications is working with the National Equipment Center and the Haitian Armed Forces to clear main access roads and collapsed houses, <a href="https://twitter.com/DrArielHenry/status/1427051918761861121">Prime Minister Ariel Henry said in a thread of tweets</a> asking for additional support. Seriously injured individuals have been evacuated while volunteer doctors work to treat other injuries, <a href="https://twitter.com/DrArielHenry/status/1427050042414796807">according to Henry</a>.</p><p>"After my visit to the South, I renew my call for unity, for the solidarity of all Haitians to rebuild our beloved Haiti, which is so badly damaged today," <a href="https://twitter.com/DrArielHenry/status/1427075175888076806">Henry said in a tweet</a>. "I would like to salute the resilience and dignity of the victims, despite their great sadness."</p><p>Videos and photos shared on social media show Cuban doctors on the ground treating wounded individuals and people rushing to find survivors in the rubble as Tropical Depression Grace approaches.</p><p>Meteorologists forecast that <a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2021-08-14-tropical-storm-grace-forms-south-florida-in-the-cone?cm_ven=dnt_social_twitter">Tropical Depression Grace</a>, which was downgraded from its previous classification as a <keyword id="385066" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="tropical-storm">tropical storm</keyword>, will bring heavy rain to the Dominican Republic and Haiti as early as Monday night. The heavy rainfall may potentially cause flooding and mudslides, <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/144904.shtml?key_messages#contents">according to the National Hurricane Center</a>.</p><p>"Most likely, Grace will remain a depression until it enters into the Gulf [of Mexico] where it could reintensify into a tropical storm, but that is also not a certainty," <a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2021-08-14-tropical-storm-grace-forms-south-florida-in-the-cone?cm_ven=dnt_social_twitter">meteorologist Heather Tesch said</a>.</p>

Photos, videos show Haitians scrambling to find survivors of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake as Tropical Depression Grace approaches

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Local authorities had to negotiate with gangs to get a convoy of humanitarian workers to impacted areas, <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Haitiquakedeathtollrisesto1419injurednowat6000/a625e4406ffa26e43d8b42cb71c9ba7f/text?Query=haiti&amp;mediaType=text&amp;sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&amp;dateRange=Anytime&amp;totalCount=34&amp;currentItemNo=0&amp;currentItemNo=0">the Associated Press reported</a>.</li><li><keyword id="11865848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tropical-depression-grace">Tropical Depression Grace</keyword> is expected to bring heavy rainfall and wind to the island on Monday night.</li><li>Pain medication and other medical supplies are running low, according to doctors on the ground.</li></ul><p>Hospitals in southwestern <keyword id="57389" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Haiti">Haiti</keyword> have been overwhelmed by an influx of patients following <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/days-after-earthquake-strikes-haiti-tropical-depression-approaches-2021-8">a 7.2-magnitude earthquake</a> on Saturday morning near Saint-Louis-du-Sud.</p><p>Multiple factors have made it difficult for health care staff to treat survivors, including gangs, extreme weather events, and shortages of medical supplies, <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Haitiquakedeathtollrisesto1419injurednowat6000/a625e4406ffa26e43d8b42cb71c9ba7f/text?Query=haiti&amp;mediaType=text&amp;sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&amp;dateRange=Anytime&amp;totalCount=34&amp;currentItemNo=0&amp;currentItemNo=0">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p><p>Local authorities negotiated with gangs who control the southwestern peninsula for access to the area, allowing an initial convoy of six vehicles with staff from UN agencies to reach impacted communities on August 15, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in <a href="https://www.unocha.org/story/haiti-un-and-partners-mobilize-resources-help-earthquake-aftermath">an update</a>.</p><p>Across the island, Haitians and humanitarian workers are bracing for Tropical Depression Grace, which <a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2021-08-14-tropical-storm-grace-forms-south-florida-in-the-cone?cm_ven=dnt_social_twitter">meteorologists forecast</a> will bring heavy rain and wind to the island on Monday night. The heavy rainfall may potentially cause <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/days-after-earthquake-strikes-haiti-tropical-depression-approaches-2021-8">flooding and mudslides</a>, according to <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/144904.shtml?key_messages#contents">warnings from the National Hurricane Center</a>.</p><p>The general <keyword id="6358650" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hospital">hospital</keyword> in Les Cayes, which was in the <keyword id="6362774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="earthquake">earthquake</keyword>'s epicenter, has been so overwhelmed with patients that some are waiting to be treated on stairways, in corridors, and in the hospital's open veranda, <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Haitiquakedeathtollrisesto1419injurednowat6000/a625e4406ffa26e43d8b42cb71c9ba7f/text?Query=haiti&amp;mediaType=text&amp;sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&amp;dateRange=Anytime&amp;totalCount=34&amp;currentItemNo=0&amp;currentItemNo=0">AP reported</a>.</p><p>"After two days, they are almost always generally infected," Dr. Paurus Michelete, who has treated 250 patients and was one of only three doctors on call when the quake hit, told AP.</p><p>Michelete also told AP that pain killers, analgesics, and steel pins to mend fractures were running out.</p><p>Dr. Inobert Pierre, a pediatrician with the nonprofit Health Equity <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="international">International</keyword>, which oversees St. Boniface Hospital, said that the transport of patients is limited and medication is running low, causing patients to sit and endure pain while they wait to be treated, according to AP.</p>

Gangs, weather, and a shortage of supplies are making it harder for Haiti's hospitals to handle the influx of injured following the earthquake

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Henri caused power outages and flooding after making landfall in Rhode Island on Sunday.</li><li>The National <keyword id="11911086" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="weather" source="Orion">Weather</keyword> Service downgraded it from a <keyword id="11899295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tropical-storm" source="Orion">tropical storm</keyword> to a tropical depression.</li><li>Henri is expected to bring heavy rain and flooding as it moves east across Massachusetts through Tuesday.</li></ul><p>About <a href="https://poweroutage.us/">50,000 people across Rhode Island and Connecticut</a> are still without power after Henri made landfall as a tropical storm near Westerly, Rhode Island, on Sunday afternoon.</p><p>Henri was downgraded to a tropical depression after its maximum sustained winds dropped below 39 mph on Sunday evening.</p><p>As of 11 a.m. ET on Monday, Henri was moving east at 6 miles per hour, with winds of 30 mph, <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIAWPCAT3+shtml/231458.shtml">according to the National Hurricane Center</a>. It is 45 miles northeast of New York City and expected to move over the Atlantic by Tuesday morning. </p><div type="image" title="henri cone sunday 11pm" height="736" width="897" msid="85568379" hostid="261"></div><p>Up to 3 inches heavy rainfall are still expected across eastern Pennsylvania, southeast New York, New Jersey, Long Island, and portions of New England.</p><p>That heavy rain may keep producing flash floods across southern New England, New York City, and the area around Albany, New York.</p><div type="image" title="noaa henri rainfall" height="716" width="892" msid="85568383" hostid="261"></div><p>The NHC added that an isolated tornado or two is possible across southern New England on Monday afternoon.</p><h2>A rare New England landfall</h2><div type="image" title="Water on the beach extending way farther down the shore" height="3280" width="4928" msid="85568386" hostid="261"></div><p>Henri was upgraded to a Category 1 <keyword id="11911087" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hurricane" source="Orion">hurricane</keyword> on Saturday, but deteriorated in strength Sunday morning before hitting Rhode Island.</p><p>Even though Henri made landfall as a tropical storm, not a hurricane, it nonetheless caused flash flooding <a href="https://nwschat.weather.gov/p.php?pid=202108220721-KOKX-NWUS51-LSROKXhttps://nwschat.weather.gov/lsr/#OKX/202108202300/202108231100/0100">across New York and New Jersey</a>. Manhattan's Central Park recorded record levels of rain, with more than 4 inches between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/22/us/hurricane-henri-updates#emergency-declarations-are-issued-for-rhode-island-connecticut-and-new-york-as-henri-weakens">The New York Times called it</a> "the wettest hour on record for New York City."</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/22/us/hurricane-henri-updates#emergency-declarations-are-issued-for-rhode-island-connecticut-and-new-york-as-henri-weakens"></a>Emergency services in Newark, New Jersey, rescued more than 80 people as drivers were left stranded in flooded streets, <a href="https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1878132735702935&amp;id=5274068674422022202">local officials said</a>.</p><h2>NOAA predicts up to 13 more named storms this season</h2><div type="image" title="An unidentified man walks his dogs through a flooded parking lot in the Watch Hill section of Westerly, R.I., after Tropical Storm Henri made landfall, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021." height="2500" width="4268" msid="85568390" hostid="261"></div><p>By definition, any cyclone-shaped storm with winds faster than 39 mph is a tropical storm. Storms get named once their winds reach that speed. After winds hit 74 mph, a storm becomes a Category 1 hurricane on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-hurricane-damage-as-measured-by-saffir-simpson-scale-2017-8">Saffir-Simpson</a> scale.</p><p>Henri is the year's <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/13/weather/2021-atlantic-hurricane-season-fast-facts/index.html">eighth named storm</a>; two other storms, Elsa and Grace, also became hurricanes. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, with activity peaking around September 10. </p><p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there will be a total of <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/atlantic-hurricane-season-shows-no-signs-of-slowing">seven to 10 hurricanes in 2021</a>, and up to 21 named storms. That includes three to five major hurricanes - meaning Category 3, 4, or 5, with winds at least 111 mph. Grace - which made landfall in Mexico as a Category 3 hurricane - has been the only major hurricane so far this year.</p><p>Overall, the <a href="https://www.insider.com/2021-hurricane-season-above-normal-number-strong-storms-2021-7">average number of storms</a> per season has increased due to climate change, so NOAA recently updated the baseline numbers it uses to make <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/average-atlantic-hurricane-season-to-reflect-more-storms">seasonal hurricane predictions</a>. The agency now defines an average season based on data from 1991 to 2010, when the average was 14 named storms, seven of which were hurricanes. Previously, NOAA considered an average season to have <a href="https://www.insider.com/2021-hurricane-season-above-normal-number-strong-storms-2021-7">12 storms in total</a>, with six being hurricanes.</p>

Henri, downgraded to a tropical depression after making landfall, is moving across New England

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The death toll is climbing after a 7.2-magnitude <keyword id="6362774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="earthquake">earthquake</keyword> struck <keyword id="57389" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Haiti">Haiti</keyword> on Saturday.</li><li>It triggered landslides and destroyed many homes and buildings.</li><li>Rescue efforts are underway to find survivors as Tropical Depression Grace moves in.</li></ul>

New footage shows the extent of damage in Haiti after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake

<p>Good morning and welcome to your weekday morning roundup of the top stories you need to know.</p><p>For more daily and weekly briefings, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter"><strong>sign up for our newsletters here</strong></a>.</p><p><strong>What's going on today: </strong></p><ul><li><strong>Get ready for COVID numbers to rise. </strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/national-institutes-of-health-warns-surge-us-covid-19-cases-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Institutes of Health director predicts the US will see 200,000 new daily COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks.</a> The highly infectious Delta variant has been rapidly spreading amongst Americans with low vaccination rates, especially in Southern states. </li><li><strong> "We are all banging our heads in shame."</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/afghan-embassy-calls-president-ashraf-ghani-a-traitor-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Afghan Embassy in India sent out a tweet calling Afghan President Ashraf Ghani a "traitor" who "screwed and f---ed everything up."</a> In a now-deleted tweet, the official account of the Afghan Embassy said Ghani's legacy "will be a stain on our history." </li><li><strong>The damage done by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake.  </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/days-after-earthquake-strikes-haiti-tropical-depression-approaches-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Photos, videos show Haitians scrambling to find survivors of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake as Tropical Depression Grace approaches</a>. Haitians still reeling from the destruction caused by Saturday's earthquake are scrambling to find survivors before heavy rainfall reaches the island.</li><li><strong>Biden's "Saigon moment." </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/videos-kabul-airport-show-chaos-taliban-takes-power-people-flee-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Videos show chaotic scenes at the Kabul airport as the Taliban retakes power in Afghanistan and thousands flee.</a> Videos from the Kabul airport showed chaos as thousands of civilians desperately tried to flee the country after the Taliban took the city. It's being called "Biden's Saigon moment"</li><li><strong>Who's who among the Taliban's ruling class. </strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/heres-whos-in-taliban-inner-circle-leadership-that-retook-afghanistan-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Taliban has long been run by secretive figureheads and commanders jockeying for power. Here's who made it into the inner circle that retook Afghanistan.</a> The secretive Taliban leadership is headed by a supreme leader and three deputies - a mix of leaders of old and the sons of famed insurgents. </li><li><strong>Vax mandates are on the table in NY. </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kathy-hochul-new-york-statewide-vaccine-mandate-incoming-governor-cuomo-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Incoming New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she's not ruling out a statewide vaccine mandate</a> "I'll be looking at the possibility of mandates, but not saying they're in or out until I know all the facts," Lt. Gov. Hochul told CNN Sunday. </li><li><strong>That's all for now. See you tomorrow. </strong></li></ul>

1,419 people are dead and 6,000 more are injured after a powerful earthquake hit Haiti

<ul class="summary-list"><li>2006 was the lowest point in Cruise's career.</li><li>Audiences had enough of him talking about <keyword id="13780537" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="scientology" source="Orion">Scientology</keyword> and his relationship with Katie Holmes.</li></ul><p>In August 2006, it seemed like <keyword id="11922280" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tom-cruise" source="Orion">Tom Cruise</keyword> was finished.</p><p>In an announcement unprecedented by the head of a major conglomerate, Viacom's chairman at the time, Sumner Redstone, publicly ripped into the star — who for years was one of the most profitable actors and producers at Viacom's movie studio, Paramount Pictures.</p><p>"We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot," Redstone told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115628557000642662">The Wall Street Journal</a>. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."</p><div type="image" title="Sumner Redstone Tom Cruise Katie Holmes" height="1221" width="1629" msid="91839880" hostid="261"></div><p>It was likely the toughest and strangest time of Cruise's career. The then-43-year-old actor had a lifetime box-office gross of over <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=tomcruise.htm">$1.5 billion</a>, but his flawless transition from young heartthrob to respected dramatic actor to gargantuan action star seemed to self-destruct as quickly as one of the messages his character, Ethan Hunt, received in the "Mission: Impossible" <keyword id="11898343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movies" source="Orion">movies</keyword>.</p><p>The studio he'd called home for 14 years was <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Business/story?id=2344327" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parting ways with him</a> following a string of bizarre outbursts.</p><p>Now, in 2023, that all seems hard to imagine.</p><p>Cruise is not only the face of one of the biggest action franchises ever, but film, "Top Gun: Maverick," might just have <a href="https://www.insider.com/steven-spielberg-tom-cruise-top-gun-maverick-saved-hollywood-2023-2">saved Hollywood</a> following the pandemic.</p><p>This month, he's back with another "M:I," Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1," yet another must-see title from one of the last movie stars the industry has left.</p><p>But there was a time the veteran actor's career was at a low point.</p><h2>The couch jump, 'TomKat,' and Scientology</h2><p>Cruise's strange downfall and subsequent rebirth as one of the most bankable movie stars all began with a seemingly innocent act of love.</p><p>When Cruise agreed to go on "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOxHaSeQUi0">The Oprah Winfrey Show</a>" in May 2005 to promote his film, "War of the Worlds," it was a big deal. Cruise rarely did interviews, especially on daytime TV.</p><p>As Cruise walked onto Oprah's stage, the crowd went wild. Oprah playfully tousled Cruise's hair, and the actor was clearly in a great mood.</p><div type="image" title="tom cruise orpah harpo studios" height="1000" width="1910" msid="91839882" hostid="261"></div><p>During the interview, Oprah brought up Cruise's latest love interest, Katie Holmes, who was off-stage where no one, especially the cameras, could see her. The excitement of talking about his new girlfriend led him to leap up on Oprah's couch with joy (he did it a second time for good measure).</p><p>After the couch-jumping, Oprah even got Cruise to chase down Holmes and get her to come onstage.</p><p>It seemed harmless at the time, but thanks to a very young internet video-posting site called YouTube, the image of Cruise on top of Oprah's couch became a pop-culture phenomenon. To some, it felt off. </p><p>A month later, Cruise agreed to go on the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFgF1JPNR5E%20">Today</a>" show to continue promoting "War of the Worlds" and also talk about his religion, Scientology. When <a href="https://www.insider.com/matt-lauer-denies-door-button-locking-women-in-office-2019-10">now-disgraced interviewer Matt Lauer</a> talked about Scientology, and specifically to Cruise not agreeing with psychiatry, the tone changed. Cruise offered his opinion on Brooke Shields' use of antidepressants for <a href="https://www.webmd.com/depression/postpartum-depression/features/brooke-shields-depression-struggle">postpartum depression</a>.</p><p>Here's an excerpt of Cruise and Lauer's uncomfortable exchange:</p><div type="image" title="cruise lauer final" height="969" width="1865" msid="91839884" hostid="261"></div><p>Later in the conversation:</p><p>Minutes later, the exchange was on loop all over the world.</p><p>Within a few weeks, Cruise had gone wild on Oprah and lashed out at Lauer, and by then, the tabloids had gone into overdrive with the Cruise-Holmes relationship, which they called "TomKat."</p><p>It was time for Cruise to get off the grid, but he couldn't.</p><div type="image" title="The Last Samurai" height="1200" width="1600" msid="91839886" hostid="261"></div><h2>Cruise's star power takes a hit</h2><p>For most of his career, an experienced publicist named Pat Kingsley reportedly kept Cruise's private life out of the tabloids. According to a 2014 <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/news/how-youtube-and-internet-journalism-destroyed-tom-cruise-our-last-real-movie-star-4656549">LA Weekly</a> story, she even talked Cruise out of being more vocal about Scientology when he did press for his 2003 film "The Last Samurai."</p><p>A year later, according to the LA Weekly story, Cruise let Kingsley go after 14 years and formed a publicity team that included his sister, Lee Anne De Vette, and fellow Scientologists.</p><p>Now in a typhoon of backlash that Cruise had never experienced before, his team may have been too inexperienced to protect him.</p><p>Despite all the negative attention, "War of the Worlds" still went to No. 1 at the box office during its opening weekend (<a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=waroftheworlds.htm">$65 million</a>), and ended up with a worldwide take of $592 million.</p><p>It would be the last time a film starring Cruise would make over $500 million worldwide for the next <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&amp;id=tomcruise.htm">six years</a>.</p><div type="image" title="war of the worlds tom cruise" height="1800" width="2700" msid="91839888" hostid="261"></div><p>Following the "War of the Worlds" release, TomKat was still daily tabloid fodder, especially with the news that the two were expecting a child. And then, in March 2006, Cruise went global again with the controversial <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-park-what-scientologists-believe-2015-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"South Park" episode</a> "Trapped in the Closet."</p><p>The episode originally aired in November 2005 and revealed what <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-park-what-scientologists-believe-2015-3">Scientologists believe</a> is the origin of life, but it also depicted Cruise as an insecure person and played on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-tom-cruise-and-john-travolta-should-leave-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rumors of his sexuality</a>.</p><p>In the episode, one of the main characters on the show, Stan, is thought by Scientology to be the second coming of its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/l-ron-hubbard-history-sci-fi-writer-to-scientology-founder-2015-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">founder, L. Ron Hubbard</a>. This leads Scientologists, including Cruise, to flock to Stan's house to pay their respects. But when Stan insults his acting ability, Cruise hides in Stan's closet, leading to Stan saying, "Dad, Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet."</p><div type="image" title="tom cruise south park comedy central" height="712" width="1215" msid="91839890" hostid="261"></div><p>Comedy Central delayed reairing the episode in March 2006 because <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/08/23/tom-cruise-ambushed-by-lsquobrokersquo-studio/">allegedly Cruise declared </a>he would not promote "Mission: Impossible 3" unless Viacom (which owns the film's studio, Paramount, and Comedy Central) <a href="http://www.today.com/id/11882460/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/tom-cruise-taking-south-park/#.VRWSOpPF-_I">canceled</a> the rebroadcast.</p><p>Cruise's reps <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-03-17-south-park-scientology_x.htm">denied</a> he ever threatened not to promote the film.</p><p>The controversy made headlines all over the world and led "South Park" fans to declare they would boycott "Mission: Impossible 3" until Comedy Central aired the episode.</p><p>The episode was finally reaired in July of that year.</p><p>"Closetgate," in what it would become known, was the last straw.</p><p>The constant tabloid coverage of TomKat, plus rumors that Cruise and Holmes' <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/10/katie-holmes-divorce-scientology">relationship was allegedly arranged</a> by the church had turned people off. (Cruise and Holmes married in November 2006 and divorced six years later.)</p><p>The bad press soon began to affect Cruise's career. "Mission: Impossible 3" opened in theaters in May 2006 and Cruise's Q score — the appeal of a <keyword id="6355064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="celebrity" source="Orion">celebrity</keyword>, brand, or company to the public — <a href="http://screencrush.com/paramount-tom-cruise-mission-impossible/?trackback=tsmclip">was down 40%</a>.</p><div type="image" title="mission impossible 3 tom cruise" height="904" width="1350" msid="91839893" hostid="261"></div><p>Though the film was No. 1 in the US on its opening weekend (<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi3.htm">$48 million</a>), it lost appeal as the weeks passed. Ticket sales dropped 47% during its second week in theaters and 53% in its third week.</p><p>"Mission: Impossible 3" is the lowest-grossing film in the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/search/?q=mission%20impossible">franchise</a> to date, with a $400 million worldwide gross.</p><p>It was at this point that Redstone gave Cruise his wake-up call: "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."</p><h2>The long road back to superstardom</h2><p>After being kicked off the Paramount lot, Cruise hired a publicist with <a href="https://variety.com/2005/film/news/cruise-will-go-with-pro-1117932447/">more experience</a> and buckled down for a comeback. He brought his production company over to MGM and took <a href="https://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1554117,00.html">partial ownership</a> of the iconic United Artists studio.</p><p>Cruise also became less vocal about Scientology in public, though he was apparently still very much involved privately. In 2008, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBZ_uAbxS0">Scientology-produced video</a> went viral on YouTube of the actor explaining what the religion meant to him.</p><p>Cruise hit the pause button on doing action movies, turning to dramas like "Lions for Lambs" and "Valkyrie."</p><p>In between those films, he agreed to star in pal Ben Stiller's 2008 comedy "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942385/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tropic Thunder</a>" as the overweight, bigger-than-life movie exec Les Grossman. It was the best move Cruise had done in years. In doing something so out of character, he began to win back fans.</p><div type="image" title="tropic thunder paramount" height="816" width="1920" msid="91839895" hostid="261"></div><p>"Tropic Thunder" reunited Cruise with his former studio, Paramount. Although Cruise's production company was kicked off the lot, it didn't mean he couldn't still be cast in the studio's films. The wheels were now in motion for Cruise to get back on Paramount's good side so he could make more "Mission: Impossible" movies.</p><p>Being a hit in "Tropic Thunder," the <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2008&amp;p=.htm">biggest comedy</a> of the year for Paramount, was a good starting point.</p><p>Director J.J. Abrams, who directed Cruise in "Mission: Impossible 3" and was in Paramount's good graces after directing the studio's hit "Star Trek Into Darkness," was also working to get Cruise back in the franchise.</p><p>In the summer of 2010, <a href="https://variety.com/2010/film/news/inside-par-s-mission-revamp-1118023361/">news broke</a> that Cruise would be starring in "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol," with Abrams as producer. But this installment in the franchise would not be titled "Mission: Impossible 4," because the idea was that the film would be a refresh on the franchise, with Cruise stepping aside as the lead and giving way to rising star Jeremy Renner.</p><p>Cruise didn't get the message.</p><div type="image" title="Tom Cruise in &quot;Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol&quot; scaling a building" height="540" width="960" msid="91839897" hostid="261"></div><p>Back in the Ethan Hunt role, Cruise cemented his place in the franchise by scaling the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, without a stunt double.</p><p>That, and the other <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g">insane stunts</a> featured in the film, led to "Ghost Protocol" earning the biggest worldwide box office in the franchise's history — <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi4.htm">$695 million</a>. It was also the <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2011&amp;p=.htm">second-highest</a> earning film for Paramount in 2011, just behind "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."</p><p>Following "Ghost Protocol" it wasn't all box-office wins for Cruise. "<a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cruisediaz10.htm">Knight and Day</a>" and the "<a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oneshot.htm">Jack Reacher</a>" franchise didn't do as well as expected. And he could not help Universal's Dark Universe get off the ground as 2017's "The Mummy" bombed at the box office.</p><p>However, he laid the seeds of what could be another profitable franchise with 2014's "Edge of Tomorrow, which — even with a <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2014&amp;wknd=23&amp;p=.htm">slow start</a> when it opened — ended up passing the domestic <a href="https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Edge-Tomorrow-Just-Hit-Major-Milestone-Tom-Cruise-67021.html">$100 million</a> mark (the first time in nine years that a non-"Mission: Impossible" Cruise film hit that landmark number) and only grew in popularity when it got onto home video and streaming.</p><p>And then there are the "M: I" movies.</p><p>In 2015, "Rogue Nation," with its insane stunt of Cruise hanging from the side of a plane as it took off, earned over <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi5.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$682.7 million worldwide</a> and was the top-grossing film for Paramount that year. And 2018's "Fallout" did even better, taking in <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2449573377/">over $791 million worldwide</a>.</p><div type="image" title="Tom Cruise in a fighter jet" height="918" width="1800" msid="91839899" hostid="261"></div>Despite Alex Gibney's explosive 2015 HBO Scientology documentary "Going Clear," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-tom-cruise-and-john-travolta-should-leave-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in which Cruise is criticized</a> for being the face of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-leah-remini-left-scientology-2015-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controversial religion,</a> Cruise remains one of the world's top movie stars. <p>And with "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" out this month, it doesn't seem likely that he'll be knocked off that mantel anytime soon.</p>

How Scientology almost ruined Tom Cruise's career and the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise saved it

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>In August 2006, it seemed like Tom Cruise was finished.</p><p>In an announcement unprecedented by the head of a major conglomerate, the chairman of Viacom, Sumner Redstone, publicly ripped into the star, who at the time was one of the most profitable at Viacom's movie studio, Paramount Pictures.</p><p>"We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot," Redstone told <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115628557000642662">The Wall Street Journal</a>. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Nine years ago was certainly the toughest and strangest time of Cruise's career. The then 43-year-old actor had a lifetime box-office gross of over <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=tomcruise.htm">$1.5 billion</a>, but his flawless transition from young heartthrob to respected dramatic actor to gargantuan action star had seemed to self-destruct as quickly as one of the messages his character, Ethan Hunt, receives in the "Mission: Impossible" movies.</p><p>The studio he'd called home for 14 years was <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Business/story?id=2344327" target="_blank">parting ways with him</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div> Today, on the heels of Cruise's awesome new trailer for "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mission-impossible-5-trailer-2015-3">Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation,</a>" it's hard to imagine the veteran actor's career being at such a low point.</p><p>His strange downfall and subsequent rebirth as one of the most bankable movie stars all began with an innocent act of love.</p><p>When Cruise agreed to go on "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOxHaSeQUi0">The Oprah Winfrey Show</a>" in May 2005 to promote his next blockbuster film, "War of the Worlds," it was a big deal. Not only did most women believe he was one of the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2840313/A-look-People-s-Sexiest-Man-Alive-winners-years-28th-recipient-announced.html" target="_blank">sexiest men alive</a>, but Cruise rarely did interviews, especially on daytime TV.</p><p>As Cruise walked onto Oprah's stage, the crowd went wild. Oprah playfully tousled Cruise's hair, and the actor was clearly in a great mood.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>During the interview, Oprah brought up Cruise's latest love interest, Katie Holmes, who was off-stage where no one, especially the cameras, could see her. The excitement of talking about his new girlfriend led him to leap up on Oprah's couch with joy (he did it a second time for good measure).</p><p>After the couch jumping, Oprah even got Cruise to chase down Holmes and get her to come on stage.</p><p>It seemed harmless at the time, but thanks to a very young internet video-posting site called YouTube, the image of Cruise on top of Oprah's couch would become a pop-culture phenomenon.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><br>A month later, Cruise agreed to go on the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFgF1JPNR5E%20">Today</a>" show to continue promoting "War of the Worlds," and also talk about his religion, Scientology. But when the interview topic changed to Scientology, and specifically to Cruise not agreeing with psychiatry, the tone changed. Especially in regard to Brooke Shields' use of antidepressants for <a href="http://www.webmd.com/depression/postpartum-depression/features/brooke-shields-depression-struggle">postpartum depression</a>.</br></p><p>Here's an excerpt of Cruise and Lauer's uncomfortable exchange:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Later in the conversation:</p><p>Within minutes, the exchange was on loop all over the world.</p><p>Within a few weeks, Cruise had gone wild on Oprah and lashed out at Matt Lauer, and by then the tabloids had gone overtime on the Cruise-Holmes relationship, which they called "TomKat."</p><p>It was time for Cruise to get off the grid, but he couldn't.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div> For most of his career, an experienced publicist named Pat Kingsley reportedly kept Cruise's private life out of the tabloids. According to a 2014 <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/news/how-youtube-and-internet-journalism-destroyed-tom-cruise-our-last-real-movie-star-4656549">LA Weekly</a> story, she even talked Cruise out of being more vocal about Scientology when he did press for his 2003 film "The Last Samurai." A year later, according to the LA Weekly story, Cruise let Kingsley go after 14 years and formed a publicity team that included his sister, Lee Anne De Vette, and fellow Scientologists.</p><p>Now in a typhoon of backlash that Cruise had never experienced before, his team may have been too inexperienced to protect him.</p><p>Despite all the negative attention, "War of the Worlds" still went to No.1 at the box office during its opening weekend (<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=waroftheworlds.htm">$65 million</a>), and ended up with a worldwide take of $592 million. It would be the last time a film starring Cruise would make over $500 million worldwide for the next <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&amp;id=tomcruise.htm">six years</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div> Following the "War of the Worlds" release, TomKat was still daily tabloid fodder, especially with the news that the two were expecting a child. And then, in March 2006, Cruise went global again with the controversial <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-park-what-scientologists-believe-2015-3" target="_blank">"South Park" episode</a> "Trapped in the Closet."</p><p>The episode originally aired in November 2005 and revealed what <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-park-what-scientologists-believe-2015-3">Scientologists believe</a> is the origin of life, but it also depicted Cruise as an insecure person and played on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-tom-cruise-and-john-travolta-should-leave-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank">rumors of his sexuality</a>.</p><p>In the episode, one of the main characters on the show, Stan, is thought by Scientology to be the second coming of its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/l-ron-hubbard-history-sci-fi-writer-to-scientology-founder-2015-3" target="_blank">founder, L. Ron Hubbard</a>. This leads Scientologists, including Cruise, to flock to Stan's house to pay their respects. But when Stan insults his acting ability, Cruise hides in Stan's closet, leading to Stan saying, "Dad, Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><br><br><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Comedy Central delayed re-airing the episode in March 2006, because <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/08/23/tom-cruise-ambushed-by-lsquobrokersquo-studio/">allegedly Cruise declared </a>he would not promote "Mission: Impossible 3" unless Viacom (which owns the film's studio, Paramount, and Comedy Central) <a href="http://www.today.com/id/11882460/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/tom-cruise-taking-south-park/#.VRWSOpPF-_I">canceled</a> the rebroadcast. </span></br></br></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Cruise's reps <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-03-17-south-park-scientology_x.htm">denied</a> he ever threatened not to promote the film.</span></p><p>The controversy made headlines all over the world and led "South Park" fans to declare they would boycott "Mission: Impossible 3" until Comedy Central aired the episode.</p><p>The episode finally re-aired in July of that year.</p><p>"Closetgate," in what it would become known, was the last straw.</p><p>The constant tabloid coverage of TomKat, plus rumors of Cruise's involvement with Scientology - like that Cruise and Holmes' <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/10/katie-holmes-divorce-scientology">relationship was allegedly arranged</a> by the church - had turned people off. (Cruise and Holmes married in November 2006 and divorced six years later.)</p><p>The bad press soon began to affect Cruise's career. "Mission: Impossible 3" opened in theaters in May 2006 and Cruise's Q score - the appeal of a celebrity, brand, or company on the public - <a href="http://screencrush.com/paramount-tom-cruise-mission-impossible/?trackback=tsmclip">was down 40%</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div> <br><br>Though the film was No. 1 in the US its opening weekend (<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi3.htm">$48 million</a>), it lost appeal as the weeks passed. Ticket sales dropped 47% its second week in theaters, and then 53% the following week.</br></br></p><p>"Mission: Impossible 3" is the lowest grossing film in the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/search/?q=mission%20impossible">franchise</a> to date with a $400 million worldwide gross.</p><p>It was at this point that Viacom chair Sumner Redstone gave Cruise his wake-up call: "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."</p><p>After being kicked off the Paramount lot, Cruise hired a publicist with <a href="http://variety.com/2005/film/news/cruise-will-go-with-pro-1117932447/">more experience</a> and buckled down for a comeback. He brought his production company over to MGM and took <a href="http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1554117,00.html">partial ownership</a> of the iconic United Artists studio.</p><p>Cruise also became less vocal about Scientology in public, though he was apparently involved internally. In 2008, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBZ_uAbxS0">Scientology-produced YouTube video</a> of the actor explaining what the religion means to him went viral.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Cruise hit the pause button on doing action movies, turning to dramas like "Lions for Lambs" and "Valkyrie."</p><p>In between those films he agreed to star in pal Ben Stiller's 2008 comedy "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942385/" target="_blank">Tropic Thunder</a>" as the overweight, bigger-than-life movie exec Les Grossman. It was the best movie Cruise had done in years. In doing something so out of character, he began to win back fans.</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><br><br /></br></strong>"Tropic Thunder" reunited Cruise with his former studio, Paramount. Although Cruise's production company was kicked off the lot, it didn't mean he couldn't still be cast in the studio's films. The wheels were now in motion for Cruise to get back on Paramount's good side so he could make more "Mission: Impossible" movies.</p><p>Being a hit in "Tropic Thunder," the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2008&amp;p=.htm">biggest comedy</a> of the year for Paramount, was a good starting point. Director J.J. Abrams, who directed Cruise in "Mission: Impossible 3" and was in Paramount's good graces after directing the studio's hit "Star Trek Into Darkness," was also working to get Cruise back in the franchise.</p><p>In the summer of 2010, <a href="http://variety.com/2010/film/news/inside-par-s-mission-revamp-1118023361/">news broke</a> that Cruise would be starring in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," with Abrams as producer. But this installment in the franchise would not be titled "Mission: Impossible 4," because the idea was that the film would be a refresh on the franchise, with Cruise stepping aside as the lead and giving way to rising star Jeremy Renner.</p><p>Cruise didn't really get the message.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div> Back in the Ethan Hunt role, Cruise cemented his place in the franchise by scaling the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, without a stunt double. That, and the other <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g">insane stunts</a> featured in the film, led to "Ghost Protocol" earning the biggest worldwide box office in the franchise, with <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi4.htm">$695 million</a>. It was also the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2011&amp;p=.htm">second-highest</a> earning film for Paramount, in 2011, just behind "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."</p><p>Cruise is not back to his pre-Oprah couch-jumping glory, as evidenced by disappointments like "<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cruisediaz10.htm">Knight and Day</a>" and "<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oneshot.htm">Jack Reacher</a>," but he's trying. Following "Ghost Protocol," Cruise came out with "Edge of Tomorrow" and though it had a <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2014&amp;wknd=23&amp;p=.htm">slow start</a> when it opened in the spring of 2014, it ended up passing the domestic <a href="http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Edge-Tomorrow-Just-Hit-Major-Milestone-Tom-Cruise-67021.html">$100 million</a> mark. That makes it the first time in nine years a non-"Mission: Impossible" Cruise film hit that landmark number.</p><p>Now, with the excitement for "Rogue Nation," Cruise's mission of returning as a top action star is likely possible. That is, if his fans are willing to forgive HBO's explosive new Scientology documentary, "Going Clear," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-tom-cruise-and-john-travolta-should-leave-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank">in which Cruise is criticized</a> for remaining the face of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-leah-remini-left-scientology-2015-4" target="_blank">controversial religion</a>.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sports-illustrated-hailey-clauson-swimsuit-model-kate-upton-2015-2">This Sports Illustrated swimsuit rookie could become the next Kate Upton</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1pbHM4czpLGxuF2Zidg0VzskU7IrQlcR" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

How Scientology almost ruined Tom Cruise's career and 'Mission: Impossible' saved it

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Miguel Campos / Shutterstock.com</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>With this weekend's release of "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," Tom Cruise will likely <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4091&amp;p=.htm">dominate the weekend</a> at the box office. In many ways, the "M:I" franchise has become Cruise's career lifeline. When things were at their darkest, it was these films that brought him back to stardom. </p><p>In August 2006, it seemed like Tom Cruise was finished.</p><p>In an announcement unprecedented by the head of a major conglomerate, the chairman of Viacom, Sumner Redstone, publicly ripped into the star, who at the time was one of the most profitable at Viacom's movie studio, Paramount Pictures.</p><p>"We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot," Redstone told <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115628557000642662">The Wall Street Journal</a>. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Kevin Winter/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone with Cruise.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Nine years ago was certainly the toughest and strangest time of Cruise's career. The then 43-year-old actor had a lifetime box-office gross of over <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=tomcruise.htm">$1.5 billion</a>, but his flawless transition from young heartthrob to respected dramatic actor to gargantuan action star seemed to self-destruct as quickly as one of the messages his character, Ethan Hunt, receives in the "Mission: Impossible" movies.</p><p>The studio he'd called home for 14 years was <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Business/story?id=2344327" target="_blank">parting ways with him</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNPZGc0WmfM">Paramount Pictures</a></span></p><p class="caption">"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation."</p></div><p></p></div></div> Today, with the anticipation of "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mission-impossible-5-trailer-2015-3">Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation</a>" opening worldwide, it's hard to imagine the veteran actor's career being at such a low point.</p><p>His strange downfall and subsequent rebirth as one of the most bankable movie stars began with an innocent act of love.</p><p>When Cruise agreed to go on "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOxHaSeQUi0">The Oprah Winfrey Show</a>" in May 2005 to promote his next blockbuster film, "War of the Worlds," it was a big deal. Not only did most women believe he was one of the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2840313/A-look-People-s-Sexiest-Man-Alive-winners-years-28th-recipient-announced.html" target="_blank">sexiest men alive</a>, but Cruise rarely did interviews, especially on daytime TV.</p><p>As Cruise walked onto Oprah's stage, the crowd went wild. Oprah playfully tousled Cruise's hair, and the actor was clearly in a great mood.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>"The Oprah Winfrey Show"</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>During the interview, Oprah brought up Cruise's latest love interest, Katie Holmes, who was off-stage where no one, especially the cameras, could see her.</p><p>The excitement of talking about his new girlfriend led him to leap up on Oprah's couch with joy (he did it a second time for good measure).</p><p>After the couch jumping, Oprah even got Cruise to chase down Holmes and get her to come on stage.</p><p>It seemed harmless at the time, but thanks to a very young internet video-posting site called YouTube, the image of Cruise on top of Oprah's couch would become a pop-culture phenomenon.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><br />A month later, Cruise agreed to go on the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFgF1JPNR5E%20">Today</a>" show to continue promoting "War of the Worlds," and also talk about his religion, Scientology. But when the interview topic changed to Scientology, and specifically to Cruise not agreeing with psychiatry, the tone changed. Especially in regard to Brooke Shields' use of antidepressants for <a href="http://www.webmd.com/depression/postpartum-depression/features/brooke-shields-depression-struggle">postpartum depression</a>.</p><p>Here's an excerpt of Cruise and Lauer's uncomfortable exchange:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube/Today</span></p><p class="caption">Matt Lauer and Tom Cruise on the "Today" show.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Later in the conversation:</p><p>Within minutes, the exchange was on loop all over the world.</p><p>Within a few weeks, Cruise had gone wild on Oprah and lashed out at Matt Lauer, and by then the tabloids had gone overtime on the Cruise-Holmes relationship, which they called "TomKat."</p><p>It was time for Cruise to get off the grid, but he couldn't.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>"The Last Samurai"</span></p><p class="caption">"The Last Samurai."</p></div><p></p></div></div> For most of his career, an experienced publicist named Pat Kingsley reportedly kept Cruise's private life out of the tabloids. According to a 2014 <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/news/how-youtube-and-internet-journalism-destroyed-tom-cruise-our-last-real-movie-star-4656549">LA Weekly</a> story, she even talked Cruise out of being more vocal about Scientology when he did press for his 2003 film "The Last Samurai." A year later, according to the LA Weekly story, Cruise let Kingsley go after 14 years and formed a publicity team that included his sister, Lee Anne De Vette, and fellow Scientologists.</p><p>Now in a typhoon of backlash that Cruise had never experienced before, his team may have been too inexperienced to protect him.</p><p>Despite all the negative attention, "War of the Worlds" still went to No.1 at the box office during its opening weekend (<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=waroftheworlds.htm">$65 million</a>), and ended up with a worldwide take of $592 million. It would be the last time a film starring Cruise would make over $500 million worldwide for the next <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&amp;id=tomcruise.htm">six years</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Paramount Pictures</span></p><p class="caption">"War of the Worlds."</p></div><p></p></div></div> Following the "War of the Worlds" release, TomKat was still daily tabloid fodder, especially with the news that the two were expecting a child. And then, in March 2006, Cruise went global again with the controversial <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-park-what-scientologists-believe-2015-3" target="_blank">"South Park" episode</a> "Trapped in the Closet."</p><p>The episode originally aired in November 2005 and revealed what <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-park-what-scientologists-believe-2015-3">Scientologists believe</a> is the origin of life, but it also depicted Cruise as an insecure person and played on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-tom-cruise-and-john-travolta-should-leave-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank">rumors of his sexuality</a>.</p><p>In the episode, one of the main characters on the show, Stan, is thought by Scientology to be the second coming of its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/l-ron-hubbard-history-sci-fi-writer-to-scientology-founder-2015-3" target="_blank">founder, L. Ron Hubbard</a>. This leads Scientologists, including Cruise, to flock to Stan's house to pay their respects. But when Stan insults his acting ability, Cruise hides in Stan's closet, leading to Stan saying, "Dad, Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Comedy Central</span></p><p class="caption">"Trapped in the Closed" episode of "South Park."</p></div><p></p></div></div><br /><br /><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Comedy Central delayed re-airing the episode in March 2006, because <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/08/23/tom-cruise-ambushed-by-lsquobrokersquo-studio/">allegedly Cruise declared </a>he would not promote "Mission: Impossible 3" unless Viacom (which owns the film's studio, Paramount, and Comedy Central) <a href="http://www.today.com/id/11882460/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/tom-cruise-taking-south-park/#.VRWSOpPF-_I">canceled</a> the rebroadcast. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Cruise's reps <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-03-17-south-park-scientology_x.htm">denied</a> he ever threatened not to promote the film.</span></p><p>The controversy made headlines all over the world and led "South Park" fans to declare they would boycott "Mission: Impossible 3" until Comedy Central aired the episode.</p><p>The episode finally re-aired in July of that year.</p><p>"Closetgate," in what it would become known, was the last straw.</p><p>The constant tabloid coverage of TomKat, plus rumors of Cruise's involvement with Scientology - like that Cruise and Holmes' <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/10/katie-holmes-divorce-scientology">relationship was allegedly arranged</a> by the church - had turned people off. (Cruise and Holmes married in November 2006 and divorced six years later.)</p><p>The bad press soon began to affect Cruise's career. "Mission: Impossible 3" opened in theaters in May 2006 and Cruise's Q score - the appeal of a celebrity, brand, or company on the public - <a href="http://screencrush.com/paramount-tom-cruise-mission-impossible/?trackback=tsmclip">was down 40%</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube/Paramount Pictures</span></p><p class="caption">"Mission: Impossible 3."</p></div><p></p></div></div> <br /><br />Though the film was No. 1 in the US its opening weekend (<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi3.htm">$48 million</a>), it lost appeal as the weeks passed. Ticket sales dropped 47% its second week in theaters, and then 53% the following week.</p><p>"Mission: Impossible 3" is the lowest grossing film in the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/search/?q=mission%20impossible">franchise</a> to date with a $400 million worldwide gross.</p><p>It was at this point that Viacom chair Sumner Redstone gave Cruise his wake-up call: "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."</p><p>After being kicked off the Paramount lot, Cruise hired a publicist with <a href="http://variety.com/2005/film/news/cruise-will-go-with-pro-1117932447/">more experience</a> and buckled down for a comeback. He brought his production company over to MGM and took <a href="http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1554117,00.html">partial ownership</a> of the iconic United Artists studio.</p><p>Cruise also became less vocal about Scientology in public, though he was apparently involved internally. In 2008, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBZ_uAbxS0">Scientology-produced video</a> went viral on YouTube of the actor explaining what the religion means to him.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Cruise hit the pause button on doing action movies, turning to dramas like "Lions for Lambs" and "Valkyrie."</p><p>In between those films he agreed to star in pal Ben Stiller's 2008 comedy "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942385/" target="_blank">Tropic Thunder</a>" as the overweight, bigger-than-life movie exec Les Grossman. It was the best move Cruise had done in years. In doing something so out of character, he began to win back fans.</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube/Paramount Pictures</span></p><p class="caption">Cruise in "Tropic Thunder."</p></div><p></p></div></div><br /><br /></strong>"Tropic Thunder" reunited Cruise with his former studio, Paramount. Although Cruise's production company was kicked off the lot, it didn't mean he couldn't still be cast in the studio's films. The wheels were now in motion for Cruise to get back on Paramount's good side so he could make more "Mission: Impossible" movies.</p><p>Being a hit in "Tropic Thunder," the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2008&amp;p=.htm">biggest comedy</a> of the year for Paramount, was a good starting point. Director J.J. Abrams, who directed Cruise in "Mission: Impossible 3" and was in Paramount's good graces after directing the studio's hit "Star Trek Into Darkness," was also working to get Cruise back in the franchise.</p><p>In the summer of 2010, <a href="http://variety.com/2010/film/news/inside-par-s-mission-revamp-1118023361/">news broke</a> that Cruise would be starring in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," with Abrams as producer. But this installment in the franchise would not be titled "Mission: Impossible 4," because the idea was that the film would be a refresh on the franchise, with Cruise stepping aside as the lead and giving way to rising star Jeremy Renner.</p><p>Cruise didn't get the message.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Paramount</span></p><p class="caption">"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."</p></div><p></p></div></div> Back in the Ethan Hunt role, Cruise cemented his place in the franchise by scaling the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, without a stunt double. That, and the other <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g">insane stunts</a> featured in the film, led to "Ghost Protocol" earning the biggest worldwide box office in the franchise, with <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi4.htm">$695 million</a>. It was also the <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2011&amp;p=.htm">second-highest</a> earning film for Paramount in 2011, just behind "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."</p><p>Cruise is not back to his pre-Oprah couch-jumping glory, as evidenced by disappointments like "<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cruisediaz10.htm">Knight and Day</a>" and "<a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oneshot.htm">Jack Reacher</a>," but he's trying. Following "Ghost Protocol," Cruise came out with "Edge of Tomorrow" and though it had a <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2014&amp;wknd=23&amp;p=.htm">slow start</a> when it opened in the spring of 2014, it ended up passing the domestic <a href="http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Edge-Tomorrow-Just-Hit-Major-Milestone-Tom-Cruise-67021.html">$100 million</a> mark. That makes it the first time in nine years a non-"Mission: Impossible" Cruise film hit that landmark number.</p><p>Now, with the excitement for "Rogue Nation" - which includes <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_rogue_nation/">critical praise</a> - Cruise's mission to return as one of the top action stars has been accomplished. Even his fans are willing to overlook HBO's explosive Scientology documentary, "Going Clear," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-tom-cruise-and-john-travolta-should-leave-scientology-2015-3" target="_blank">in which Cruise is criticized</a> for remaining the face of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-leah-remini-left-scientology-2015-4" target="_blank">controversial religion</a>.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-cruise-stunts-mission-impossible-rogue-nation-2015-7">This 'Mission Impossible' behind-the-scenes footage of a 53-year-old Tom Cruise hanging off a plane is terrifying</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="IzbjA4djopCYzW9_4w3zercU8vZchV3a" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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