The Mad Hatter Ala Depp

Johnny Depp is no stranger to bizarre films. From the beginning with his first movie Nightmare on Elm Street, then on to stranger flicks like Cry-Baby, Dead Man (WTF?), Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka to Sweeney Todd and the voice of Corpse Bride, the man has an insatiable appetite for the bizarre and macabre.

Now Depp and Tim Burton have teamed up once again, for Lewis Carroll’s tale Alice in Wonderland. I am sure Burton will put his signature creepy spin on this film and it may turn out to be yet another cult classic.

Willy Wonka on the other hand, did not fair too well in my opinion. I think it had a lot to do with Willy Wonka fans not wanting to see such a classic movie redone, especially the way it was redone.  Some classics you just have to leave alone, whether it has a big star in it or not. Count me in as one of those people who hated Willy Wonka for those reasons.

I will however give Alice In Wonderland a go as it’s one of my favorite childhood stories.

Now I LOVE John Christopher Depp II (who doesn’t?) and I think he is way up there on the yummy scale. Of course I have liked him since his 21 Jump Street days when he played Tom Hanson. I knew way back then he was going to be a huge star.

My favorite Depp films are simply NOT the strange ones with the big exception of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas , which is on my favorite movie list. Although it pained me to see Depp made up as the far from handsome Raoul Duke. But he was brilliant, as well as his side kick, Dr. Gonzo played by Benicio Del Torro.

I never cared for Scissorhands, hated Wonka, and was never really a big fan of The Pirates of the Caribbean, although I did enjoy Pirates for the special effects. I am more of a What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (although young Leo DiCaprio stole the show in this flick) and Donnie Brasco fan. I’d be remiss not to mention Benny and Joon  too. Except What’s Eating Gilbert Grape also starred of Juliette Lewis and I have ALWAYS despised that broad, and when I found out that she was a Scientologist, well…let’s just say it explained a lot, to say the least.

But one of my all time Depp movie favorites has to be Don Juan DeMarco. Depp got his sexy on in that movie and had an accent to boot. If you haven’t seen this film, you really have missed out on some serious Depp hunk time. It was muy caliante!  And in the words of Don Juan himself…”No woman has ever left my arms unsatisfied. ”

Excuse me…..cold shower time.

That's One Lucky Gal!

Depp also got to work with one of his biggest idols, Marlon Brando. Depp said the hardest part of working with Brando in this film, was keeping a straight face. And of course let’s not forget the steamy Chocolat. Yum! and I am not talking about the Chocolate.

I have missed Sweeney Todd, Finding Neverland, The Brave, The Libertine and about eight other of Depp’s flicks. This man has a HUGE filmography and even a fan has their limits!

Depp’s newest film, Public Enemies has him portraying outlaw John Dillinger will be in theaters on July 1st. I am sure most audiences will be cheering for the bad guy in this one. And once again, Depp is sexy as hell in his 1930’s pin striped suit.

Back to the rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderland, which is not slated to come out till March 2010 has Depp playing the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as Alice and Helena Bonham Carter as The Queen of Hearts. The film also stars Christopher Lee as the Jabberwock, Allen Rickman as the Caterpiller, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Michael Sheen as The White Rabbit and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts. It is complete with gorgeous costumes and 3D computer animation.

Notice the faces in the flowers above?  This is going to be one trippy flick! Depp said playing the Mad Hatter was fun and speaks about the look of the Mad Hatter and jokingly said he was surprised he didn’t get fired from the film:

“The Hatter was awfully fun,” Depp said in a news conference on Monday in Beverly Hills, Calif. “After doing something like John Dillinger, a performance where it’s somewhat restrained because of the responsibility you have to that guy and his memory, that Mad Hatter was like being fired out of a cannon. The Hatter was great fun, and, again, it’s one of those things that you’re just amazed you weren’t fired. I truly am.”

“All I’ve seen, I’ve just seen the little bits and pieces of it, but, yeah, what I ended up looking like is how I thought he was going to look, how I thought he should look, which was one of the first reasons why I’m surprised I didn’t get fired,” Depp said.

In the words of Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, who sang the trippy rock/acid song White Rabbit…
“Remember what the dormouse said, feed your head” 

Wonder if they will use this song in the sound track? Or maybe just at the end. Hey Burton…are you listening?

Already confirmed for Depp’s new upcoming projects, are Pirates Of The Caribbean #4 (careful Johnny don’t spread yourself to thin with this one) and oddly Dark Shadows.  I say oddly, because I actually watched “Dark Shadows” back in the day. It was a weird Gothic soap opera about vampires and other creatures, and dealt with time in the past and future in a parallel universe. 

Dark Shadows has Depp written all over it. Don’t know what kind of spin will be put on this one. I personally think Depp should skip this one, but I bet Dark Shadows fans will be champing at the bit.

Johnny Depp is just getting started. Regardless of the premise or the writing of a movie, Depp takes on all roles and is a true chameleon and plays every part with sheer brilliance. Hats off to the many faces of Johhny Depp! Keep em’ coming!

 
Robert De Niro is one of my all time favorite actors. He was in such greats as The Goodfellas, Bronx Tale, Analyze This, The Untouchables, and let’s not forget him as a the young Vito Corleone in Godfather II. 

These particular movies all had one thing in common. The Mafia.
Although in Bronx Tale, he was against the mafia and played a hard working bus driving Dad.

Billy Crystal and DeNiro in Analyze This

Did you ever wonder why De Niro is SO good at playing Mafioso? Well perhaps this is why.

When De Niro took the role of Paul Vitti in the 1999 film Analyze This, (co-star Billy Crystal played Dr. Ben Soble) nobody knew just how far De Niro went to make his part as authentic as possible until recently, when a never before seen photo surfaced of De Niro and late Gambino family soldier Anthony Fat Andy Ruggiano. (God I love these names)

De Niro was introduced to the Gambino family through Anthony Corrozzo who is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild AND also played a part in the movie, although I could not find him listed in the credits.

*fact* There was REAL footage of MANY actual mafia members in this movie.

DeNiro’s rep, Stan Rosenfeld says De Niro doesn’t remember Ruggiano, due to the fact that the movie was filmed over 10 years ago. I can just hear De Niro saying  in that famous De Niro voice : “Yeah… maybe I don’t remember it so much…you have a problem with that? Get outta here!”

Rosenfeld was quoted as saying:

“Bob seldom, if ever, discusses his research techniques.”

Smart man that Bobby De Niro.

This wasn’t the first time De Niro researched his movie roles. When DeNiro did Goodfellas, he also wanted to meet with James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke. But Burke was in jail and refused to meet him a source said. DeNiro isn’t alone with all this researching. Many actors like to rub elbows with tough guys or wise guys in this case.

The New York Daily News posted the never seen before photo and a write up:

While making the 1999 film “Analyze This,” about a neurotic gangster, De Niro consulted with the late Gambino soldier Anthony (Fat Andy) Ruggiano - and the Daily News has obtained a never-before-seen photo of the Oscar-winning actor with the big-time gangster in the actor’s trailer.

The film may have been a comedy, but Ruggiano was no joke.

Ruggiano, who died in March 1999, was inducted into the crime family when the boss was Albert Anastasia. He was involved in at least seven murders, including giving the approval to whack his son-in-law.

“He did a lot of work for the family,” Ruggiano’s turncoat son Anthony Jr. testified recently at the trial of a Gambino hit man. “Work” is mob jargon for gangland killings.

“He killed somebody with a fellow named Joe,” Anthony Ruggiano Jr. recalled. “He killed a florist in Brooklyn. He killed three people in a warehouse that was robbing crap games.

“He killed somebody with me . . . and they had this guy Irish Danny killed behind the Skyway Motel on Conduit Blvd.”

De Niro, who is famous for scrupulously researching his roles, was introduced to Ruggiano by reputed Gambino associate Anthony Corozzo, a member of the Screen Actors Guild and an extra on “Analyze This,” a knowledgeable source said.

Anthony Corozzo is the brother of high-ranking Gambinos Nicholas (Little Nick) Corozzo, a powerful capo, and reputed consigliere Joseph Corozzo. He also appeared in another film starring De Niro, “A Bronx Tale,” and forgettable flicks “This Thing of Ours, “The Deli” and “Men Lie.”

“Anthony is like a liaison with the acting community,” the source said.

De Niro’s rep, Stan Rosenfeld, said the movie was made a long time ago and the actor doesn’t recall Ruggiano.

“Bob seldom, if ever, discusses his research techniques,” Rosenfeld said.

Attorney Joseph Corozzo Jr. denied his uncle brought Fat Andy to the set.

Jerry Capeci of the Web site Ganglandnews.com said it’s no secret actors like to rub elbows with real tough guys, and the feeling is mutual.

“Even Carlo Gambino, the epitome of the understated, low-key mob boss, couldn’t resist the lure of posing in that now famous backstage picture with Frank Sinatra surrounded by a bunch of smiling wise guys,” Capeci said.

During the filming of “GoodFellas,” De Niro was interested in talking to the legendary gangster he was playing, but James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke was in jail and refused to meet with the actor, the source said.

De Niro is the latest alumnus from the film “GoodFellas” to have met with members of the Gambino family. Actor Frank Sivero posed for photos at Gambino hit man Charles Carneglia’s junkyard, and actor Anthony Borgese was indicted last week for participating in an extortion with a Gambino soldier.

One thing you can certainly say about De Niro, is that he REALLY researched his movie roles! And as Jimmy Conway said in the Goodfellas:

“You learned the two greatest thing in life, never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.”

Well.. I never ratted out any of my friends…but keep my mouth shut? Fu-get about it!

Oh! And I certainly do not mean any disrespect to any “families” who may be reading this. It’s The Daily News you want. *wink wink*

Salute!  Molti altri giorni felici!

Future Scientologist or Pissing Off Dad?

What is wrong with people? You would think that these stars (I use the term lightly in this case) would pick up a damn newspaper, read a book, or get online every once in a while to see what is going on in the world.

Peaches Geldof was recently seen coming out of the Scientology Celebrity Center in Ca. Which begs the question, is she really unaware that Scientology has been on trial in France, and there are currently SEVERAL lawsuits filed against them? Not to mention the recent, ever so damaging, St. Petersburg Times three parts series on Scientology which has Scientology’s cult leader plastered on the front page with testimonies from FOUR ex-Scientology top executives alleging all sorts of abuses. Wake the freak up girlfriend.

So one might ask…who the hell is Peaches Geldof anyway?

Peaches is England’s answer to Paris Hilton and daughter of Sir Bob Geldof, ex Boom Town Rats band and avid philanthropist (best known for founding Live Aid). For purposes of brevity, we’ll bypass going into her Dad’s views, activism, or anything else he did or did not do. This article is about Peaches.  So Bob Geldof lover/haters, please save your comments.

Back to the rotten Peaches. Ms. Geldof (recently divorced from musician Max Drummey after only 7 months) was spotted leaving the Celebrity Center with an armful of Scientology’s CRAP, proving not only is she is as daft as many in the media accuse her of being, but that she has NOT done her homework on Scientology whatsoever — or this was an elaborately planned PR stunt aimed at pissing off her Dad?

News Of The World thinks it was all a PR stunt:

“Then she popped along to the Scientology Celebrity Centre and left with loads of information. She said she was considering joining. But we think she just wants to p*** off her dad.”

Let’s hope this was a PR stunt. As wonderfully ironic as it would be to lose another rich snotty brat to a brainwashing cult (HELLO Bijou Phillips) a part of me hopes she went in to the Celebrity Center and gave the recruiters there a giant Scientology woody over the thought of her oodles of cash coming in their door, only to be DENIED!!!

Of course, the folks at Scientology are typically too dense to appreciate a practical joke, so no doubt they are falling all over themselves looking for a way to use her visit as PR for themselves.

But if it’s not a joke, we sure as hell hope her dad takes some time and gives his daughter a clue before it’s too late.

Peaches (pictured below) is shown holding the Scientology GARBAGE she left the Center with. Notice on the paper she is holding where it says “Celebrity Center Takes Care Of Those Who Entertain Fashion and Take Care of the World”  with a facsimile of founder L. Ron Hubbard’s signature.  Seriously, only the hopelessly arrogant or desperately lost would fall for this nonsense.

Yeah, they certainly do take care of their “cash cow” celebrities.  The “celeb” Scientologists get preferential treatment over public Scientologists, as well as, Scientology staff and the lowly Sea Org members. What other “church” has a celebrity center, or even brags about what ”church” members they have? Quite simply, NONE.

Perhaps She Can Be The First Celebrity Sea Orger

Now, it was reported that her Dad has been listening to Father’s Rights campaigners, and was quoted as saying:

“I am heartbroken. I just cannot believe what happens to people, what is done to them in the name of the law.”

Wow, one can only imagine how heartbroken he’d be if he read up on what Scientology does to their own members in their quest to clear the planet.  Scientology’s family disconnection policies, and human rights abuses within their Sea Org  alone would be enough for Geldof to start with. Not to mention the amount of cash that Peaches would have to fork over. Perhaps he wasn’t aware of Peaches recent visit to the Scientology Celebrity Center due to the fact that they have been sort of on the outs.

Rumor has it, Peaches and her Dad had a falling out over some racy pictures that she posed for, as well as alleged drug abuse, which was the cause in her mother Paula Yates death (another riveting tale in an unto itself).  Sir Bob supposedly asked Peaches to pack her bags and go live on her own, which apparently she did. It is reported she now shuttles between the US and London, living at the Mayfair Hotel and has an apartment in NY and is also said to be house hunting in London. Geez, only twenty years old and already living like a rock star.

Regardless of any falling out that may have happened between Peaches and her Dad, he should be notified of Peaches recent lapse in judgment. Sir Bob, as bizarre a life as he has led, is said to be a very protective and hands on dad, which included him stepping in and adopting his ex-wife Paula’s daughter, Tiger Lily who was left parentless after both her mother and father (INXS singer, Michael Hutchence) died. Stepping in and saving people is what Bob does, so if you are listening Pappa Geldof, don’t lose your daughter to Scientology! It’s worse than you think.

The Sun reported as another publicity stunt:

 After her marriage to rocker Max Drummey was recently exposed as a vehicle to boost their celebrity status, the Boomtown prat has been pictured leaving a Scientology Celebrity Center in New York.

According to documents placed in her bag, the centre claims to “take care of those who entertain, fashion and take care of the world”.
We’re struggling to work out how Peaches qualifies for any of the above.
Though at least somebody’s taking an interest in her.

A bit of history in the the wacky world of twenty year old Peaches Geldof…

Her full name is Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel  Vanessa Geldof. Boy that’s a mouthful and oh yeah it’s STUUUUPPID! Of course her sisters names are just as quirky: Fifi Trixibell and Pixie (although I think this name is cute) and don’t forget her half sister who has the same Mom, the late Paula Yates who died of a heroine overdose in 2000. Her half sister’s name is Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof. Tiger Lily’s father being the late Michael Hutchence of INXS band fame who died in 1997.

Peaches has dabbled in writing, TV show host, fashion design, a couple of reality shows and was signed to a SIX FIGURE modeling deal to become the face of the Miss Ultimo collection AND is also currently writing a fashion column for Nylon Magazine and doing a Brit TV show.  

Peaches has been in the tabloids hanging with Paris Hilton (blech!) and dubbed a wild child. It was also just reported by Peaches via Twitter that she just had a sleep over with Courtey Love. Now that’s a whole other can of worms I am not going to get into. I don’t know which is worse, Courtney Love or Scientology. Of course Scientology wins, but only by a slim margin.

Sadly, Peaches also had a drug overdose last year, so I hope she gets her act together and stays sober, but palling around with Courtney Love or Scientology certainly won’t help matters.

In August if 2008, she married Max Drummey, a US musician of the Chester French Band, but by Feb. 2009, they called it quits.  Consider yourself spared Max!

Guess it’s time to remove the tattoos of each others names you guys got in Vegas? Nope, his name is part of her collection of tats now. She just added her OWN nickname Pinky to her wrist. Making that tattoo number twenty one for Peaches. Hmmm…do you think she going to regret some of these tats when she gets older?

According to tabloids, Peaches is apparently interested in seeing women at the moment. *Rolls eyes* Is this another experimental lesbian relationship gone tabloid for PR, or is this the real deal?  Calling Anne Heche!

Now I have don’t have any problems whatsoever with anyone’s sexual preference, in fact I embrace sexual freedom and same sex marriages, and always have. But these fly by night she-mances for PR purposes aimed to shockpeople make me sick, if that’s what this is. And considering Peaches track record of flaky behavior, nothing would surprise us.

Peaches and New Gal Pal

I won’t bother to post the pics of Peaches locking lips with a girl, because, frankly, it’s just not shocking anymore, however, I am very concerned if she was serious about joining Scientology.

I hope SOMEONE, if not her dad, clues her in before she starts with their courses, their auditing, and before Scientology starts raping her wallet and her mind. Perhaps concerned readers can drop Sir Bob Geldof a line?

You can express your concerns not only to celebrities, but also your state legislators, the IRS on their tax exemption, heck, you could even drop Pres. Obama a line about Scientology’s crimes, insanity and ongoing abuses. The recruiting has to stop. If Bernie Madoff got 150 years in jail, so to should David Miscavige.

So please write some letters people, the pen can be a mighty sword.

Billy Mays, TV pitchman for such well known products as Oxi-Clean, Kaboom, Orange Glo and many others, was found dead in his home in Tampa.

No word of foul play right now, but we will keep you updated as the news comes in from the autopsy report.

Tampabay.com reports:

TAMPA — Billy Mays, the TV pitchman whose trademark voice helped sell everything from cleaning supplies to baking soda, was found dead this morning by his wife at his Tampa home. No cause of death has been reported and no foul play is suspected, according to Tampa police.

Mays, 50, was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. at 2853 Bowen Daniel Dr., #1201. His wife, Deborah Mays, found him unresponsive this morning. The Medical Examiner’s Office will complete Mays’ autopsy by tomorrow afternoon.

“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days,” Deborah Mays said in a statement today. “Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times.”

Mays was a passenger Saturday of a 737 airplane that had a front tire blow out, said spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan. Mays and other passengers were interviewed by US Airways staff after the Philadelphia flight’s hard landing. Responders reported no injuries.

“Tampa Fire (Rescue) reported no injuries. Nobody asked for treatment,” Geoghagan said. “Some of the passengers said they had bruises.”

Mays was one of the stars of “Pitchmen,” a Discovery Channel documentary series that focused on Mays’ claim to fame: inventions and infomercials.

Although I myself and I assure many others, found his voice and yelling particularly annoying, this man became a multi-millionaire hawking cleaning products. He recently starred in an inventors show  called The Pitchmen with fellow pitchman Anthony “Sully” Sullivan on the Discovery Channel. His TV ads sometimes appeared up to 400 times a week, and Billy was once quoted as saying:

“If I see myself one more time today,” he groans, sounding genuinely weary, “I’m going to pull my hair out.”

The Washington Post reported back in 2008 about Mays:

A college dropout who grew up in Pittsburgh, Mays lives with his wife and two kids in a five-bedroom house with a three-car garage for his Bentley, Mercedes SUV and Range Rover. His home office is the headquarters of Billy Mays Promotions, a one-man operation. Mays does overdubs in a mini-studio on the second floor and many of his tapings at a nearby production house owned by a friend.

If this sounds like the sweet, sedentary life, you’ve got the wrong impression. By all accounts, Mays is a tireless worker, ready to fly to any city for any shoot and then fly back for reshoots if necessary. Each of his “shows,” as he calls them, requires dozens and dozens of takes, mostly because Mays is prone to stumbles and miscues, many of which are memorialized on blooper reels posted to YouTube. The three-alarm volume is never turned down. “People used to tell him, ‘Billy, you’ve got to come off the gas a little, there’s no need to shout,’ ” says Anthony Sullivan, a friend, fellow pitchman and owner of a production company where Mays has shot commercials. “He’d say ‘No problem,’ but he couldn’t stop. He has one speed, 100 miles an hour — take it or leave it.”

There have been many parodies of  people poking fun of Billy on YouTube. As they say, imitation is the best form of flattery.
Enjoy this “Billy Mays Gangsta remix“  of his commercials from YouTube.

Also leading to some unanswered questions about his untimely death, was a blow to his head during a particularly bad plane landing on Saturday. Reports state Billy had flown into Tampa on an US Airways flight from Philadelphia when a tire blew during landing, Billy had tweeted about this just after landing. From CNN:

According to a local Tampa TV station, Mays said: “All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.”

According to TMZ, Billy hit his head on an overhead luggage compartment and his wife states that he was not feeling well Saturday night. While the Tampa Bay police department are saying there is no way to know exactly what killed Billy, they did caution the public to NOT jump to conclusions about the two incidents being related. All I can say to that is: Natasha Richardson.

While we certainly accept that we could be WAY off base, my instincts are telling me that Billy may have sustained a much more serious injury from hitting his head and we will likely discover the two were very much linked. There is already speculation going on about whether Mays was wearing his seatbelt. This has been a really sad week in the world of celebrities. Hopefully we will have no more bad news to report.

Our condolences to Billy’s family and friends.

Pin up beauty and former Charlie’s Angels Farrah Fawcett has ended her battle with cancer and has passed away today at age 62.

From Fox News:

Farrah Fawcett, the multiple Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated American actress best known for her role as the vivacious Jill Munroe in the 1970s television series “Charlie’s Angels,” died in a Santa Monica hospital. She was 62.

Her spokesman, Paul Bloch, confirmed that the iconic actress died Thursday morning at 9:28 a.m. PDT.

Her long-time partner Ryan O’Neal told People magazine Thursday, “She’s gone. She now belongs to the ages … She’s now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She’s in a better place now.”

Other “Charlie’s Angels” stars paid tribute to her.

“Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels,” Jaclyn Smith said.

Said Cheryl Ladd: “She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.”

Her former producer Craig Nevius told FOXNews.com, “She will be remembered as
the modern Mona Lisa and so much more. I will remember her as my friend.”

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in September 2006 and, despite going into remission and enduring extensive chemotherapy and surgery both in the U.S. and Germany, it was revealed earlier this year that the cancer had spread to her liver. She stopped receiving treatment in May.

Farrah will be sorely missed. For a wonderful retrospective look at the icon, please check out Queen’s excellent mini-biography on the iconic Fawcett.

Update:

Multiple sources have confirmed Michael Jackson has died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 50. Right now we aren’t sure what exactly led to Michael’s heart attack, but he has suffered from ill health and chronic disease for over a decade, as well as, very public trials which must have led to a tremendous amount of stress.

Here’s what CNN is reporting:

Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles, California, Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

Asked specifics of the patient’s condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws.

The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the “King of Pop.” Jackson had many No. 1 hits and his “Thriller” is the best-selling album of all time. Video Jackson “as big as it gets” »

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.

A large crowd was also gathering outside the hospital, according to video footage.

Outside Jackson’s Bel Air home, police arrived on motorcycles. The road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic back, but several people were gathered outside the home.

*********************************************
Reports are coming in about an emergency call to the home of Michael Jackson stating someone was having a cardiac arrest. TMZ is reporting Michael Jackson has died, though no other media reports are stating that at this time.

We will keep you posted as we learn more. WOW, just wow. Maybe he was as sick as writer and blogger Ian Halperin suggested.

It is with a sense of awe and splendor Glosslip is reporting on what may be the most damaging coverage of the cult of Scientology ever written.

The St. Petersburg Times Newspaper unleashed a three part series, that must have cult leader David Miscavige popping veins in his head. This three part series is of such EPIC proportions, that we were only able to outline the stories and touch on a few of the most maligning accounts and testimonies given by four top ranking Scientology defectors. It would have taken pages and pages to tell the whole story and even more pages to include all of their quotes.

We will provide links to all three parts of this story directly to the SP Times, so you will be able to read the stories in their entirety.

The St. Petersburg Times has been a thorn in Scientology’s side since the cult first skulked into Clearwater over three decades ago. Dubbed by Scientology as The SP Times, as a derisive play on their own “SP” term, which stands for Suppressive Persons, the SP Times has continued to be one of the only mainstream media sources investigating Scientology’s continued abuses and shady activities.

In 1975, the Church of Scientology purchased the historic Fort Harrison Hotel under an assumed name and have maintained an overwhelming presence in Clearwater, buying up land and setting up shops in the seaside town.

Residents of Clearwater watched their own town slowly being taken over by Scientology and the cult has been sucking up real estate like a vacuum, and thankfully the SP Times has been reporting their every move. But this time around, people seem to be finally listening. This story is being covered globally and in all facets of the media.

Although Scientology has tried numerous times to squash The SP Times in the past, their latest series of articles written by hero staff writers Joe Child and Thomas Tobin reveal an even more damaging look into the cult of Scientology that has never been reported before by a mainstream outlet. So damaging are the allegations many critics are wondering if Scientology will survive this huge blow.

The SP Times were successful in securing interviews with four top exec Scientology defectors. Much of what they revealed is a reaffirmation of rumoured abuses that have been circulating for years, but with their testimony, give a new urgency and credibility to these audacious and harrowing accounts. These revelations are pointedly attacking Scientology cult leader David Miscavige (Tom Cruise’s bestman at Cruise’s wedding), who has managed to slink under the radar for far too long. Not since the death of Lisa McPherson in 1995, has Scientology’s been under such deep scrutiny and these four high profile defectors, Mike Rinder, Marty Rathbun, Tom DeVocht and Amy Scobee’s testimonies, may be the final threat to drive the cult into the ground OR an even worse alternative, underground.

Part one of the series deals mostly with reported beatings of staff members. The defectors claimed they witnessed church leader David Miscavige beating several members many times over the course of many years, with the beatings becoming more severe and widespread as the behavior became accepted as the norm. We also included a bizarre account of Sea Org members, dressed in their quasi-military uniforms, who were forced to play a perverse game of musical chairs to the tune of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This elaborate, but twisted game was conceived by cult leader Miscavige as a means to prove his members loyalty. Whomever was unable to get a chair, were met with the threat of being shipped off to distant countries and disconnected from their families. David Miscavige’s sadistic game of having control over his minions gives real insight into the mind of Scientology’s enigmatic leader. It’s no exaggeration to suggest any evil dictator throughout history would have been proud of Miscaviges craven tyranny.

Part two of the series, deals mostly with the cover up of the death of Lisa McPherson, which we will discuss later in this post.

The third and final part of the comprehensive series was a wrap up of the testimonies and dealt with the “overboarding” which was used as punishment within their Sea Org.

Actual Picture Of OverBoarding

Overboarding is when someone gets thrown in a pool or lake as a punishment. This punishment started back in 1968 and was ordered by founder L. Ron Hubbard himself. Sea Org members were thrown right into the ocean off any of the three ships that Hubbard owned. Depending on the severity of the punishment, different decks in varying heights, were used. Some decks being 25 feet from the water’s surface below. Even when the Sea Org moved on to land, this punishment still continued.

Below are the four defectors at the center of this stunning investigation.

Mike Rinder, was top lieutenant in the Sea Org (Scientology’s fake navy). Rinder left Scientology two years ago, but had been a member since he was 18 years old.

Marty Rathbun-was a top lieutenant and in Scientology for 27 years. Marty, perhaps unable to truly disconnect from the emotional attachment to his former “faith,” still practices Scientology today and still offers auditing in his home.

Tom DeVocht, third from the left, oversaw the church’s spiritual headquarters in Clearwater and was vice president of real estate and construction for the cult. He was in for 28 years, and left with a “free loader debt” of owing the cult $98,000.00 of which he thankfully has not paid them one dime. Free loader debt is money owed to the cult for courses taken, which they will try to collect from you once you leave.

Amy Scobee was a top exec who helped create Scientology’s celebrity network and worked for the cult for more than 25 years, joined the Sea Org when she was just 16 years old.

These defectors were quoted as saying:

“the leader established a culture that encouraged physical violence.”

A video compiled by the SP Times features interview with Marty Rathburn and Amy Scobee who talk about the violence and beatings doled out by David Miscavige, and in a nutshell what this news breaking three part series uncovers. Click here to watch.

Scientology also plans on opening up the private files of these four defectors, which are supposed to be confidential and only for the church’s eyes. These well-guarded files chronicle EVERY Scientology member during their Scientology auditing sessions on the e-meter. Lawyers and spokespeople claim that these files will divulge comments from these defectors which will clear the cult. But it will also in turn finally prove that Scientology will use member’s private files to blackmail people. One also has to ask if the cult is doing this to set an example and to curtail any more defectors from speaking out?

If that’s the case, I say open up the files on all members who have defected and files on all top execs and put all the cards on the table. Of course I refer to files that haven’t been doctored up by the cult.

A list of what defectors revealed:

• Physical violence permeated Scientology’s international management team. Miscavige set the tone, routinely attacking his lieutenants. Rinder says the leader attacked him some 50 times.

Rathbun, Rinder and De Vocht admit that they, too, attacked their colleagues, to demonstrate loyalty to Miscavige and prove their mettle.

• Staffers are disciplined and controlled by a multi­ layered system of “ecclesiastical justice.” It includes publicly confessing sins and crimes to a group of peers, being ordered to jump into a pool fully clothed, facing embarrassing “security checks” or, worse, being isolated as a “suppressive person.”

At the pinnacle of the hierarchy, Miscavigecommands such power that managers follow his orders, however bizarre, with lemming-like obedience.

• Church staffers covered up how they botched the care of Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist who died after they held her 17 days in isolation at Clearwater’s Fort Harrison Hotel.

Rathbun, who Miscavigeput in charge of dealing with the fallout from the case, admits that he ordered the destruction of incriminating evidence. He and others also reveal that Miscavige made an embarrassing miscalculation on McPherson’s Scientology counseling.

• With Miscavige calling the shots and Rathbun among those at his side, the church muscled the IRS into granting Scientology tax-exempt status. Offering fresh perspective on one of the church’s crowning moments, Rathbun details an extraordinary campaign of public pressure backed by thousands of lawsuits.

• To prop up revenues, Miscavige has turned to long-time parishioners, urging them to buy material that the church markets as must-have, improved sacred scripture.

For a more detailed look into each defector, click here. They also told how they left the cult and just how difficult it was.

Cult lawyers (Monique Yingling) and cult Spokesperson Tommy Davis are of course crying character assassination of cult leader David Miscavige:

That’s what the defectors are doing to Miscavige, according to a team of two church lawyers and two spokesmen.

Rathbun, Rinder, De Vocht and Scobee: All of them failed at their jobs, broke Sea Org rules and were ethically suspect, the team said. Stack these four failures against a man of Miscavige’s stature and it’s clear who is credible and who is not.

“It’s not a question of they have a version and we have a version. It’s that this never happened,” said Monique Yingling, a non-Scientologist lawyer who has represented the church for more than 20 years. “There is a story here, and it’s not what you’ve been told.”

Here is an audio recording from one of MANY posted on YouTube, where you can hear cult spokesperson Tommy Davis completely losing it while talking about defector Marty Rathbun, and shows his psychotic side defending David Miscavige when interviewed by Joe Childs from the SP Times, at one point, even demanding Joe to look at him.

Cult Spokesperson Tommy Davis Son of Actress Anne Archer

I am incredulous that anyone would consider Tommy Davis’ claims reliable when defending cult leader David Miscavige, considering Davis wasn’t present for any of the occurrences in which the four defectors witnessed. Clearly Davis can only be going by what he was told by Miscavige and Miscavige, like his mentor L. Ron Hubbard, was a well-known prevaricating charlatan. Even more perplexing, is Davis does admit there were beatings, and that there are several witnesses who can verify what he is saying, but none of course, implicating Miscavige. Rathbun already admitted he beat people under the orders of Miscavige, so my question is, if all these beatings were going on over the years, which according to Davis were up to 50 times, why did this go unreported? Is this acceptable behavior of this “church”, or any church for that matter?

And another telling part of the audio tape, is Davis lists other critic’s names and he states that they all are claiming the same story. This shows that ALL critics witnessed the same occurrences of abuse, corruption, mind control and this makes their stories even more credible from my perspective. How can so many individuals who are willing to speak out, all claiming the SAME story, who have witnessed the same behavior on several different occasions, be not credible? Mind boggling.

And what of the Lisa McPherson case?

Rathbun spoke about the case at length with the SP Times, and one quote in particular thoroughly sums up the way Lisa McPherson was handled:

“It was a “perfect storm of incompetence and irresponsibility” within the church, he said. “You couldn’t justify it.’’

But wait, there’s more…

Scientology’s last remaining sentries are trying desperately to discredit the disturbing, illegal, and immoral allegations being lodged by ex high-ranking officials who’ve finally agreed to speak out against the Church’s leader David Miscavige, but in doing so, the Church is also revealing their own twisted and warped process of terror.

When I first began investigating the Church of Scientology I was overwhelmed with information. The hierarchy and structure of the organization is designed with deception and prevarication at its core. A side effect one might suggest from running an organization designed solely to dupe followers out of large sums of money. When running a ponzi scheme of this magnitude, it’s essential to keep people in line and in check, and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and later sucessor David Miscavige, used fear, manipulation and psychological and physical intimidation to keep staffers close and “on board” with the game plan. And the game plan was to create a world dominate organization which dispensed pseudo-spirituality, while creating billions and billions in profit.

Two names which surfaced time and time again as I researched and spoke with critics and ex-members alike were Miscavige’s high-ranking cronies, Mike Rinder and Marty Rathbun. When I asked my most inside sources how to track these folks down, I was hit with “no way, they will never talk, they know too much and were too deeply entrenched in the most nefarious of Scientology’s illegal actions.”

Time has changed since then, and now with the safety of numbers in their favor and perhaps an internal need to right their wrongs, these two men are speaking out, and even more telling is Scientology’s official response to their heady allegations against Miscavige and Scientology.

From the St. Petersburg Times:

This account comes from executives who for decades were key figures in Scientology’s powerful inner circle. Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder, the highest-ranking executives to leave the church, are speaking out for the first time….

Rinder and Rathbun speak:

Now they provide an unprecedented look inside the upper reaches of the tightly controlled organization. They reveal:

• Physical violence permeated Scientology’s international management team. Miscavige set the tone, routinely attacking his lieutenants. Rinder says the leader attacked him some 50 times.

Rathbun, Rinder and De Vocht admit that they, too, attacked their colleagues, to demonstrate loyalty to Miscavige and prove their mettle.

• Staffers are disciplined and controlled by a multi­layered system of “ecclesiastical justice.” It includes publicly confessing sins and crimes to a group of peers, being ordered to jump into a pool fully clothed, facing embarrassing “security checks” or, worse, being isolated as a “suppressive person.”

At the pinnacle of the hierarchy, Miscavige commands such power that managers follow his orders, however bizarre, with lemming-like obedience.

• Church staffers covered up how they botched the care of Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist who died after they held her 17 days in isolation at Clearwater’s Fort Harrison Hotel.

Rathbun, who Miscavige put in charge of dealing with the fallout from the case, admits that he ordered the destruction of incriminating evidence. He and others also reveal that Miscavige made an embarrassing miscalculation on McPherson’s Scientology counseling.

• With Miscavige calling the shots and Rathbun among those at his side, the church muscled the IRS into granting Scientology tax-exempt status. Offering fresh perspective on one of the church’s crowning moments, Rathbun details an extraordinary campaign of public pressure backed by thousands of lawsuits.

• To prop up revenues, Miscavige has turned to long-time parishioners, urging them to buy material that the church markets as must-have, improved sacred scripture.

Church officials deny the accusations. Miscavige never hit a single church staffer, not once, they said.

On May 13, the Times asked to interview Miscavige, in person or by phone, and renewed the request repeatedly the past five weeks. Church officials said Miscavige’s schedule would not permit an interview before July.

At 5:50 p.m. Saturday, Miscavige e-mailed the Times to protest the newspaper’s decision to publish instead of waiting until he was available. His letter said he would produce information “annihilating the credibility” of the defectors. Beloved by millions of Scientologists, church spokesmen say, Miscavige has guided the church through a quarter-century of growth.

Scientology’s response:

The church says that Rinder, Scientology’s top spokesman for decades, is an inveterate liar. In its ethics files, the church says, Rinder admits that he lied 43 times over the years.

“It was a real problem, Mike’s propensity to lie ….Obviously he had an issue with the truth,” said Davis, Rinder’s successor as spokesman.

After denying Miscavige hit him or anyone else, Rinder is lying now, Yingling said. “He left because he was demoted … He is bitter now and he has in his bitterness latched on to the one allegation he so vehemently denied for so many years.”

Added Davis: “One of the things he was known for saying was, ‘Well, if I’m so bad, why keep asking me to do things?’ You know the answer to that question?… The ultimate answer to that question is ‘Mike, you know what, you’re right. Why keep asking.’ And we stopped asking. And then he left and nobody came for him.”

Like the other defectors, Rinder says he’s sure he wrote whatever is in the ethics files, but he says the admissions are meaningless, they were just whatever his superiors wanted to hear. “All of these things were written to try and get into good graces or curry favor.”

Davis said Rinder has not been able to deal with his fall from spokesman for an international church to his current, workaday job.

“Mike left. I think we can all agree he is bitter,” Davis said. “This is a guy who ran with the big dogs in the tall grass … it’s a very exciting life. And now he is selling cars, and it must be a hell of a shock.”

The church released numerous pages of files it kept on Rathbun. Among them: a 1994 letter that said he had completed a Truth Rundown — one of many types of confessionals — and apologizing for leaving the church briefly the year before; three confessions for striking and verbally abusing staff dozens of times; and documents where he admits that he mishandled situations.

In a 2003 document, Rathbun writes a “public announcement” detailing two decades of flubs, including: making himself out to be more important than he was, making more work for Miscavige, mismanaging staff and messing up major assignments, including the church’s long-running battle with the IRS.

Rathbun says he wrote what Miscavige wanted to hear.

The church made special note of an affidavit dated June 6, 2009 — after the Times asked the church about Rathbun — authored by a Sea Org member whose name the church blacked out. She criticized Rathbun for being violent and abusive and playing a role in her family’s recent effort to wrest her out of Scientology.

Rathbun says yes, he tried to help the family, because the woman voiced strong doubts about returning to Scientology.

Like De Vocht’s, many of Rathbun’s confessions are marked by bountiful praise of Miscavige. He writes, for example, that the leader “single-handedly salvaged Scientology.”

Scientology’s international management cadre lives and works on the church’s 500-acre compound in the arid hills opposite Mount San Jacinto from Palm Springs.

Rathbun orchestrated a “reign of terror” there in 2002 and 2003, church representatives say, masquerading as an ethics officer while Miscavige was in Clearwater handling legal and other matters. They say the leader returned in late 2003, summarily demoted Rathbun and began to clean up his mess.

Rathbun says he was away from the base for almost all of 2002 and 2003, handling lawsuits and other sensitive matters at Miscavige’s behest. When he returned to the base in late 2003, he said, it was Miscavige who had established a “reign of terror.”

The church said Rathbun has inflated his importance in Scientology; they say that after 1993, he never had a title.

But in a 1998 Scientology magazine, Rathbun is featured as the main speaker at a major event at Ruth Eckerd Hall attended by 3,000 Scientologists. The magazine said he was “inspector general” of the entity charged with safeguarding Scientology. Also, the church provided the Times a court document from March 2000 that listed Rathbun as a “director” of the same entity.

If Rathbun’s responsibility was as limited as the church says, the Times asked, how did he get people to submit to a reign of terror? Davis, the church spokesman, erupted.

“He’s the one who’s saying that Dave Miscavige beat these people,” Davis screamed. “And he’s saying that Dave Miscavige beat the exact same people that he beat. And that’s what pisses me off. Because this guy’s a f—— lunatic and I don’t have to explain how or why he became one or how it was allowable.

“The fact is he’s saying David Miscavige did what he did … And now I’m getting a little angry. Am I angry at you? Not necessarily. But I’m g– d— pissed at Marty Rathbun. Because he knows that he was the reign of terror.”

I am only pasting partial excerpts from Part 1 of the series to illustrate what is so obvious to those looking from the outside in. Scientology, despite being run by an evil genius, can no longer continue to defend itself. It’s defectors, risking incriminating themselves for heinous crimes, are coming out and saying “Yes, these events happened. I witnessed them and yes, I took part in them.” Even more ironic, those of us who’ve followed the unraveling have heard these stories retold many times by lesser ranking individuals, and in fact, I have interviewed several of the people who were abused themselves, including Jeff Hawkins, Marc Headley and Maureen Bolstad. Sadly, the stories of abuse are not new to me, but the level of individuals coming forward to lend credibility are monumentally important.

Miscavige’s mouth-piece, Tommy Davis, already known for having a hair-trigger temper and a face which buckles under the weight of his own lies, may finally break down and completely lose it. No one man, despite his fervent loyality, can withstand the pressure of keeping this many lies straight. If men like Rinder and Rathbun are willing to come forward and take responsibility for their part in abusing members and breaking the law, there is virtually NOTHING Miscavige, Davis or Scientology’s billions in ill-gotten gains can do to prevent the flow of truth from spewing forward.

From my perspective, it’s all over but the crying.

Stay tuned for more on this story.

This is just a brief update to let readers know THEY MUST GO READ this riveting expose on the Church of Scientology and church leader David Miscavige’s violent reign of terror. The St. Petersburg Times did an in depth, scathing and forensic investigation into the cult of the stars.

The Church of Scientology has been a target of this site since we first discovered the Anonymous vs. Scientology video in early 2008. Beginning with the leaking of a Scientology propaganda video featuring Tom Cruise and the simultaneous release of Andrew Morton’s searing unauthorized biography on the film star, Scientology has been under the microscope of several media outlets, as well as the concentrated target of an internet based activist group calling themselves Anonymous.

The past 18 months since this exposure began, cracks have been surfacing within the Church of Scientology and its tightly controlled PR and many who’ve closely watched this unraveling felt certain that this was the beginning of the end of an era of terror, financial and spiritual abuses at the hands of Miscavige and Scientology subordinates.

We will be going over the 3-part expose by the STP Times, but we encourage you to check it out yourself. Also of interest, is Glosslip’s series of articles and first-person interviews with ex-Scientologists on our Glosslip Radio segment at BlogTalkRadio.

More coverage coming soon as we delve deeper into this ground-breaking investigative series.

Spence, Hold My Drink While We Hump Dance? Praise Jesus!

Everybody and their grandmother has been reporting on “Speidi’s”
(Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt = ICK!) recent I’m A Celebrity Get me Out of Here brat-capades. I really didn’t want to give them any more attention, so I didn’t report their latest law suit against the show from Heidi’s ulcer and her much reported hospital visit, or the fact that they are claiming they were tortured and abused by the show.  YAWN.

Oh! Can someone please tell Heidi you can’t get an ulcer over night? DumbASS.

I made the mistake of tuning in one evening, to I’m  A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, and needless to say, between Heidi’s Jesus preaching, Spencer getting baptized by Steven Baldwin and both of them having hissy fits, my TV almost ended up on the front lawn.

They're Just So Mean WAHHHHH!

So why am I reporting about Heidi now?

Because Heidi, in all her hypocritical religious glory, has decided to pose for Playboy’s September issue. When I heard the news of her Playboy gig, it not only gave me the dry heaves, it succinctly validated just how much of a total fake dipshit she really is.

So, while I on one hand I will be forced to fight the nausea, on the other hand, this Playboy spread will also bring me joy because it makes a mockery of her ridiculous and phony bible thumping. Perhaps Jesus told her to pose nude? WWJD? Show us fake titties of course!

Sadly, many high profile religious leaders have turned out to be very hypocritical, oh hai Jim Baker and David Miscavige. So how surprised should we be that Heidi and Spencer wanted to have it both ways? Either they are incredibly stupid, or this angel/exhibitionist crap Speidi are pulling, is part of their grand scheme of achieving even greater heights of hypocrisy. I am pretty sure these two don’t even know what religion they are?

How exactly can you present yourself as some kind of religious role model, while simultaneously owing your own super trashy clothing line Heidiworld AND pose for Playboy?

*Fact*  Jesus loved zebra print halters, hot pants and stiletto heels on Mary Magdalene. *snicker*

Heidiworld... The Best Church Outfits

Now if you haven’t guessed already, I am not a big fan of organized religions myself, but even worse than blind adherence and inappropriate preaching is being a big phony ass holy rolling/attention whore/fake. Is there something in the Ten Commandments about being a fake attention whore who uses religion to promote themselves? If not, there should be.

In a MTV article she claimed:

Montag said that she and Pratt read the Bible regularly, and described herself as “kind of non-denominational Baptist.” 

AND “I have been the most religious person since I was 2 years old,” she said. “I always felt this crazy connection to God.”
AND when asked about the sex tape that Lauren Conrad had supposedly shot with ex-beau Jason Wahler.

“I don’t even want to talk about that,” Montag said. “There were rumors about a sex tape, but I had nothing to do with that. God knows the truth in all of this, and at the end of the day, that is the only thing that matters. Jesus was persecuted, and I’m going to get persecuted, ya know?”

Ummm, She claims she has been religious since she was TWO? God knows the truth about the sex tape? And is no one offended  that shes comparing the persecution of Jesus to her and Spencerbeing persecuted over a sex tape? Which BTW, Spencer did apologize for eventually for his role in spreading lies about Heidi’s former best friend, Lauren Conrad. Keep it classy Speidi!

*BANGS HEAD AGAINST WALL* Bitch PA-LEASE!

To add even more comedic fodder to the mix, Heidi and Spence got married at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Pasadena (the only church that would have them perhaps?) They also wanted to do a Christian album together. Confused? So are they.

Hmmm…. something tells me that  Heidi doesn’t know what she believes in? Maybe she thinks if she keeps saying Praise Jesus enough, it will make up for her slutty, fake persona. Little newsflash: IT WON’T.

I think Heidi must use a “Religion game spinner” when she gets up in the morning? I can just picture it….

 
Today is Tuesday…spin…yay! today I am a Scientologist! Oh wait…their TOO culty and scary. Spin Again…ok…Ahh! I’m Christian today! yay!

So back to this posing nude for Jesus b.s., er I mean Playboy.

PEOPLE reported:

 Heidi Montag has gotten a lot of exposure lately – but the newlywed is about to get even more: She has posed for the September issue of Playboy, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The reality star was most recently stirring up drama on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, shot in Costa Rica, where she was briefly hospitalized. In April, she married her Hills costar Spencer Pratt.

Details of her Playboy photos are, um, scant: “There is nudity. It’s tasteful – she had a lot of fun with it,” says a second source. A rep for the magazine had no comment, and Montag’s rep was not immediately available to respond to questions.

Well Heidi is no stranger to using her body for some free PR, Ms. Religion also posed for Maxim last year, in yet another lovely church ensemble.

I think Heidi should just do a religious porn flick and get it over with.

Now before all you religious types get your kickers in a bunch and start leaving ugly comments, remember, this is a CELEBRITY GOSSIP blog and it was meant to entertain, and if necessary, offend!