Orange County, the place where they just hounded the health commissioner out with death threats against her children, because she had the audacity to try and save their lives?

That’s one way to read it, but I find Newton’s account that Cruise was trying to be nice but being absolutely terrifying at it so plausible-sounding.

Are we sure Cruise wasn’t actually the invention of a lone cyberneticist in the 24th Century?

I said “nice,” not “good.”

There’s a story I’ve heard a few entertainment industry people tell at this point about Cruise being invited to a Super Bowl party. On the day of, the dude showed up with...a football.

He tries superhard to be a nice person.

I completely forgot that this was also at the beginning of his producer career. Yeah, when considering that and all the other stuff mentioned here, it really explains a lot even if it doesn’t excuse it.

He’d never had a franchise before and this was his chance - he’s not only starring in the film but producing it as well (only the second he’d produced that he was also starred in - and I get the feeling De Palma had more of a controlling hand in the wheel for the first) and he’s got a director who’s a great stylist…

And Hard Target! Brimley’s Cajun accent deserves an Oscar and Van Damme’s sweaty mullet deserved a Nobel Peace Prize!

According to ex-Scientologists who used to be his auditors or his auditees (at his level you’re required to learn to audit other people and must put in a certain number of hours doing it), he’s not real smart. Even for an actor. You have to be somewhat intelligent to direct.

Interesting question. I get the sense that he’s a very private person, so maybe he likes having a buffer between himself and all the random day-to-day interactions with the large numbers of technical/noncreative staff directing requires. The way he currently operates, he can spend the maximum time on creative…

Honest question; why hasn’t Tom Cruise directed a film by this point?

You hear stories about him taking charge on films like this or The Mummy, and that’s a gray area, certainly. But he’s been making films like this most of his life so he knows all the in’s-and-out’s. He has preferred editors and screenwriters he…

I think he didn’t realize what a large Jewish population Kansas has and further, that our state has moved away from the divisiveness of Sam Brownback’s government.

What always strikes me is the complete lack of shame over their admitted gaping ignorance.

It just doesn’t even track as a metaphor- the people *without* masks are the ones the right sees as being “oppressed”- the Nazis didn’t say “put on a swastika and step on the cattle car”?! And they’re telling everyone to wear masks, so a comparison to the star of david armbands doesn’t make sense there either

They know what they are doing. They been doing this for years. This cartoon wasn’t created in a vacuum, this is the typical cartoons that are created by these types.

Doesn’t anyone think for 2 seconds before posting crap like this?

I previously lacked an adequate understanding of the severity of their experience and the pain of its images.”

“And it’s apparent I previously lacked an adequate understanding of the severity of their experience and the pain of its images.”

ah yes, the people descended from those tortured and murdered in Europe will be totally on board with this comparison to ummm... not spreading a virus.