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CNN LARRY KING WEEKEND
Larry Interviews Tom Cruise
Aired December 9, 2001 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, a revealing one-on-one with superstar Tom Cruise. We'll talk about his split with Nicole, his belief in Scientology, tabloid troubles and the truth about his relationship with the gorgeous co-star in "Vanilla Sky." It's all next on LARRY KING WEEKEND.
[snip]
KING: When John Travolta was on recently, he told us how Scientology helps him through things.
CRUISE: Yes, absolutely.
KING: Did it help you through this?
CRUISE: Yes. It actually...
KING: By using what?
CRUISE: Well, there's -- Scientology -- you know, I've been in Scientology 14 years. And it is an applied religious philosophy. And so...
KING: So you can be any religion?
CRUISE: You can be any religion. But there are many tools that you can use to help to understand yourself more, understand the world, and things that you can do to help people. You know, there's incredible study technology that L. Ron Hubbard developed.
KING: I knew him.
CRUISE: Did you know him?
KING: Yes, interviewed him.
CRUISE: You're kidding me! When?
KING: 1966, '67, when he had one of his big books out. He was a great science fiction writer,...
CRUISE: Yes.
KING: Not a good science fiction writer...
CRUISE: Yes, brilliant.
KING: ... a great science fiction writer.
CRUISE: Right. Right.
KING: A great guest, too. Yes.
CRUISE: I didn't know that.
KING: I just went up in your mind. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CRUISE: ... brilliant.
KING: We have other connections; we have the same lawyer, Bert Fields.
CRUISE: Bert Fields...
KING: Who brings fear into...
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Now, why does it get -- I hate to get off on this tangent -- but just why does Scientology get bum raps so much?
CRUISE: Well, I think people speak out of not knowing what they're talking about, basically. That if you pick up a book and you read about it, there's so many different tools that people can apply to their lives to make them better instantly. And I think the criticism comes from -- you know, it's a group that doesn't pull punches. They really go after the drug companies.
KING: And psychiatry.
CRUISE: And psychiatry, because of the fact that they, you know, want to put children on Ritalin. And you look at...
KING: They don't like Prozac, they don't like any of it, right?
CRUISE: Yes, because with that, you don't need it.
KING: So -- but you were able to use it while still being angered? So it doesn't temper anger. You know...
CRUISE: I think there's times that it's appropriate to be angry, you know. When a building goes down and there's terrorism, and you see that, I mean, really, you look at it. But it helps you put into perspective, also, what has happened and also enables you to do something about it.
I mean, you look at the -- you know, the volunteer ministers that were down at Ground Zero and were instantly there to, you know, help organize. There's various -- there's also business tools that he developed that help, you know, in terms of organizing.
KING: The basic concept is just to make you a better person, right? And people around you better?
CRUISE: Yes, that you can apply, yes, to -- and it's something that -- yes, that you use in your life. It is a workable -- it is a workable system...
KING: It's a tool.
CRUISE: There's tools that you use in your life. In fact, they've been very helpful to me in my...
KING: Has it helped you, even through divorce?
CRUISE: Yes, absolutely. Sure.
KING: So there's no area of life it doesn't touch?
CRUISE: No.
KING: Raising children?
CRUISE: Sure.
[snip]
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