GERMANY/FILE: Speculation that German government don't want to work with actor Tom Cruise is dismissed as folly

To Carl Woebken, head of Babelsberg Film Studio near Berlin, the latest Tom Cruise controversy over his new movie "Valkyrie" is much ado about nothing at all - all shooting permissions were already granted, Woebken told Reuters TV at the studios on Friday (June 29). "Actually, we don't really understand all this hassle and querie about this permission or nor permission. From our understanding, we have had the permissions for a long time. Officially, the memorial and the museum inside the Bendlerblock had to be asked. They have given us permission like they have done for other Stauffenberg films before. Also the Ministry of Finance, who own these buildings, have given us permission. All that happened a while ago, so, from our point of view, everything is ready to go." Cruise and the makers of a movie about a plot to kill Adolf Hitler are under fire because Cruise is a Scientologist, Frank Henkel, secretary general of Berlin's Christan Democratic Party told Reuters. "I believe Stauffenberg stood for the noblest motives a person could have. Tom Cruise on the other hand is a self-confessed ambassador of Scientology and I find him very much unsuitable; Henkel said. "It would not be a good signal if an ambassador of this psycho-sect that has extremist character and no concern for basic human rights shoots a movie in a place like that" the Christian Democrat added. Cruise, also one of the film's producers, is a member of the Church of Scientology which the German government does not recognize as a church. Berlin says it masquerades as a religion to make money, a charge Scientology leaders reject. The decision drew a sharp response from Berlin Scientology spokeswoman Sabine Weber: "The whole discussion about beliefs or religion of anyone person should not play any role in decisions like this" Weber said, adding "I will tell you my honest opinion- I believe that certain politicians from the Christian Democrats use the celebrity status of some of our members to step into the lime light, that's all what this is about. They don't care how much they damage Germany's reputation." News reports earlier this week had stated German officials would ban "Valkyrie" from shooting at German military sites because of star Cruise's belief in Scientology. The German Defense Ministry is now scrambling to qualify its stance on the Tom Cruise World War Two thriller, saying Thursday that, despite reports to the contrary, it has no opposition to the film shooting in Germany. The ministry now says that, while it hasn't received an official request from "Valkyrie" producers United Artists to shoot in the country, it would "look agreeably" upon any such application. The producers have expressed interest in shooting at the Bendlerblock memorial in Berlin. It is the actual location where Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators hatched the plot to assassinate Hitler with a bomb hidden in a briefcase. It also is where Stauffenberg and the other plotters were executed after the attempt failed. Now a memorial site, the Bendlerblock also houses part of the Defense Ministry. The source of the "Valkyrie" controversy seems to have stemmed from a posting on the Web site of a conservative German member of parliament who posted a statement last Friday (June 22) claiming that Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung had pledged that Cruise would not get permission to shoot because of the purported danger posed by his Scientology. The German government does not recognize Scientology as a religion and sees it instead as a dangerous cult, which brainwashes and exploits its members. Scientology is under official observation by Germany authorities as a potentially threat to German democracy, putting the organization on par with neo-Nazi groups. Germany's film industry, however, has embraced the "Valkyrie" project. Cruise will portray Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, leader of the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Nazi dictator in July 1944 with a bomb hidden in a briefcase. Stauffenberg had been deeply opposed to the Nazis' treatment of the Jews and planted a briefcase bomb under a table near Hitler in his "Wolf's Lair" headquarters on July 20, 1944. The bomb went off but only wounded the Fuehrer. The film, slated for a 2008 release, will be directed by Bryan Singer and co-star Kenneth Branagh. It is called "Valkyrie" after Operation Valkyrie, the plot's codename. The main site of interest would be the "Bendlerblock" memorial inside the Defense Ministry complex in Berlin, where Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators hatched the plot and where he and his closest comrades were executed when it failed.

ITN Source | July 7, 2007

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