Tom Cruise’s feud with Steven Spielberg got dark, with Scientology involved

While Spielberg recently hailed Cruise for saving Hollywood with 'Top Gun: Maverick,' he distanced himself from the actor nearly 20 years ago over his 'antics' related to Katie Holmes and his devotion to Scientology.

Much was made last week about Tom Cruise being the toast of the Oscars nominees luncheon, and how his one-time director Steven Spielberg was heard praising the actor for saving Hollywood and the theatrical movie industry by shepherding “Tom Gun: Maverick” into a $1.48 billion worldwide blockbuster.

Cruise was left “blushing” when Spielberg, his director for “Minority Report” and “War of the Worlds,” gushed, “You saved Hollywood’s ass” and “Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry,” Variety reported.

But in the coverage of the Oscars luncheon, nothing much was made of the fact that the two had been estranged for nearly 20 years and the turbulent reasons for that estrangement. Industry veterans Kim Masters and Matthew Belloni have since come forward to discuss Cruise and Spielberg’s falling out and their apparent rapprochement last week in a new episode of Masters’ KRCW-FM radio show, “The Business.”

The estrangement goes back to when Cruise was supposed to be promoting “War of the Worlds” in 2005, but he let his passion for new girlfriend Katie Holmes and the Church of Scientology get the better of him.

“People will remember that Tom Cruise was very enthusiastic about Scientology and Katie Holmes in that period,” Masters, a longtime entertainment journalist, said.

During an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s talk-show in May 2005 to promote the “War of the Worlds,” Cruise notoriously jumped on her couch to proclaim his love for Holmes. In another interview, Cruise lashed out at his friend Brooke Shields, calling her “irresponsible” for using antidepressants to treat postpartum depression. As of one Scientology’s leading members, Cruise would have been opposed to psychiatric therapy and the use of psychiatric medications.

When then-“Today” host Matt Lauer asked Cruise about his criticism of Shields, Cruise became visibly combative and called psychiatry a “pseudoscience.” He also accused Lauer of being “glib” when the host mentioned knowing people for whom the prescription drug Ritalin worked. Cruise ranted against the drug, often used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and told Lauer: “You don’t even know what Ritalin is.”

While Cruise later apologized to Shields and invited her to his 2006 fairy-tale wedding to Holmes in an Italian castle, the damage was done to the actor’s once sterling reputation.

“There was a lot of negative publicity,” Masters said. At the time, she reported that Spielberg believed that Cruise’s “antics” had overshadowed the release of “War of the Worlds” and cost the film some $30 million in box office. “I’m not sure how he calculates that,” Masters said. The film still ended up earning $603 million in worldwide box office.

Page Six also reported that Spielberg was “furious” with Cruise because he, too, knew children for whom “Ritalin does a lot of good,” according to a report in The New Yorker.  But the issue that “really snapped the bond” between Cruise and Spielberg is that the director, “naively,” talked to Cruise about a doctor who prescribes Ritalin, Masters said.

The New Yorker reported that the doctor also was Spielberg’s friend. Soon after his chat with Cruise, the doctor’s office was picketed by Scientologists, Masters said.

Although Cruise reportedly assured Spielberg that he was not behind this incident, it infuriated the director and — perhaps more important — Kate Capshaw, Spielberg’s wife, Masters wrote in a 2006 article for Slate. “For a time, it seems, the Spielbergs waited in vain for the star to explain how, exactly, those protesters happened to appear at the doctor’s office,” Masters wrote.

Despite their successful collaborations in “Minority Report” and “War of the Worlds,” Cruise and Spielberg never worked together again. Certainly, both kept working, and Cruise became known for his hits with the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. Still, in 2011 Wired declared that “no one takes Tom Cruise seriously anymore,” and his devotion to Scientology and his divorce from Holmes and reported estrangement from his daughter Suri are cited as reasons.

Fast forward to 2023 and the Oscars nominee luncheon. Belloni said on “The Business” that the two acted like “best friends forever.” Cruise has regained enough of the public’s respect that he could be at the luncheon; he’s a producer for “Top Gun,” which has been nominated for best picture. Meanwhile, Spielberg is nominated for best director for his autobiographical film, “The Fabelmans,” which also is nominated for best picture.

Belloni and Masters agreed that Spielberg would have genuine reasons to appreciate Cruise and his push for “Tom Gun: Maverick” to be released in movie theaters. “If there’s anything Tom Cruise could do to endear himself to Steven Spielberg, it is saving theaters. Spielberg, as we know, feels like many auteur directors, that theaters are essential to appreciating films properly.”