Mar 17

It’s been reported in some gossip circles that Tom Cruise threatened to not promote his upcoming Mission: Impossible 3 unless Wednesday night’s planned repeat of the South Park episode “Trapped in a Closet,” which ridicules Scientology, was pulled. Sound far-fetched? Not so fast. Welcome to the wonderful world of media conglomerates.

You see, MI:3 is being produced by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by media giant Viacom. South Park airs on Comedy Central, which is also owned by Viacom. Paramount (aka, Viacom Movies) is counting on mega-bucks this summer from MI:3. Comedy Central (aka, Viacom Is Funny, Guys!) would probably get great ratings from the repeat, but it wouldn’t translate to enough cha-ching in the bank to justify losing even a cent from MI:3.

This seems like a humorous gossip item. “Honey look, Tom’s doing something crazy again!” I don’t think it’s funny, I’m terrified. Tom Cruise, a guy who jumps on couches and occasionally produces a half-way decent movie, just accomplished a feat of censorship straight out of The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Facism.

I find South Park to be mostly tasteless and unfunny but by God do Matt Stone and Trey Parker have a right to produce it. This is yet another warning bell for the future. If Tom Cruise can wield this kind of power, what of lawmakers who support bills that favor big business and line the pockets of top media execs? What happens when they come knocking, looking to get a controversial movie off the shelves at Blockbuster (also owned by Viacom)?

This is by no means a new problem, but each time it happens I get a chill down my spine. It’s coming. Beware.