Research
According to Morton, he began researching Tom Cruise after publishing his best-selling book on Princess Diana, Diana: Her True Story. Morton stated that he became interested in writing about the actor after watching Cruise jump on Oprah's couch during a May 23, 2005 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and lecture Matt Lauer on his beliefs regarding psychiatry during a June 24, 2005 appearance on The Today Show "I wondered: what is a 43-year-old man, who has been married twice before to women he has said were the loves of his life, with his son and daughter watching, doing behaving in this fashion — all because of Katie Holmes, a woman he has known for a matter of days? ... What was going on? I wanted to know more."
In an interview with the Associated Press, Morton stated that he asked Cruise for an interview, but was turned down: "I asked Tom for an interview and he declined. The Church of Scientology has got a very controversial reputation and that is what he is linked with. An unauthorized biography would essentially be a compromise … I want to investigate it without any kind of fetters." Morton consulted with private investigator and former adult film actor Paul Baressi, who investigated Cruise's private life. He also consulted with Los Angeles, California attorney Graham Berry. Baressi stated he had begun investigating Cruise after his marriage to Nicole Kidman ended, but after six years of research on the actor had not been able to find any evidence that Cruise was gay. Baressi gave all of his research to Morton, and later told InTouch magazine: "Everything I have found, and everything I know, points to Tom being heterosexual." Morton also traveled to Toronto, Canada to interview people who knew Cruise when he was filming Cocktail. Several Paramount Pictures employees were interviewed about Cruise's termination by Sumner Redstone. The book had initially been planned for a February 2006 publication date.
Prior to the book's publication, legal counsel for Cruise made statements to the press regarding the author's research. When an attorney for Tom Cruise read reports that Morton had obtained letters asserting Cruise had a homosexual affair while filming Eyes Wide Shut, he commented on a November 2005 letter he had written to Morton: "I wrote a letter to Mr. Morton back in November and said he obviously was entitled to write the book but 'make sure you check your facts'. If he tries to use my letter to create the impression that Mr. Cruise did have a gay affair, we will certainly sue … because the story is false. Mr. Cruise is not gay." In an interview with InTouch Weekly, Cruise's attorney Bertram Fields commented on the book: "To the extent that Mr. Morton's book sticks to the truth, it can't 'ruin' or 'harm' Tom … My guess is this book will be dull except for those parts that are lies." Cruise's publicist also stated that the book will consist of fabricated lies.
Read more about this topic: Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography
Famous quotes containing the word research:
“I did my research and decided I just had to live it.”
—Karina O’Malley, U.S. sociologist and educator. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A5 (September 16, 1992)
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—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“Men talk, but rarely about anything personal. Recent research on friendship ... has shown that male relationships are based on shared activities: men tend to do things together rather than simply be together.... Female friendships, particularly close friendships, are usually based on self-disclosure, or on talking about intimate aspects of their lives.”
—Bettina Arndt (20th century)