Tom Cruise's "Valkyrie" Photo Flap Explained - Sort Of

LOS ANGELES — What looked at first like another PR blow to "Valkyrie," the twice-delayed Tom Cruise film based on the true story of a German officer who plotted to assassinate Hitler, turned out to be a case of mistaken photo identity.

A report posted on Slate.com last week suggested that United Artists had doctored a portrait of Claus von Stauffenberg to make it more closely resemble the "Top Gun" actor. One problem: The two images scrutinized in the story, posted June 17 under the heading "Tom Cruise Mystery: The case of the doctored publicity photo," didn't come from the same source.

David Plotz, the editor of Slate, said after the Web magazine was contacted by The Associated Press that the conclusion of the article was wrong, and a correction was planned.

"We did not do the photo research that we should have done," Plotz said Tuesday evening.

United Artists released its side-by-side publicity portraits last year to draw attention to the resemblance between the real von Stauffenberg and Cruise. In the black-and-white images, Cruise and von Stauffenberg are each in a similar profile pose, wearing similarly blank expressions.

Slate's story, by contributor Kim Masters, compares the von Stauffenberg photo supplied by United Artists to an image from the photo archive of The Associated Press.

The posting includes commentary from two Slate designers and an overlay, created by a third designer, with the AP photo _ lighter and bearing less resemblance to Cruise _ atop the darker, more heavily contrasted image released by United Artists.

The report concludes that it "Looks like someone tweaked the photo. Finding out who may be mission: impossible."

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The AP determined that its archived photo of von Stauffenberg is not the same image released by United Artists. That photo can be found, among other places, in a Getty Images database, credited to the Hulton Archive and dated circa 1943.

"We did not check other archival sources to be sure there was not another version of the photograph," Plotz said. "We don't know where UA got the photograph, but it's clear that in the Getty archive there's a version of the photo which they used."

United Artists said it acquired its version of the photo some time ago during research for the film, but could not be certain of its exact provenance, or how the studio came upon it.

"The picture United Artists used of Colonel Stauffenberg can be found all over the Internet," said "Valkyrie" co-writer and producer Chris McQuarrie in a written statement released by a United Artists spokeswoman Tuesday.

McQuarrie, who won a screenplay Oscar in 1995 for "The Usual Suspects," added that it would have been easier to "alter Tom Cruise" than to doctor "every available picture of Claus von Stauffenberg."

"Valkyrie" stars Cruise as the aristocratic army officer executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. In April, United Artists pushed back the film's release date from Oct. 3 until February 2009, the second delay for the movie that was originally slotted for June.

The film, to be distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., is the second attempt by Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner to revive United Artists, in which Cruise owns a stake. The first, the terrorism thinkpiece "Lions for Lambs," was estimated to have lost about $30 million.

Comments

[revko]

I can understand this.

I was troubled when it was rumored that photos of Fred Flinstone had been doctored to resemble John Goodman.

[ltyr2002]

While I'm not a Scientologist, and have come to the conclusion that it is a screwy cult, I think Tom Cruise should be left to do what he wants to do-which is make movies and brag about his religion.
Who cares! Let the guy make a friggin movie, and we can choose or not choose to watch it.

And yes, he does look like the guy he's playing. Maybe they should have cast Woody Allen to play the part...

[dlbdpb]

What is it with people that they hate him because of Scientology??? Why can't you guys just leave it the hell alone?? It is not hurting anyone. You must be the same ones who hate someone because they believe differently than you. Does that sound familiar??? People are dying everyday in the middle
East for that same reason. I think Cruise is a great actor, I may or may not believe in the same things he does, but that does not take away the fact that he has entertained us for many years now. Geez, it's not like you have to live with guy. Give it up already.

[Pippilangstrumpf]

dlbdpb, why don't you join Scientology, spend some time there...and then try to leave the cult.

You'll soon find out that your statement "it's not hurting anyone" was a misnomer.

[j.gold]

yeah, like Christians don't hurt anyone either. See crusades, Spanish inquisition and other more recent events like water boarding.

[aaawyeah]

oh and btw, i have and then did. so ...

... you know of what you speak?

[aaawyeah]

im sorry, but i just can't let this pile of intolerant bullcrap fester. have you ever known a scientologist? they're people too.

this honestly wouldn't make me so angry if i didn't see those nazi youth-like "anonymous" jack-asses wandering through my 'hood all the time sporting their anti-scientology signs and wearing their V for Vendetta masks (which is a whole other thing, since i love that movie). intolerance leads to persecution, persecution leads to pogroms. pogroms lead to genocide.

read a friggin' history book, my friend - and take a good, hard look at what side you find yourself on.

[vmonter]

I agree. Folks should join whatever cult they want - baptist, catholic, protestant, wicca, etc

Cruise had a few good movies. I like him.

[LoRiseAntlers]

Maybe because he belongs to a cult that has murdered people and gotten away with it.

Don't believe me?Do some googling.

[MikeDu]

Same could be said for Catholics, Protestants, and any of those other religions out there.

[aaawyeah]

hear mother-effing hear!

i don't personally think cruise is a fabulous actor (except in jerry macguire, which had me at hello), but this intense desire on the part of my fellow america citizenry to nose into the personal and religious lives of our celebrities makes me just sick to my stomache. SOOOOOOO much more important crap to pay attention too. i feel like it's all a big, fat red herring that keeps us from paying attention to the stuff that really matters: "Ooooooo! Look at the shiny lights!" - while our civil liberties are being stripped from us and people are dying every day in the name of oil industry profits.

don't fall for it, people! cruise and those of his religious persuasion deserve all the rights of the rest of us. and if there really are particular crimes occurring, expose them and treat them accordingly. in the meantime, shut the hell up and stop getting distracted by the shiny lights! i mean, come on! didn't an independent investigator expose massive criminal practices WITHIN the justice department itself yesterday?! cruise is more important than THAT?!

[Mark701]

Is this important?

[GhostNyc]

I concur with your comment

[DFry]

Slow news day at The The Huff, huh?

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

Von Stauffenberg's story is important because it help(????) to leaven the silly, American apocryphal perception of the homogeneity of pre-WWII German thought. Like Bush the devastating import of his elevation was upon the Germans almost before they realized it. Both soothed illogical "sensibilities" and shifted attention to external events, Hitler to "irredentist" German......

Note: Neither was elected by a majority, certainly not Bush......!

[NYRalf]

Who the hell cares, its a movie with actors!!!!

[elr50]

I would never go see a Tom Cruise movie, the man is an a-hole an can't act either.

[totaldisbelief]

Who cares it's just a movie.

[BigBagel]

Claus Von Stauffenberg was a real person who has a place of high honor in his country.

[Jinxykb]

I thought the comment was referring to the photo controversy--which I don't care about at all.

[Steeevyo]

Who cares about his honour? Its a scam.
For Germans who can see the difference between reality and imagination he was just the opportunist aristocrat high ranking military official, who once he realized that Germany is doomed decided to kill Hitler. This wasnt because he hated the Holocaust
this wasnt because he was disgusted by the horrendous attrocities in russia and east europe. Its was simply because he wanted a better deal, which means: Not loose his families properties in nowadays Russia and Poland.
Later the gratefully used him as the proof that even in the high ranks good germans existed.
Its true though, there were good germans: look for Sophie Scholl and Georg Elser.
Stauffenberg was definitely not.
A perfect role for Cruise if i may add.

[John Warren Gotsch]

BigBagel-
My concern, and it isn't confined to an authentic characterization of von Stauffenberg but to the thousands and thousands of others that were trying to eliminate this beast.
Not an isolated figure which is what I fear the most. Americans know history only through the filter of movies.
Obviously with tens of thousands of nay-sayers, what happens to the concept of collective guilt that the Americans wrapped around the German necks? Yes?

[Pleidian]

I usually don't get in on thses things but Tom Cruise as Claus Von Stauffenberg? YUCK!

That's an insult and I hope the delays on this movie are an indication that it indeed sucks, despite the talented director and writer.

Stick to Ethan Hunt, Tom. "Lions for Lambs" was just AWFUL.

[AfzaalKhan]

wat u been smoking. lions for lambs was awesome

[em8chel]

Watch Keith Olbermann talks to Dr. Touretzky about Tom Cruise, his movie, and Scientology.

TOURETZKY: "...if Kim Jong-il decdied to make a movie about George Washington with Kim Jong-il playing the title role, attempting to get into the good grace of American people, I don't think Americans would buy it. Germans are not buying Tom Cruise's movie either..."

OBERMANN: "...if that was Tom Hanks instead of Tom Cruise, would there still be this kind of controversy about this film?"

TOURETZKY: "I think if it were Tom Hanks, they'd be much more receptive. They'd still perhaps be a little bit concerned about any Hollywood production tackling a national hero, but certainly Tom Hanks is a well liked and respected character, and Tom Cruise is neither."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gePLI7ZTIB0

[HatingTheGame]

Didn't the Vatican diss Tom Hanks? Well, maybe that's because they thought the movie was negative on the Vatican, not that they didn't like Tom Hanks.

[em8chel]

Considering Cruise's Scientology organization has been waging a relentless war against Germany for its stance on the commercial organization, referring Germany to the Nazi regime - well, Scientology is well-known to compare ALL Scientology critics to the Nazis and the KKK - I can't help but wonder if Scientology is behind this publicity stunt. Since its church claims to believe in reincarnation, who knows, maybe Scientology will claim that Tom Cruise is the reincarnation of Claus von Stauffenberg, and that Scientology's push to establish itself as a religion in Germany can be conveniently symbolized by von Stauffenberg's heroic act - soon to be portrayed by Scientology's poster boy Cruise - against the Nazi Regime.

The ruthless organization is quick to cry religious intolerance and persecution in response to any criticisms, accusations and lawsuits. Tom Cruise/Scientology is using a historical hero who fought against an inhuman regime to suggest its own martyrdom in Germany. Clever and sick.

[Changeling]

"The ruthless organization is quick to cry religious intolerance and persecution in response to any criticisms, accusations and lawsuits."

Wow. Then it really IS a religion.

The Vatican does the same thing.

[sophiekeats]

Actually, no, this isn't just about United Artists - it's also an attempt to make Scientology look good to the Germans, who don't recognize it as a church. The organization is always under attack there; Tom cruise playing a national hero could go a long way - or so they hope.

[seejake]

Tiny Tom could have at least attempted a German accent, as could have his cast-mates.

[SanityClaus]

What a scandal and an outrage! Tom Cruise doesn't look exactly like the historical character he portrays?

Next we need to have the film "Lawrence of Arabia" corrected through CGI to replace the tall, fair-haired Peter O'Toole with someone short, dark and frumpy-looking like T. E. Lawrence. Only then will the film be watchable.

[Marlyn]

T. E. Lawrence was blond.

[sharonh]

I think people just love to bash Tom Cruse every chance they get. He is the greatest living American actor, bar none.

[SanityClaus]

James Earl Jones. Tom Hanks. Robert DeNiro. Jack Nicholson. Dustin Hoffman. Those are just off the top of my head. Give me a few minutes and I could name dozens more.

[jbeach]

Al Pacino. Gene Hackman. Daniel Day Lewis. Dennis Hopper. William H. Macy. Philip Seymour Hoffman. Gabriel Byrne. Kevin Spacey...

[jbeach]

Denzel Washington, Sean Astin, Ian Holm, Viggo Mortensen, Samuel Jackson...you get the picture.

[AgentMacGyver]

Johnny Depp, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman. Nicholson blows, though, he's like Hanks, only plays one role, Nicholson.

[AgentMacGyver]

Even Jude Law over Cruise.

[WilliamPilgrim]

Hey you guys are forgetting the one and only actor that could do this role who is revered like a god in Germany....David Hasselhoff :)

[wndrwrthg]

So, Plotz plotzed?