The web is abuzz with stories that Will Smith has been outed as a Scientologist. Sites across the web are reporting that Smith allegedly funded a Scientology school and that he and wife Jada Pinkett have been secret members of the Church of Scientology for years.
While we don't usually report rumor stories here at ReelzChannel.com, this one is interesting because of the ties it may have to the July 2nd release of Sony's tentpole Will Smith vehicle, Hancock. Reports initially surfaced that the movie was having problems and was going through reshoots. Now the June 10th World Premiere of Hancock in Sydney, Australia has been cancelled and some sites are even reporting that the movie will be pushed back from its July 2nd release date.
Although Sony is positioning the stories as merely the usual last minute issues finishing effects and the like, the recent reports of Smith's connection to the highly controversial Church of Scientology have many speculating that Sony is trying to avert the diasaster Paramount felt on 2006's Mission Impossible: III. During the promotional campaign for that movie, Tom Cruise's antics promoting the benefits of Scientology alienated many would-be moviegoers and seemed to signal the end for one of Hollywood's most reliable box office cash cows. It also effectively ended Cruise's long run with Paramount.
Since then, Will Smith has claimed the box office throne by a very wide margin. Is Smith destined for the same downfall as Cruise? Let's just hope he's not booked for an Oprah couch-jumping session any time soon...