Tom Cruise Rathbun claims that wife Nicole Kidman was wiretapped on Tom Cruise's suggestion (which Cruise's lawyer denies). In 2006, "Premiere" ranked Cruise as Hollywood's most powerful actor, as Cruise came in at number 13 on the magazine's 2006 Power List, being the highest ranked actor. The same year, "Forbes" magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity. The founder of CinemaScore in 2016 cited Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio as the "two stars, it doesn't matter how bad the film is, they can pull [the box office] up". In August 2006, Paramount cited Cruise's "recent conduct" as the reason they did
Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography 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.