Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' divorce will be a thriller

The courtroom showdown that is brewing between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes looks set to be as enthralling as any movie either has ever made.

Ok, I admit it is a little macabre to get excited about the end of someone's marriage, after all it will not only be a painful experience for the two protagonists but also has ramifications for their six-year-old daughter, Suri.

Yet it is the battle for custody of Suri that is likely to create the fireworks as it seems Cruise's devotion to Scientology, which some call a religion and others call a cult, will be the field on which the pair do battle.

Already 'insiders' are saying that Holmes wants out of the marriage, and legal custody of Suri, because she fears what the future holds for the child if she is enveloped by the Church of Scientology.

The Times reported today that she is afraid Cruise was planning to send Suri to an extreme Scientology sect that demands  followers sign up for a billion years. The sect, called Sea Org, is one of many aspects about Scientology that have led people, including News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch, to describe it as "creepy". Another bizarre fact is that Scientology's founder, L Ron Hubbard, said much of our galaxy was once ruled by a tyrant called Xenu, whose reign lasted eighty trillion years.

However, despite it being common knowledge that Cruise, as well as a number of other Hollywood stars, is a follower, the Church of Scientology, and the Mission Impossible star's role in it, remain much of a mystery.

And here is where the courtroom battle could become fascinating should Cruise be forced to lay bare the details of his devotion and what it may or may not mean for Suri.

And there is little doubt that he will be battling for custody as it has already been reported that Cruise is trying to move proceedings from New York, where Holmes filed for divorce, to California, where it is generally considered he stands more chance of winning.

Indeed, the battle already has echoes of Cruise's famous scene in 'A Few Good Men' where his military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee demands of witness Colonel Nathan R Jessup: "I want the truth", to which Jack Nicholson's character roars back: "You can't handle the truth!"

It will be interesting to see whether Cruise's career can handle it either should the truth come out.

Simon Pluckrose is Head of News at Al Sidra Media LLC, publisher of 7DAYSinDubai.com, 7DAYSinAbuDhabi.com and the newspaper 7DAYS