Hollywood Hills, preferably with guest bedrooms, a hot tub, and a location near the clubs on Sunset. Next we needed to hand-select the best in the community to live with us. Perhaps I shouldn’t have trusted Mystery again. But this time, I wouldn’t let myself be dependent on him. His name wasn’t going to be on the lease. Neither would mine, for that

prop bag I wore to the Belgrade workshop was black, Armani, and the size of a hardcover novel, with a single shoulder strap so that it could be slung artfully across my torso. With so many magic tricks, gimmicks, and other tools of the trade necessary to use in the field,

disturbing thought, because nearly every idea Tom Cruise expressed could be found somewhere in the massive writings of L. Ron Hubbard. I discovered this when Cruise had his personal Scientology liaison bring a heavy red book to the table. He opened it to the Scientology code of honor, and we discussed it point by point—set a good example, fulfill y

the brutality of his father like Mystery; Ross’s parents were a smart, good-humored Jewish couple. I knew because they’d arrived at the seminar a few minutes after me and instantly started teasing him. Rather, Ross had been beaten down socially, which probably took a great toll on his psyche when combined with the constant teasing and high expectat

the big ones

MEN WEREN’T REALLY THE ENEMY— THEY WERE FELLOW VICTIMS SUFFERING FROM AN OUTMODED MASCULINE MYSTIQUE THAT MADE THEM FEEL UNNECESSARILY INADEQUATE WHEN THERE WERE

I watched him for a few minutes. He was buff now, wearing a torn T-shirt and a loosely knotted tie. He was telling the students that he hadn’t lost his virginity—or even held a girl’s hand—until he was twenty-six-and-a-half. It was a gimmick now, part of his routine for guys. He had become a guru too. And, along the way, he’d lost the innocence he

Suddenly, Papa, Tyler Durden, and the students laughed. “That’s one of the things you do,” Papa said. “Tyler’s writing about that.” “What? I just said ‘awesome.’ That’s because I think it’s hilarious. Seriously, I can’t wait to read it.” They all laughed again. Evidently I was Stylemogging them. “See,” Tyler Durden said. “You’ll use curiosity as a

As we ambled back to the mansion arm-in-arm, she talked about her older brothers and their difficulty learning the game. “They’re real protective and get mad when I go on dates,” she said. “But I think they’re jealous because they’re not going on dates themselves.” When we returned to Project Hollywood, I brought her to the Jacuzzi. “My last boyfri