A year after the tragic death of their 16-year-old son, Jett, John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston say they “work hard every day” on healing – a message reinforced by their recent trip to deliver medics and supplies to earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

“Once you get yourself stable, then you’re able to reach out again,” Travolta, 55, told People. “And I think this whole year, every day we’ve been working on stabilizing ourselves. And it’s been successful so far.”

Added Preston: “It helps to look out and be helpful to other people … that really helps.”

On Thursday, the couple were at New York’s Ziegfeld Theatre for the premiere of From Paris With Love, a fast-paced thriller in which Travolta plays an FBI agent out to stop a terrorist attack.

On Friday, at a press gathering for his movie, Travolta told People: “It’s been a rough year. I’m not going to say it’s not been bad, but we’ve been working very hard every day at healing … We’ve worked with our church and we’ve worked with each other and our friends and our family. It’s been a tough one, and it’s going to be, but at least we have help and it’s working.”

Thursday’s red-carpet appearance came on the heels of their visit to Haiti, which they coordinated with the Church of Scientology (both are members) to bring 80 medics, 33 volunteers, supplies and seven tons of food, including 4,000 ready-to-eat meals, to the stricken island nation.

Up Close and Personal with Fans
The couple said the personal moments – like meeting a 7-year-old boy who lost his family – were especially touching. “All he wanted to do was see inside the plane,” Travolta said.

Travolta piloted his own plane and said he’s encouraging others, especially plane owners, to offer their own relief efforts. “I’m investigating all the contacts I have to send more support,” he said. “You want to get these people planes that other people have that you know of.”

Referring to Travolta’s efforts in Haiti and elsewhere, the actor’s From Paris director Pierre Morel described his star a “beautiful human being. Very, very patient … The first week after we started, he knew everybody in the crew by name. He was wonderful.”

Costar Jonathan Rhys-Meyers added that while it was initially “jarring” to work with an actor he idolized from Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction, the two became “incredibly close” during filming: “He’s such a nice guy and he’s so sweet that immediately, you forget that you’re working with John Travolta.”

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John Travolta has always been a doting dad, but he’s really been spoiling his daughter, Ella Bleu, ever since the tragic death of his son, Jett, last January.

On November 3, John, 55, treated the 9-year-old to a father-daughter shopping spree at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, racking up more than $12,000 in purchases. “They were so adorable together,” a witness tells In Touch. “Ella was picking out clothes and stuffed animals, and John even bought her a necklace from the fine jewelry department. Of course, people noticed him, but he didn’t seem to care, because he was only concerned about making her happy.”

All of that special attention apparently worked on Ella, who recently made her film debut in dad’s new movie, Old Dogs, in which her mother, Kelly Preston, also stars. “She seemed to be a real daddy’s girl,” says the witness. “It was clear that she adored him.”

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It’s nice to see them so happy!

PCN

In his first interview since son Jett’s tragic death last January, Scientologist John Travolta says he and his family are relying on almost daily religious counseling sessions to help them cope.

Since the 16-year-old boy died following a seizure, “We’ve been working very hard every day as a family to heal,” Travolta said during a round-table interview (per USA Today) with the cast of his latest film, Old Dogs (out Nov. 25), which also stars wife Kelly Preston and daughter, Ella, 9. “We have our own way of doing it, and it has been helping.”

Travolta, 45, said he has been overwhelmed by all the support.

“You need your friends a lot in times like that,” he said.

Preston, 47, added that the “outpouring of love from, really, worldwide has been extraordinary. It’s been our friends, our family, our church. We partake in spiritual counseling pretty much daily.”

Still, she said, “It’s a tricky thing. Sometimes, something that’s right for the moment is not right the next day. Being with people who are important to you, being with people that you love, I think that’s what has primarily helped us the most. Sometimes, being alone, too.”

Though the family has been in relative seclusion, Travolta said he is speaking out now to draw attention to his daughter’s film debut in Old Dogs.

Said the actor, “We decided it was OK to come out and promote, to introduce her to the world and to give her a beautiful future in film.”

Travolta and Preston declined to comment on an extortion case involving a former Bahamian senator and a paramedic who are accused of demanding $25 million from the family with information about Jett’s death.

In his extortion trial testimony, Travolta admitted for the first time that his son Jett had autism. He is believed to have kept his son’s condition a secret because of the way Scientologists view illness.

A mistrial was declared this past October. A retrial has been ordered.

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A mistrial has been declared in the trial of two people accused of attempting to extort $25 million from actor John Travolta after the death of his 16-year-old son, Jett.

Senior Supreme Court Judge Anita Allen said she believed someone in the jury had been having inappropriate “communication” outside of the jury room, where jurors had been deliberating for eight hours

The judge had received information that an announcement had been made at a local political rally that one of the defendants had been found not guilty. Allen told the court hearing the news left her no choice but to order a retrial. (A new trial date was not set.)

“The dilemma that we face is great,” Allen told the court. “I am erring on the side of caution. Justice must be transparent.”

Though they pleaded not guilty, Paramedic Tarino Lightbourn and former Bahamian Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, who is also Lightbourn’s attorney, had been charged with conspiring to extort $25 million from Travolta.

The prosecution claimed they demanded money in exchange for not releasing private information to the press about the death of the actor’s son, who passed away last January following a seizure in the family vacation home on Grand Bahama island.

The jury, which deliberated about nine hours, had spent a month listening to testimony including from Travolta, who took the stand and recounted his son’s final moments.

Michael Ossi, one of the actor’s attorneys, told the Associated Press his client would cooperate in any way possible and testify again if necessary.

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John Travolta, who has kept a low profile during the promotion of his new movie The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is now speaking out to his fans via his official Web site, thanking the movie’s director and actors.

“Tony, Denzel, Luis, John, James and Sony Pictures stepped up without hesitation to help promote this wonderful film, and their unselfish efforts have allowed my family the additional time to reconcile our loss.

I am very proud of the efforts we have all made in making this movie, and I want each and every one of you to enjoy it. So, set your calendars for the weekend of June 12th. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

With Love,

John

John Travolta, who is mourning the death of his 16-year-old son Jett, has canceled his appearance at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, his rep tells Usmagazine.com.

The actor — whose latest movie, Bolt, is nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for his duet with costar Miley Cyrus (“I Thought I Lost You”) — was scheduled to present.

On Thursday, Travolta and wife Kelly Preston held a memorial service for Jett in their Ocala, Fla., hometown. Lisa Marie Presley, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were among the celeb guests.

Jett died of a seizure disorder Jan. 2 while vacationing with his family in Grand Bahamas.

“John just adored him,” his pal Tom Cruise recently said.

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