Running to Momma

TOM CRUISE treated his mother to a whole lotta love last weekend (22SEP06) when he took her and 10 family members to Las Vegas, Nevada to celebrate her 70th birthday.The actor's mum MARY LEE, his wife-to-be KATIE HOLMES and other lucky family members checked out Cirque du Soleil's Beatles show Love at the Mirage and were then treated to a backstage tour.

The Cirque du Soleil cast sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Cruise's thrilled mother, who was also treated to a meal at Wynn Las Vegas' signature steakhouse SW.

Worth the wait

Quite possibly the cutest baby girl I've ever seen.

Will He Play a Running Back?

Tom Cruise gets funding from NFL Owner Dan Snyder

Tom Cruise signed a two-year deal with First and Goal LLC, an investment partnership headed by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, the maggot of all maggots who has destroyed the Washington Redskins franchise despite re-hiring Coach Joe Gibbs.

Risky Business -- Running to where the money is

Tom Cruise Latest to Tap Hedge Financing
Original story appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Aug 24, 2006

Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise's announcement that he will finance future films with backing from two unnamed hedge funds is just the latest in a trend of firms trying to get into the film-making business. So reports The Wall Street Journal.

Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, the parent company of Paramount Pictures, has announced that his company will no longer be working with Cruise following some controversial behavior by the star. In response, Cruise and production partner Paula Wagner said they will be working with hedge fund backing from now on and that they've raised $100 million.

Although hedge funds and institutional investors have recently put more than $4 billion into film projects, some see such financing diminishing. For example, Stark Investments has backed away from its film foray after helping to make the movies "Poseidon" and "V for Vendetta," neither of which performed as hoped. And Legendary Pictures, a new entity backed by private equity money, has had an up-and-down experience, backing a winner in "Batman Begins", but also investing in movies such as "Lady in the Water" and the "Ant Bully", which proved disappointing.

One firm that seems to have done well is Melrose Investors, a partnership between Merrill Lynch and Paramount Pictures. That partnership has lined up two dozen films to invest in, the most recent of which was Cruise's "Mission Impossible III". Two sources say the Melrose partnership looks likely to produce annual returns of 10% or more.

James Stern, CEO with Endgame Entertainment, says that hedge funds likely will change how they approach these deals when they see that the returns they expected are difficult to attain.

Lightning fast!

Tom Cruise was set to possibly play a super action hero in an upcoming film. But he quickly passed on it. Read more about it here.

Suri ran away. Don't bodr to look for her.

Where is Suri? (link)

Running away with a fake name

sneaky sneaky sneaky

Zipping through Japan

On Wednesday morning, Cruise and 150 invited guests (chosen from 30,000 applicants) from regional areas departed Tokyo aboard a specially chartered bullet train for the 150-minute journey to Shin-Osaka. During the trip, Cruise is spending a minute with each passenger and posing for a photo with every one of the 150 fans onboard. He returned to the U.S. on Wednesday night. Source

Cruise eyes Iron Man role

Cruise eyes Iron Man role -- there will be running!
From virgin.net

Tom Cruise looks set to follow up his role in 'Mission: Impossible III' by portraying a superhero in up and coming action flick 'Iron Man'.

Cruise has been lined up to play the eponymous lead character in the new film. The role will see Cruise portray a billionaire industrialist who has an attack of conscience before transforming himself into a superhero to rid the streets of crime.

Cruise is said to be keen on the role after discovering that the new film is to be directed by US comedian Jon Favreau.

Arriving in NYC. Antics, antics, antics...

The American Public: Tired of seeing Tom run?

Cruise Bruised (Washington Post)

Tom Cruise arrives in a Bugatti Veyron 16.4

"Mission: Impossible III" Fan Screening - Red Carpet
May 4, 2006 - Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Los Angeles, California United States
WireImage.com

Zipping along through Times Square

Actor Cruise on New York mission

Tom Cruise tried to keep his itinerary secretTom Cruise has traversed New York on a helicopter, fire truck, motorcycle and speedboat to promote his new movie, Mission: Impossible III.

The Immortal?

From LA Weekly:

He’s probably the most graceful physical performer to occupy the screen since Burt Lancaster, and in this sort of action role, he’s just about peerless, whether jumping across a 15-foot gap in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, sprinting through the streets of Shanghai like some great leggy beast closing in on its prey, or merely flashing that million-watt smile while remaining icy cool under pressure. What I’m saying is that Cruise really is superior to us mere mortals, that he’s faster and stronger and more focused — and, well, just better — than you or I could ever hope to be, and that this is the very thing that draws us to him, and probably what repels us too.

Like a Rolling Stone

"Tom Cruise is back as secret agent Ethan Hunt and he takes it to the limit -- running, jumping , punching, kicking, freefalling and flashing his laser-beam peepers with an intensity that could cut steel."

Click for more from this RollingStone.com review

Tom Cruise Escapes Car Accident

Tom Cruise Escapes Car Accident Unscathed, Dented The Car
by Jack Ryan @ The Post Chronicle
May 2, 2006

Actor Tom Cruise just barely escaped critical injury after he was smashed into a car.

The Scientologist, whose fiancee Katie Holmes recently gave birth to their daughter Suri, insisted on performing his own stunts for the new film 'Mission: Impossible III', including the scene where he smashes himself into a vehicle.

He explains, "I literally had to run towards the camera and then this ratchet jerks me into the car. It was like playing American Football and knowing you are going to get stuffed."

Tom Cruise's Fitness Routine

Katie Holmes' Dad Slams Tom Cruise's Fitness Routine

By Doug Pendrell @ TheDeadbolt.com

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Tom Cruise has reportedly put fiancée Katie Holmes on a grueling and intensive fitness regime in order to get the 27-year-old actress in shape for their wedding. The news comes two weeks after the birth of TomKat's first child, Suri.

According to the South African website Tonight, Tom Cruise has "allegedly signed his fiancée up to a 'Buff Brides' exercise course to help her shed about 18kg before their upcoming nuptials."

Katie Holmes is said to be proud of Tom's commitment to her and to getting her fit again after the birth of Suri. However, Tom Cruise didn't make a fan out of Katie's father Martin. iAfrica reports that Martin Holmes told Reveal magazine that "My daughter needs rest, relaxation and recuperation. Katie is already doing exercises to build up her back and shoulders and I simply can't go along with what is happening."

Producing a Motocross Movie and High-Speed Car Race Movie

Tom Cruise has been announced as the producer of 2 new high-speed action movies.

(From IMDB)

1. The first is an untitled drama based on the life of James "Bubba" Stewart, the champion motocross racer, and his relationship with his father, James Stewart Sr., a racer himself who taught his son to ride before he could walk.
   
2. The second is Deathrace 3000, a no-holds-barred, ultraviolent car race, set in 2020. Centers on an ultra-violent auto race with heavily armed Escalades, Ferraris and Aston Martins.

As of now, no cast has been anounced.

my my my... hitchin a ride

From Monsters and Critics.com

People News
Tom Cruise's hitchhiking youth
By Bang
Apr 24, 2006, 19:00 GMT



Tom Cruise used to hitchhike with prostitutes.

The now multi-millionaire actor used to hitch rides with the men picking up sex workers outside New York's Holland Tunnel when he was a struggling actor.

Cruise - who celebrated the birth of his first child with fiancée Katie Holmes last week - revealed to Britain's Sunday Times newspaper: 'There were prostitutes, who used to be around the tunnel, who knew me. They'd see me and they'd go, 'Look, I'll pick up a john and you jump in'. So I'd ride through the tunnel to New Jersey.

'The driver's a little like, 'What's this guy doing in the back seat?' But he saw I'm just this 18-year-old kid. I didn't look dangerous.

'And they didn't do anything sexual in front of me. I'd get out in New Jersey and say, 'Thank you very much'. Then I'd hitchhike home.'


Copyright 2006 BANG Media International



© Copyright 2003 - 2005 by monstersandcritics.com.

Tom not running tonight

According to internet TV listings, there are no Tom Cruise movies on cable TV tonight. So you'll have to watch something like Pretty Woman instead.

It's a tie! The babies are here.

Brooke's baby: Grier ---------------------- Katie's baby: Suri

Born: April 18, 2006.
Sex: Both girls.
Size: Both approximately 7 lbs and 20 inches long.
City: Los Angeles

From US Magazine: Suffice it to say that there
probably won’t be any joint birthday parties going on in the future. In fact,
we’re predicting some pretty fierce turf wars at the Beverly Hills Chuck E.
Cheese (“Okay Grier, I’ll give you the entire area from the mosh pit of colored
balls to the Skee-Ball alley, but everything from the tube slides to the creepy
animatronic band is mine!”) The next 18 years should be fun, no?

Maybe they'll be in another race? Could be fun!

Leaping and Fighting (not quite running but close enough)

What he knows best?

"Perhaps Tom Cruise should stick to what he knows best: getting paid vast amounts of money by the film industry to blow up buildings and be chased by aliens." -- Alien soul theory is no cure for depression, Max Pemberton, The Telegraph (UK) (click for link)

Andale! Tom Cruise is Planning a Huge and Embarrassing NYC Publicity Stunt

Tom Cruise is planning an elaborate publicity stunt to help promote MI3 at the TriBeCa Film Festival on April 25th!

Modes of transportation on reserve for the stunt include motorcycles, speedboats, taxis, helicopters, cars and subway trains.

Here's me linking back to US Magazine's blog, where I commented about this same news item.

From US Magazine:
This mission has serious shades of Nickelodeon’s Double Dare obstacle course. We can’t wait for the part where Ethan Hunt wades through the slime canal, mounts the climbing wall and finally zips down the slide into the giant-ass sundae at the bottom only to realize that he forgot the orange flag and it was all for naught.

Impersonated, doing flips!

Tom is impersonated via his Oprah appearance jumping the couch, and also via his War of the Worlds film. Shown here is Scary Movie 4 taking it one step further, with Tom doing flips really fast!

NASCAR film punchline awaits (comedy)

Tom Cruise is Punchline In New NASCAR Film Starring Will Ferrell
by M. Centanni
Apr 11, 2006

Actor/funny-man Will Ferrell stars in a new film called 'Talladega Nights' where Tom Cruise is the punchline. The plot for the flick goes like this: NASCAR racing sensation Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is a national hero because of his "win at all costs" approach.

At the end of the trailer, Ricky Bobby escapes from a race car accident and is running around the track in his underwear and helmet thinking he's on fire. He starts screaming for help yelling, "Help me Jesus! Help me Jewish God. Help me Tom Cruise!"

Race to the Nursery

By Karen Thomas, USA TODAY

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin became parents again over the weekend with the birth of a "healthy baby boy named Moses Martin," says Paltrow's rep, Stephen Huvane. Paltrow, 33, and Coldplay rocker Martin, 29, also have a daughter, Apple Blythe Alison Martin, who will be 2 next month.

Baby Moses marks the start of one of the busiest Hollywood birthing seasons in recent memory. Celeb watchers are on full alert for more than a half-dozen babies who are expected in coming months.

VIDEO: More info about the newest member of the Martin clan

Get out the calendar. USA TODAY maps out who is due:

April

Katie Holmes, 27, and Tom Cruise, 43: Cruise told a German news outlet last week that the birth could happen any day now. He also said the couple have chosen a name, but he wouldn't share it.

May

Angelina Jolie, 30, and Brad Pitt, 42: The couple and their family — son Maddox, 4, and daughter Zahara, 1 — checked into a resort in southwest Africa last week amid reports that's where they plan on having their baby.

Brooke Shields, 40, and Chris Henchy, 42: A sister for Rowan, 2, is expected in May. The couple already have a name for her: Grier.

Mariska Hargitay, 42, and Peter Hermann, 38: It will be a son, and first child, for the Law & Order: SVU star and her husband.

Rachel Weisz, 35, and Darren Aronofsky, 37: The Oscar-winning actress (The Constant Gardener) felt the baby kicking during her big win. She said she doesn't know whether it's a boy or a girl.

June

Gwen Stefani, 36, and Gavin Rossdale, 38: At the Grammys in February, Stefani said the couple had a nursery started in their north London home but still couldn't agree on a name for the baby.

Mira Sorvino, 38, and Chris Backus, 24: This summer's baby will be No. 2 for the couple, whose daughter, Mattea, is 18 months old.

Karen Elson, 27, and Jack White, 30: The White Stripes singer and his model wife were married last June and quickly started working on a family.

SpeedyTommy

In a 63 year-old airplane earlier today...

Moving fast on EuropeanTV

Always more than happy to promote his rugged heterosexuality, Cruise delights the hosts of European game show Wetten Das by mounting a motorcycle (pictured here). He then promises that should Holmes call and tell him she's ready to deliver their child (due any minute), he'll demonstrate his incredible dedication to family by riding that bike across Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, and the continental United States to be by her side. Click here for more info.
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Side note: check out Gallery of the Absurd for these cool cartoons!

Jumping and Flying (slowly) for Yahoo!

Photo Courtesy of Steven Peterson
Tom Cruise reenacts his infamous Oprah moment.

Tom Cruise and fiance Katie Holmes greeted screaming fans at Yahoo's corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., where he was a guest speaker.

Cruise was seen spoofing his infamous Oprah appearance by jumping on a chair, and was all smiles as he arm-wrestled Yahoo CEO Terry Semel.

Cruise also had to apologize for being 45 minutes late, telling the crowd that he has never been late anywhere. Tom flew to the event in his P51, a WWII fighter plane and apparently encountered some bad weather along the way. "They said the weather would be clear, but it wasn't," he told the crowd.