Archive for the ‘Tom Cruise’ Category
Did Tom Cruise’s humbling before Oprah Winfrey improve his Oscar chances? : Gold Derby by Tom O’Neil : The Envelope – Los Angeles Times
Posted on: May 6, 2008
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There something’s weird about the timing of Tom Cruise groveling before Oprah Winfrey this past week. Why now? I think it’s no coincidence that it comes just a month or so after the news that the release of his next big pic, “Valkyrie,” got bumped from this fall to next spring — and therefore out of Oscars competition.
Sure, Tom Cruise appeared on Oprah’s show to celebrate his 25th year in films. But if the powwow had been, say, two months ago, back when “Valkyrie” was still skedded to launch the next Oscar derby, I don’t think we would’ve seen Tom so eagerly gobble up a dozen humble pies. He would’ve done damage control for his ole couch dance, yes, but in the past few days we’ve witnessed a surrender that has, I’m convinced, an underlying Oscar message.
In the past, Cruise was the kind of guy who never backed down, even daring to bully poor Matt Lauer on the “Today” show. But at Oprah’s knee these past few days, he caved on every point. He admitted that he shouldn’t have badgered Matt about kids taking psychiatric medication. Parents should make that decision for themselves, Tom now says. He shouldn’t have attacked Brooke Shields either. He regrets that his Scientology videos were “taken out of context.” Etc. Etc.
Just eight weeks ago “Valkyrie” was still skedded to launch Oscar derby season this fall and confident Cruise was poised to make another run for the gold he’s lost three times (“Magnolia,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Born on the Fourth of July”). But I think Tom learned a scary lesson over the past two months and he saw it through Oscar’s eyes.
At first glance, “Valkyrie” looks like pure Oscar bait. It’s based upon a real, heroic person during wartime — even better, one with a handicap (that eye patch) — being the story of a Nazi officer who schemed to bump off Hitler. Seems like a perfect vehicle for a superstar ridiculously overdue for a chunk of academy gold, eh? (CLICK HERE – read MORE!) Early buzz within United Artists was that the actual film by wunderkind director Bryan Singer (who got an Oscar for Kevin Spacey in “The Usual Suspects”), was great, so it seemed like a no-brainer to sked its release at the start of the derby season.
But back in February there were early warning signs of trouble. At the end of the Razzies ceremony, “Valkyrie” was not only flagged as a film widely expected to be in the running next year, but the audience howled and cheered when a pic was shown of Tom Cruise donning that eye patch. (READ MORE)
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“This is so normal!” Oprah Winfrey exclaimed as Tom Cruise took her through the vast, pristine, wood-paneled kitchen in his mountaintop estate in Telluride, Colo. Ms. Winfrey sounded relieved, almost as if she were half expecting to find space helmets and a teleporting station wedged next to the stove.
Oprah Winfrey with Tom Cruise in Colorado on Friday.
There was nothing normal about the conversation between Ms. Winfrey and Mr. Cruise, of course. Mr. Cruise, whose unhinged exuberance and acrobatic leap onto Ms. Winfrey’s couch in 2005 was the first in a torrent of embarrassing YouTube moments, was back on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to repair the damage. He had agreed to a two-part interview, and tellingly, the first one on Friday was on his couch, a reversal that they joked about, gingerly.
“I’m on your sofa now,” Ms. Winfrey said, mugging. Mr. Cruise laughed and said, “And we’re sitting.”
When Ms. Winfrey’s car drove up the Cruises’ driveway, Mr. Cruise and his wife, Katie Holmes, emerged from the house hand in hand to greet her. Like the first lady, Laura Bush, welcoming reporters to the family ranch in Crawford, Tex., Ms. Holmes was warm and gracious and quickly made herself scarce, hugging her husband and saying, “I love you,” as she walked out the door.
Mr. Cruise then sat winsomely through a barrage of questions about his marriage; their baby, Suri; Scientology; and in particular his rant to Matt Lauer in 2005 on “Today,” ridiculing the use of Ritalin and attacking Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants for postpartum depression.
“I mean, what I regret is that it just came out wrong,” he said. “What I regret is that even discussing Brooke in any way.”
This was not a promotional gimmick to boost box office sales. Mr. Cruise does not have a movie coming out imminently. (“Tropic Thunder,” in which he briefly plays not a leading man but a sleazy studio executive, is scheduled for an August release.) Mr. Cruise employed his charm — and taut stagecraft — in an effort to rehabilitate his reputation.
You’ve seen hot celebrities, you’ve seen careless (but entertaining) celebrities, now it’s time for the worst celebrity trainwrecks, ever.
How much damage can money and fame do to people? We get a fair idea of it every day with our regular celebrity gossip, but to get a clear picture of how f-ked up celebrities really are, we went ahead dug up the dirt (it wasn’t that hard, trust us) on some of the most popular screwups in pop culture.
Before we start – this is a list, not a ranking – so don’t be surprised if one of the strangest celebrities of all-time comes in at #51, or why Britney Spears isn’t #1 (surprisingly, she’s not the worst of the bunch, but that’s a different story). Click on the celebrity’s name to get their ‘rap sheet’.
The “Will They Ever Learn?” Trainwrecks
1. Pete Doherty
2. Amy Winehouse
3. Britney Spears
4. Lindsay Lohan
5. Paris Hilton
6. Kirsten Dunst
7. Mischa Barton
8. Michelle Rodriguez
9. Kiefer Sutherland
10. Kate Moss
11. Naomi Campbell
12. Sienna Miller
The “Golden Oldies”
13. Sean Young
14. Daniel Baldwin
15. Mel Gibson
16. Heidi Fleiss
17. Tom Cruise
18. Paula Abdul
19. David Hasselhoff
20. Keith Richards
21. Sharon Stone
22. Roseanne Barr
The “We Never Saw Them Coming” Trainwrecks
Celebrities who surprised us with their ability to mix with the best trainwrecks on this list. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but these are the ones no one saw coming.
23. Eva Mendes
24. Owen Wilson
25. Lily Allen
26. Vanessa Hudgens
27. Jenna Jameson
28. Isaiah Washington
29. Jamie Lynn Spears
30. Katie Rees
31. Jessica Sierra
32. Brooke Hogan
33. Mary Kate Olsen
34. Avril Lavigne
The “Media Whores”
Celebrities who, for some reason or the other, seem to thrive on making fools of themselves in the press.
35. Tara Reid
36. Heather Mills
37. Calum Best
38. Jesse Metcalfe
39. Jordan
40. Bai Ling
41. Bobby Brown
42. Kim Kardashian
43. Pamela Anderson
Trainwrecks “Beyond Help”
You couldn’t fix these trainwrecks even if you tried (as I’m sure many medical professionals have)…
44. Michael Vick
45. Tom Sizemore
46. O.J. Simpson
47. Andy Dick
48. Anna Nicole Smith
49. Jonathan Rhys Meyers
50. Lil Kim
“Just Plain Odd” Trainwrecks
51. Michael Jackson
52. Lauryn Hill
53. Courtney Love
54. Jocelyn Wildenstein
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