Tom Cruise

I very strongly agree with all the people who have criticized the Cruiser, on this thread, articulating their disquiet at him. I am not just backing a consensus or being ... knee-jerk - no, I find the actual comments on the thread incredibly accurate, insightful; they describe the way I feel about the Cruiser but have never been able to name so well.

I like RJG's post: about the colons.

All the stuff about the Cruiser, in interviews, laughing, and smiling uneasily, and being unable to answer - is hilarious!

Some people would say that this makes it queer, or gay, or homosocial, which is, OK, a different thing. It may be homosocial, but it's definitely not queer. It is annoying, to me, the way that peoplem, in general, think that straight men are queer when, in films, they hang about together. This distracts from the real problem of rampant heterosexuality, which (rather than homosexuality) is what submerges and demotes Kidman in this film, or other women in similar films.

I am pleased with that last thought - it is the best expression of a somewhat interesting idea that I have managed for a while, in my seemingly intellectually declining years.

i think that conflating homosocial and homosexual can be dangerous, and i think that we need to pay attention when those things converge...i dont know about days of thunder (which is an artifical refinement of the themes of top gun), but i did say "i think" about top gun, which means that i am unsure, that my own desires and complications may get in the way

xpost

duh s1ocki i just woke up i can't answer these heavy questions

excellent

I can kind of understand this post but am somewhat horrified at the same time.

Yes. Bogey many times just played Bogey (def. not always) but there was a presence there that outweighed these issues. I mean Jack Nicholson (who I many problems with btw) is not the title on this thread for a reason, no? Tho he has for the last - what, 25 years? - been playing the same character, his charisma/JackNicholsonness allows him for many to get away with it.

Tom Cruise's appalling absensce of such presence but simultaneous ability to get away with playing that absence is what I think distresses many.

also laughed a bit too much a Billy Connelly's slightly gay jokes.

God Almighty.

One's a man (even at his dullest), the other is a strutting 43-year-old boy.

anyone agree?

Holmes, in London to promote her new film, "Batman Begins," said Monday that she's excited about her lessons in Scientology, a religion founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

and

In an interview in the June 17 issue of Entertainment Weekly, the 42-year-old actor was asked if Holmes is curious about Scientology.

"Yeah, absolutely. She digs it," he tells the magazine.

None of that is from Katies mouth as a direct quote. Is he speaking for her on that too? A mag saying she is "excited about her lessons in Scientology" means bugger all and could be made up.

me either; but

People, this is just the beginning.

Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures unit is ending its 14-year relationship with Tom Cruise's film production company because of the actor's offscreen behavior, the company's chairman said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Sumner Redstone, Viacom chairman, said the behavior of the star of the "Mission: Impossible" series and "Top Gun" was unacceptable to the company, according to the Wall Street Journal story e-mailed to reporters.
Cruise, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, has been known more recently for his antics on U.S. television talk shows, including jumping up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch to declare his love for Katie Holmes and criticizing the use of antidepressant drugs.
"As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Redstone was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

I think that Paramount seriously knows of something fucked up coming up and decided to distance themselves from him before it hits the fan. Stay tuned for Tom to completely flip out!

This is going to get good.

[Reuters]
posted by Michael K Permalink

http://dlisted.blogspot.com/2006/08/icydk-paramount-cuts-crazy.html

tom responds!

http://dlisted.blogspot.com/2006/08/morning-after-tom-responds.html

I am halfway through the Andrew Morton biography. UNAUTHORIZED. Roffle. Like he'd authorize his bio. Maybe if Hubbard came back in his big ole spaceshuttle and ordered him to. Anyhoo, that Scientology shit is crazy (in a rofflicious kinda way but also in a VERY scary kind of way).

I had forgotten he had dated Cher. Yikes.