Salon.com > Tom Cruise http://www.salon.com Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:51:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol”: At long last, the year’s best action flick http://www.salon.com/2011/12/16/mission_impossible_ghost_protocol_at_long_last_the_years_best_action_flick/ http://www.salon.com/2011/12/16/mission_impossible_ghost_protocol_at_long_last_the_years_best_action_flick/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10427581 Take an aging star often viewed as a weirdo, a director who's never made a live-action film and the fourth installment of a 15-year-old movie franchise whose roots go back to 1960s television. What do you get? Well, it certainly could have been a total disaster, or an awkward nostalgia exercise, but instead "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" is something even more unlikely: the most exciting action flick of the year, by a huge margin. Director Brad Bird brings all the wit, style and imagination of his animated films ("Ratatouille," "The Incredibles" and "The Iron Giant") to this slick secret-agent techno-fantasy. As for 49-year-old Tom Cruise, he's surely ready for a comeback after weathering the worst publicity of his celebrity career. He's back in his comfort zone here as renegade super-spy Ethan Hunt, who is exactly the kind of charismatic, overamped control freak we all believe (rightly or wrongly) that Cruise is too.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/12/16/mission_impossible_ghost_protocol_at_long_last_the_years_best_action_flick/feed/ 12 Jessica Chastain: The dazzling redhead who's suddenly everywhere http://www.salon.com/2011/09/27/jessica_chastain/ http://www.salon.com/2011/09/27/jessica_chastain/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:28:00 +0000 Jessica Chastain may not yet qualify as a movie star, but within seconds of meeting her you completely understand why every casting agent in Hollywood is convinced she will become one. To put it bluntly, she is dazzling -- and I'm talking more about her manner and presence than her beauty, although she's exceptionally pretty, with flaming red hair and pale, translucent skin. She's vivacious and charming, seemingly without effort, and has the kind of spectacular smile that uplifts everyone's spirits within a 50-foot radius.

It makes you wonder where all those casting directors and filmmakers who so desperately want Chastain in their movies now were a few years ago, when she was a little-known television actress whose biggest part had been a four-episode role on "Law & Order: Trial by Jury." There are no answers beyond the usual clichés: Showbiz is full of pretty faces, and sometimes all it takes is one little break. Chastain's break was pretty big, and came when Terrence Malick cast her opposite Brad Pitt in "The Tree of Life," where her shimmering, ethereal presence created a thematic and visual balance to Pitt's intense, compulsive, authoritarian father-figure.

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]]> Jessica Chastain may not yet qualify as a movie star, but within seconds of meeting her you completely understand why every casting agent in Hollywood is convinced she will become one. To put it bluntly, she is dazzling — and I’m talking more about her manner and presence than her beauty, although she’s exceptionally pretty, with flaming red hair and pale, translucent skin. She’s vivacious and charming, seemingly without effort, and has the kind of spectacular smile that uplifts everyone’s spirits within a 50-foot radius.

It makes you wonder where all those casting directors and filmmakers who so desperately want Chastain in their movies now were a few years ago, when she was a little-known television actress whose biggest part had been a four-episode role on “Law & Order: Trial by Jury.” There are no answers beyond the usual clichés: Showbiz is full of pretty faces, and sometimes all it takes is one little break. Chastain’s break was pretty big, and came when Terrence Malick cast her opposite Brad Pitt in “The Tree of Life,” where her shimmering, ethereal presence created a thematic and visual balance to Pitt’s intense, compulsive, authoritarian father-figure.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/09/27/jessica_chastain/feed/ 1 Pop Torn: 10 pieces of culture we’re feeling iffy about http://www.salon.com/2011/06/18/pop_torn_timberlake_weed_portman_baby/ http://www.salon.com/2011/06/18/pop_torn_timberlake_weed_portman_baby/#comments Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/18/pop_torn_timberlake_weed_portman_baby 1. Natalie Portman is now a mommy: The "Black Swan" had a little duckling this week that she is naming god knows what. Probably something odd though … that's how celebrities are, you know?

2. Speaking of which: Robin Williams named his daughter Zelda because he liked the video game.

3. Gwyneth Paltrow just can't stop being "Glee"-ful: The GOOP founder showed up at the live show on Thursday night in New Jersey to sing "Forget You." Again? Again.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/06/18/pop_torn_timberlake_weed_portman_baby/feed/ 13 Why do so many people dislike Katie Holmes? http://www.salon.com/2011/02/04/katie_holmes_kennedys_hate/ http://www.salon.com/2011/02/04/katie_holmes_kennedys_hate/#comments Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/life//feature/2011/02/04/katie_holmes_kennedys_hate Is Katie Holmes truly so terrible? Well, she's probably not all that great. In recent weeks, she's been the subject of toxic rumors that her new thriller, "Son of No One," was such a bomb at Sundance that audience members stormed out -- a tale eagerly lapped up by legitimate news organizations like Reuters. The Hollywood Reporter observed, "When Katie showed up on screen, there was a collective groan. She plays the wife of a Queens cop and she was completely miscast. They have her cursing a lot. And when she swore, there were chuckles."  And even though other critics who attended the screening have since offered differing accounts of what really went on, the fact that such a rumor started -- and took off with such vigor -- gives an indication of how little Holmes is regarded by audiences and the press.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/02/04/katie_holmes_kennedys_hate/feed/ 114 “The Romantics”: A “Big Chill” for this decade? http://www.salon.com/2010/09/10/romantics/ http://www.salon.com/2010/09/10/romantics/#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/andrew_ohehir/2010/09/09/romantics In "The Romantics," a pleasantly lo-fi ensemble movie written, directed and produced by Galt Niederhoffer (and based on her own novel into the bargain), we've got the collision of two or maybe three achingly meaningful narrative and cinematic modes. It's a wedding movie! It's a country-house movie! (Arguably, the wedding-at-a-country-house movie, almost always set on the New England coast, is already its own genre.) It's one of those "Big Chill"-type reunion movies, where an entire generation -- or at least its richer, whiter, better-looking microcosm -- faces the fact that it's not as young as it used to be and that its dreams have, alas, turned to dust!

OK, I'm being mean, largely because "The Romantics" is a middling little movie that tries to trespass on Bergman-Renoir territory and simply isn't adroit enough to pull it off, and because in its weaker moments it's overheated and silly. Niederhoffer's title is meant to refer to her characters, whose collegiate clique took on the name thanks to their incestuous dating habits, but also to the Romantics in the English-lit, turn-of-the-19th-century sense. So we get Katie Holmes and Josh Duhamel, as the maid of honor and intended bridegroom, not merely snogging furiously out in the woods on the night before the wedding like a couple of soap opera characters, but also murmuring snatches of "Ode to a Nightingale" into each other's ears.

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]]> In “The Romantics,” a pleasantly lo-fi ensemble movie written, directed and produced by Galt Niederhoffer (and based on her own novel into the bargain), we’ve got the collision of two or maybe three achingly meaningful narrative and cinematic modes. It’s a wedding movie! It’s a country-house movie! (Arguably, the wedding-at-a-country-house movie, almost always set on the New England coast, is already its own genre.) It’s one of those “Big Chill”-type reunion movies, where an entire generation — or at least its richer, whiter, better-looking microcosm — faces the fact that it’s not as young as it used to be and that its dreams have, alas, turned to dust!

OK, I’m being mean, largely because “The Romantics” is a middling little movie that tries to trespass on Bergman-Renoir territory and simply isn’t adroit enough to pull it off, and because in its weaker moments it’s overheated and silly. Niederhoffer’s title is meant to refer to her characters, whose collegiate clique took on the name thanks to their incestuous dating habits, but also to the Romantics in the English-lit, turn-of-the-19th-century sense. So we get Katie Holmes and Josh Duhamel, as the maid of honor and intended bridegroom, not merely snogging furiously out in the woods on the night before the wedding like a couple of soap opera characters, but also murmuring snatches of “Ode to a Nightingale” into each other’s ears.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2010/09/10/romantics/feed/ 12 Tom bombs while ‘Toy Story 3,’ Sandler soar http://www.salon.com/2010/06/27/us_box_office_13/ http://www.salon.com/2010/06/27/us_box_office_13/#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:28:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/06/27/us_box_office_13 The "Toy Story 3" gang and Adam Sandler are finding plenty of playmates at movie theaters. Tom Cruise is not so popular, though.

The Disney-Pixar Animation smash "Toy Story 3" remained the No. 1 film with $59 million in its second weekend, raising its domestic total to $226.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Sandler's "Grown Ups" debuted at No. 2 with a healthy $41 million. Released by Sony, the comedy costarring Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider did well despite a thrashing from critics.

Cruise's thriller "Knight and Day" fizzled at No. 3 with $20.5 million. It was the worst result for a Cruise action flick in 20 years and a sign that audiences still have not forgiven him for erratic behavior a few years back, which included his couch-jumping incident on Oprah Winfrey's show.

"He's one of the biggest stars of all time, but no question, this has impacted him," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It's not like it's irrevocable or unchangeable. Look at all the stars who have been jailed or caught in compromising sexual situations and then came back. Many stars do recover. It just may take a lot of time for him."

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]]> The “Toy Story 3″ gang and Adam Sandler are finding plenty of playmates at movie theaters. Tom Cruise is not so popular, though.

The Disney-Pixar Animation smash “Toy Story 3″ remained the No. 1 film with $59 million in its second weekend, raising its domestic total to $226.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Sandler’s “Grown Ups” debuted at No. 2 with a healthy $41 million. Released by Sony, the comedy costarring Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider did well despite a thrashing from critics.

Cruise’s thriller “Knight and Day” fizzled at No. 3 with $20.5 million. It was the worst result for a Cruise action flick in 20 years and a sign that audiences still have not forgiven him for erratic behavior a few years back, which included his couch-jumping incident on Oprah Winfrey’s show.

“He’s one of the biggest stars of all time, but no question, this has impacted him,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. “It’s not like it’s irrevocable or unchangeable. Look at all the stars who have been jailed or caught in compromising sexual situations and then came back. Many stars do recover. It just may take a lot of time for him.”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2010/06/27/us_box_office_13/feed/ 23 Tom Cruise’s crazy, clever comeback attempt http://www.salon.com/2010/06/23/knight_and_day/ http://www.salon.com/2010/06/23/knight_and_day/#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/andrew_ohehir/2010/06/23/knight_and_day June, the klutzy-cute heroine of "Knight and Day" played by Cameron Diaz, knows right away that renegade CIA agent and/or psychopath Roy Miller is the guy for her. It becomes even more obvious after Roy hijacks a plane, kills everyone on it except June, slips her a date-rape drug and breaks into her Boston apartment to put her to bed. Then, to close the deal, he shoots her charming, lunkhead-ish firefighter ex-boyfriend. OK, just in the leg. Before fleeing the scene of that particular crime, Roy exchanges a dudely handshake with the downed fireman, assuring him he hasn't fractured his thigh or severed his femoral artery. "It could be the best thing that ever happened to him," Roy purrs to June. "He'll be a hero."

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]]> June, the klutzy-cute heroine of “Knight and Day” played by Cameron Diaz, knows right away that renegade CIA agent and/or psychopath Roy Miller is the guy for her. It becomes even more obvious after Roy hijacks a plane, kills everyone on it except June, slips her a date-rape drug and breaks into her Boston apartment to put her to bed. Then, to close the deal, he shoots her charming, lunkhead-ish firefighter ex-boyfriend. OK, just in the leg. Before fleeing the scene of that particular crime, Roy exchanges a dudely handshake with the downed fireman, assuring him he hasn’t fractured his thigh or severed his femoral artery. “It could be the best thing that ever happened to him,” Roy purrs to June. “He’ll be a hero.”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2010/06/23/knight_and_day/feed/ 30 Church of Scientology convicted of fraud in France http://www.salon.com/2009/10/27/eu_france_scientology/ http://www.salon.com/2009/10/27/eu_france_scientology/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/2009/10/27/eu_france_scientology A Paris court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud and fined it more than euro600,000 ($900,000) on Tuesday but stopped short of banning the group as prosecutors had demanded.

The group's French branch immediately announced it would appeal the verdict.

The court convicted the Church of Scientology's French office, its library and six of its leaders of organized fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used "commercial harassment" against recruits.

The group was fined euro400,000 ($600,000) and the library euro200,000. Four of the leaders were given suspended sentences of between 10 months and two years. The other two were given fines of euro1,000 and euro2,000.

However, the court did not order the Church of Scientology to shut down, ruling that it would be likely to continue its activities anyway "outside any legal framework."

Prosecutors had urged that the group be dissolved in France and fined euro2 million ($3 million).

The verdict is "an Inquisition of modern times," said Scientology spokeswoman Agnes Bron, referring to efforts to rout out heretics of the Roman Catholic Church in centuries past.

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]]> A Paris court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud and fined it more than euro600,000 ($900,000) on Tuesday but stopped short of banning the group as prosecutors had demanded.

The group’s French branch immediately announced it would appeal the verdict.

The court convicted the Church of Scientology’s French office, its library and six of its leaders of organized fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used “commercial harassment” against recruits.

The group was fined euro400,000 ($600,000) and the library euro200,000. Four of the leaders were given suspended sentences of between 10 months and two years. The other two were given fines of euro1,000 and euro2,000.

However, the court did not order the Church of Scientology to shut down, ruling that it would be likely to continue its activities anyway “outside any legal framework.”

Prosecutors had urged that the group be dissolved in France and fined euro2 million ($3 million).

The verdict is “an Inquisition of modern times,” said Scientology spokeswoman Agnes Bron, referring to efforts to rout out heretics of the Roman Catholic Church in centuries past.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2009/10/27/eu_france_scientology/feed/ 19 Upcoming movies: Awesome or awful? http://www.salon.com/2009/08/18/must_stop/ http://www.salon.com/2009/08/18/must_stop/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:19:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/beyond_the_multiplex//feature/2009/08/18/must_stop

Walt Disney Pictures

Mia Wasikowska as Alice in "Alice in Wonderland"

OK then, here's a pop quiz for pop-culture mavens. First, identify each of the following proposed movie projects. Second, identify which one I just pulled out of thin air. Or to put it another way, identify which one was not pulled out of thin air, or some darker, moister region, by someone sitting behind an extremely nice neo-retro desk in Los Angeles. After that we'll get to the subject of whether any of these motion pictures should exist at all.

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Walt Disney Pictures

Mia Wasikowska as Alice in “Alice in Wonderland”

OK then, here’s a pop quiz for pop-culture mavens. First, identify each of the following proposed movie projects. Second, identify which one I just pulled out of thin air. Or to put it another way, identify which one was not pulled out of thin air, or some darker, moister region, by someone sitting behind an extremely nice neo-retro desk in Los Angeles. After that we’ll get to the subject of whether any of these motion pictures should exist at all.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2009/08/18/must_stop/feed/ 36 “Valkyrie” http://www.salon.com/2008/12/25/valkyrie/ http://www.salon.com/2008/12/25/valkyrie/#comments Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:57:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/review/2008/12/25/valkyrie Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie" has been kept under tighter wraps than the actual plot to assassinate Hitler. The release date was moved hither and yon several times, and the movie began screening relatively late for critics during the busy holiday season, and some had to talk their way into being invited at all. It's not always easy to read a studio's motives in keeping movies shielded from early coverage: It could mean they think they've got something that's worth protecting -- or something worth hiding as long as possible, as a form of damage control.

Or it could mean that said movie features a once-huge star who may not have the drawing power with audiences he once had, and who may feel he needs a degree of protection from possible criticism. Tom Cruise, who dominates "Valkyrie" as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the aristocrat turned officer who came close to assassinating Hitler in 1944 by sneaking a bomb into his private conference room, has become He Who Cannot Be Named unless you're going to say something nice. He's also the weakest link in "Valkyrie," which is neither a masterpiece nor an embarrassment, but a workmanlike picture that sits, inoffensively, in the middling space between.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2008/12/25/valkyrie/feed/ 63 I Like to Watch http://www.salon.com/2008/05/11/alaska_experiment/ http://www.salon.com/2008/05/11/alaska_experiment/#comments Sun, 11 May 2008 11:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/i_like_to_watch//2008/05/11/alaska_experiment Dead horses, deadly cyclones, erupting volcanoes, evil monsters, priests floating away on helium balloons, never to be heard from again, plus even more dumb people with babies ... The news is so dark these days, it's not surprising that all our favorite TV shows are doing their best imitations of a Lifetime movie of the week -- you know, the one where the kid and the kid's pony die at the end?

But you know what makes all the little children feel better about how dark and scary the world is? Fairy tales. So let's start with a fairy tale about a little prince named Tom Cruise.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2008/05/11/alaska_experiment/feed/ 37 Cannes rumors: No Coens, but “Indy 4″ and “Sex” likely http://www.salon.com/2008/03/20/cannes_rumors/ http://www.salon.com/2008/03/20/cannes_rumors/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:50:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/beyond_the_multiplex//feature/2008/03/20/cannes_rumors

New Line Cinema

Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall in the movie "Sex and the City: The Movie."

Sure, it's only March, but with the big winter-spring festivals at Sundance, Berlin and South by Southwest already in the rear-view mirror, the film industry's undead cave dwellers are beginning to see the entire year's calendar come into focus. Sure, it's pointless and more than a little geeky, but what the heck -- it's not too early for a little Cannes gossip, is it?

Here's what we know for sure: nothing. Cannes head programmer Thierry Frémaux won't reveal his slate for two more weeks, and his subordinates are sworn to public silence. Last year many bloggers and trade magazines knowledgeably reported that Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream" would premiere at the Côte d'Azur fest, and of course it didn't. (In fairness, Allen evidently turned down Cannes' closing-night slot, which is somewhere between a booby prize and a black hole leading into a lifeless alternative dimension.)

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New Line Cinema

Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall in the movie “Sex and the City: The Movie.”

Sure, it’s only March, but with the big winter-spring festivals at Sundance, Berlin and South by Southwest already in the rear-view mirror, the film industry’s undead cave dwellers are beginning to see the entire year’s calendar come into focus. Sure, it’s pointless and more than a little geeky, but what the heck — it’s not too early for a little Cannes gossip, is it?

Here’s what we know for sure: nothing. Cannes head programmer Thierry Frémaux won’t reveal his slate for two more weeks, and his subordinates are sworn to public silence. Last year many bloggers and trade magazines knowledgeably reported that Woody Allen’s “Cassandra’s Dream” would premiere at the Côte d’Azur fest, and of course it didn’t. (In fairness, Allen evidently turned down Cannes’ closing-night slot, which is somewhere between a booby prize and a black hole leading into a lifeless alternative dimension.)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2008/03/20/cannes_rumors/feed/ 3 “Lions for Lambs” http://www.salon.com/2007/11/09/lions/ http://www.salon.com/2007/11/09/lions/#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/review/2007/11/09/lions "Lions for Lambs" is just about everything I hate in a movie: It's self-righteous, didactic, dramatically and visually static and, in places, extremely boring. But I found myself thinking about it for hours, even days, after I saw it, which is more than I can say for most of the politically themed fiction movies -- "In the Valley of Elah," "Rendition" -- that have trickled quietly into and out of theaters this fall.

"Lions for Lambs," I'm afraid, is destined for the same kind of trickling. This isn't so much a movie as an impassioned plea -- on the part of director Robert Redford and writer Matthew Michael Carnahan -- to think about the nature of citizenship, to think about what it means for anyone, on the right, the left or anywhere in between, to serve his or her country. The idea of "serving our country" is almost always used in a military context. But one of the things "Lions for Lambs" strives toward is finding a new frame of reference for that phrase. All of the movie's characters -- two soldiers, close friends, stationed in Afghanistan; an oily Republican senator and the wily journalist who spars with him; a history professor who's trying to jolt one of his most promising students out of his cocoon of privileged complacency -- have to work out the phrase's meaning on their own. That each comes up with a different answer is the point. Whatever the movie's flaws are, it has at least a modest grasp of the sprawling mess we call democracy, which Winston Churchill called the worst form of government, except for every other.

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]]> “Lions for Lambs” is just about everything I hate in a movie: It’s self-righteous, didactic, dramatically and visually static and, in places, extremely boring. But I found myself thinking about it for hours, even days, after I saw it, which is more than I can say for most of the politically themed fiction movies — “In the Valley of Elah,” “Rendition” — that have trickled quietly into and out of theaters this fall.

“Lions for Lambs,” I’m afraid, is destined for the same kind of trickling. This isn’t so much a movie as an impassioned plea — on the part of director Robert Redford and writer Matthew Michael Carnahan — to think about the nature of citizenship, to think about what it means for anyone, on the right, the left or anywhere in between, to serve his or her country. The idea of “serving our country” is almost always used in a military context. But one of the things “Lions for Lambs” strives toward is finding a new frame of reference for that phrase. All of the movie’s characters — two soldiers, close friends, stationed in Afghanistan; an oily Republican senator and the wily journalist who spars with him; a history professor who’s trying to jolt one of his most promising students out of his cocoon of privileged complacency — have to work out the phrase’s meaning on their own. That each comes up with a different answer is the point. Whatever the movie’s flaws are, it has at least a modest grasp of the sprawling mess we call democracy, which Winston Churchill called the worst form of government, except for every other.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/11/09/lions/feed/ 16 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2007/01/25/thu_50/ http://www.salon.com/2007/01/25/thu_50/#comments Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2007/01/25/thu Morning Briefing:
"Grey's" star goes to rehab: In a classic Hollywood move, "Grey's Anatomy" actor Isaiah Washington, in the midst of really bad P.R. after his repeated use of the term "faggot," has checked himself into some kind of treatment facility. In a statement he released yesterday, Washington said: "With the support of my family and friends, I have begun counseling. I regard this as a necessary step toward understanding why I did what I did and making sure it never happens again." Insiders say that ABC demanded that he enter a program "to examine why he would say such hateful words," but there's no word yet on just what type of facility Washington has gone into. (Life & Style)

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]]> Morning Briefing:
“Grey’s” star goes to rehab: In a classic Hollywood move, “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Isaiah Washington, in the midst of really bad P.R. after his repeated use of the term “faggot,” has checked himself into some kind of treatment facility. In a statement he released yesterday, Washington said: “With the support of my family and friends, I have begun counseling. I regard this as a necessary step toward understanding why I did what I did and making sure it never happens again.” Insiders say that ABC demanded that he enter a program “to examine why he would say such hateful words,” but there’s no word yet on just what type of facility Washington has gone into. (Life & Style)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/01/25/thu_50/feed/ 26 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2006/11/20/mon_154/ http://www.salon.com/2006/11/20/mon_154/#comments Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2006/11/20/mon Morning Briefing:
TomKat ties the knot: Though they legally got married last week in Los Angeles, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes staged an elaborate wedding in Italy over the weekend, complete with a rented castle, Giorgio Armani and fireworks. The photos give you some idea of the scale, but the ceremony's couch-jumping moment was an everlasting kiss, which Armani told reporters went on for so long that guests began to yell "Stop, stop!" (Star, TMZ, the Standard)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2006/11/20/mon_154/feed/ 15 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2006/11/17/fri_160/ http://www.salon.com/2006/11/17/fri_160/#comments Fri, 17 Nov 2006 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2006/11/17/fri Morning Briefing:
The Judith Confessions: On Thursday night, book publisher Judith Regan sent an exclusive statement to the Drudge Report, explaining her motivation in publishing O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It," as well as her reasons behind personally sitting down with the ex-pro-footballer turned author for an interview that will air on Fox in two weeks. A selection of quotes:

"I never lost my desire for his conviction. And if Marcia Clark couldn't do it. I sure wanted to try."

"'To publish' does not mean 'to endorse'; it means 'to make public.' If you doubt that, ask the mainstream publishers who keep Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' in print to this day. They are likely to say that there is a historical value in publishing such material, so that the public can read, and judge for themselves, the thoughts and attempted defenses of an indefensible man."

"But that is not why I did it. That is not why I wanted to face the killer. That is not why I wanted to publish his story."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2006/11/17/fri_160/feed/ 19 Girls just want to have frills (and cats) http://www.salon.com/2006/11/15/vows_3/ http://www.salon.com/2006/11/15/vows_3/#comments Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:44:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet//2006/11/15/vows Here at Broadsheet we've been planning to turn a blind eye to the upcoming nuptials between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. Sure, we've written about TomKat now and again, but those were darker times, back before the midterm elections. Today, however, our best-laid plans were scuttled by Reuters reporting that "when Tom Cruise marries Katie Holmes this weekend, like many a devout Scientologist, he may promise to provide her with 'a pan, a comb, perhaps a cat.'" How can we overlook the fact that Operating Thetans pledge their love using language straight out of "Goodnight Moon"?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2006/11/15/vows_3/feed/ 10 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2006/11/15/wed_171/ http://www.salon.com/2006/11/15/wed_171/#comments Wed, 15 Nov 2006 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2006/11/15/wed Morning Briefing:
O.J. to address the hypothetical: Not only is it true that, as rumored, O.J. Simpson has written a book detailing what he would have done if he'd killed his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman -- the tome, cleverly titled "If I Did It," is reportedly coming out Nov. 30 -- but he'll be discussing his hypothetical plan in a two-part interview on Fox a few days before the book hits stores. Fox's breathless press release says, "O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes," and a Fox executive bleats, "This is an interview that no one thought would ever happen. It's the definitive last chapter in the Trial of the Century." ContactMusic reports that Simpson broke down in tears during the interview, saying, "I can't do this. I can't have my kids hear me say this." The interview will air Nov. 27 and 29. (Yahoo News, ContactMusic)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2006/11/15/wed_171/feed/ 10 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2006/11/13/mon_153/ http://www.salon.com/2006/11/13/mon_153/#comments Mon, 13 Nov 2006 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2006/11/13/mon Morning Briefing:
Their big, fat Italian wedding: Next weekend marks the long-doubted nuptials for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and the Daily News says the wedding's taking place in Italy. The couple is reportedly tying the knot at the 16th century Castello Odescalchi, which overlooks Lake Bracciano, northwest of Rome. The local mayor has cast doubt on whether the marriage will be legally binding, saying, "On an Italian level, there are papers and documents that we certainly don't have." But the couple's flack tells the News, "All of the proper and necessary arrangements are being made to assure the legality of the marriage." (N.Y. Daily News)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2006/11/13/mon_153/feed/ 11 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2006/11/03/fri_158/ http://www.salon.com/2006/11/03/fri_158/#comments Fri, 03 Nov 2006 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2006/11/03/fri Morning Briefing:
Cruise lands at United Artists: Viacom chief Sumner Redstone might not think much of Tom Cruise, but somebody at MGM Studios evidently does -- Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner, have been named the new heads of MGM's United Artists. They'll be in charge of reviving the U.A. label, which hasn't released a movie since "Art School Confidential" in May, and will be making four or five films a year. (Variety)

Jolie and Pitt get al-Qaida threats: On location in Pune, India, for her new movie "A Mighty Heart," Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reportedly been receiving death threats from a group claiming affiliation with al-Qaida. The Financial Times reports that some security experts think the political nature of the movie -- the story's based on the life of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl -- may have made the celeb couple a terrorist target. (Financial Times via Daily Dish)

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