Tom Returns to the Scene of the Crime
Tom Cruise went back to where it all began Friday.
We could mockingly lead you astray for pages and pages as to what that means, but you all know: The microscopically examined movie star sat down next to Oprah Winfrey today for the first time since…yeah, that.
And except for the fact that Cruise is now the remarried father of a 2-year-old daughterwho does, in fact, partly resemble himwith a recent flop under his belt rather than a box-office topper, not a whole lot has changed.
Speaking from the sanctity of Cruise and Katie Holmes' Telluride, Colo., manse on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the actor's breakthrough role in Risky Business, Oprah asked her pal about "the couch" and his relationship with Katie Holmes, Scientology and his beliefs, Brooke Shields, Matt Lauer and making movies.
This time, of course, she also got to ask about that in-house sonogram machine, whether he believes in God, whether Suri is his and whetherknowing that hindsight is 20/20he would now think twice about putting his feet (not to mention his heart and soul) on the furniture.
"That was a moment and it was real," Cruise said, referring to the infamous couch jump that seemingly set off the spiral of "What's with him?" gossip.
"But I don't know if I would…knowing what I do nowyeah, I get it," he said, referring to the 24/7 media frenzyof varying degrees of verisimilitudethat ensued. "I just felt that way [about Holmes]and I feel that way about her. That's just how I felt."
Besides, "You were egging me on!" he challenged the daytime queen.
So knowing what he knows now about the Internet's wily ways, Cruise might not have been so…expressive. But what about all those other things?
- On his feelings for "Kate": "I can't even articulate it, what it's like, that feeling and the connection and just who she is and what she means to me. It's very special and, I think you know, Suri was born a year to the day that I met her."
- And to those who say what they have isn't real: "That's laughable to me."
- On the sonogram machine he set up in-house to monitor his child in utero: "You just want the baby to be as safe as possible."
- On the especially freaky-deaky rumors that Suri is not his child: "Someone compares your daughter to Rosemary's Baby…It's one thing to say stuff about me…this is off the charts."
- His faith: "I believe in God. There's no way you can be up here [gesturing to his beauteous surroundings] and there isn't a God."
- On Nicole Kidman, and rumors that she's been pushed out of Connor and Bella's life: "That's ridiculous. We share custody." They don't exactly all gather round the table together due to everyone's busy schedule, but…"We share custody whenever."
- On his own relationship with Connor and Bella, who at times seem to belong to his former life: "They're good people, my children. I'm proud of them. I don't want them to worry. They know I'm there. No matter what, I'm always there."
Oprah's two-part interview with Cruise continues Monday from her Chicago studio, where the topic of conversation will revert more to his career accomplishments and what made him "Tom Cruise" in the first place.
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Stars Come Out (on Tape) for Tom & Oprah, Part 2
Oh, so that's why some people gave a flying fizz about Tom Cruise's opinion on postpartum depression. He used to just be the hot guy (with pretty decent acting chops) in the movies.
Day two of the star's sit-down with Oprah Winfreyhis first interview with the daytime queen since he flipped his lid for Katie Holmesgot down to business in honor of Cruise's 25th anniversary as a cinematic leading man.
With the down-to-earth, "real guy" stuff having been hashed out already at TomKat's Telluride, Colo., getaway last week, today's installment of The Oprah Winfrey Show featured taped kudos from Cruise's past costars (Renée Zellweger, Jamie Foxx, Dustin Hoffman, Dakota Fanning) and miscellaneous superstar pals (cuteness alert: Posh & Becks saw Jerry Maguire on the night of their first kiss, and their future neighbor later gave David Beckham his "you had me at hello" jacket"and he hasn't taken it off since," Victoria said), as well as the star's own musings on a career well done.
Well, for the most part.
Some highlights:
- Why is Tom Cruise special? "You don't know…he just is," Zellweger says of her Jerry Maguire costar.
- Hoffman's fave moment on the set: "The fart scene" when he and Cruise are in the phone booth in Rain Manapparently a completely improvised scene thanks to whatever Hoffman ate before the cameras started rolling. "It's a tribute they thought you were handsome enough to be my brother in that film," the Oscar winner said before the camera pulled back to reveal Hoffman slurping soup and chatting with a life-size cardboard cutout of Cruise.
- Cruise does an utterly terrible Jack "You can't handle the truth" Nicholson impression.
- Of those he hasn't crossed paths with yet, Cruise named Robert De Niro and Al Pacino off the top of his head as a couple of actors he'd like to work with.
- Foxx dug Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July, while Steven Spielberg's a Magnolia fan.
- Each member of the studio audience took home 25 of Cruise's films on DVD, a box set you can't get anywhere. Whether you like the dude or not, that's just cool.
Oprah Spills Secrets of Tom Cruise Interview
Oprah Winfrey went there with Tom Cruise.
I can exclusively report that Ms. Winfrey’s upcoming interview with Cruise includes questions about Scientology, his verbal smackdown with Matt Lauer on the Today show and, yes, the infamous couch-jumping incident.
Winfrey actually revealed these details herself during this weekend's Las Vegas taping of her joint interview with Tina Turner and Cher.
And that isn't all Winfrey shared.
The first of the two-part Cruise one-on-one has already taken place at his estate in Telluride, Colo., Winfrey said. “Oprah said Tom gave her a ride on a snowmobile,” one Vegas audience member told me. “She also said Katie and Suri were there for the interview, too.”
Before the Cher and Turner taping at Caesars Palace, a member of Winfrey's entourage hit the stage to ask everyone not to repeat anything they were about to see or hear. “She had everyone repeat in unison, ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ several times,” my source said.
Come on, O! Did you really think everyone in the audience of 4,000 or so was going to keep a lid on it?
The Telluride segment is set to air Friday. Then on May 5, Cruise will return to Winfrey’s Chicago studio nearly three years after his couch-jumping fiasco. So why so much Cruise? It’s the 25th anniversary of his breakout movie, Risky Business.
As for Turner and Cher, that segment airs May 8.
I've got even more scoop on Winfrey's trip to Vegas. Make sure to check my videoblog below to hear what happened when Turner announced she was going on tour. Drama!
Oprah Cruisin’ for a Jump…in Ratings
Well, this should put some spring in Oprah's step. Or in her couch, at least.
Just in time for May sweeps, Tom Cruise will be returning as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show next month to mark the 25th anniversary of his breakthrough turn in Risky Businesshis first sit-down with the queen of daytime since his declaration of love heard round the world.
And this time, it won't only be Winfrey's cushions being offered up as a sacrifice to the talk-show gods for this special two-day Oprah event.
Winfrey will first interview Cruise from the comfort of his Telluride, Colo., home on Friday, May 2. Cruise will then appear at her Chicago studio the following Monday to further celebrate his 25 years as a big name in the Biz. The episode will also feature taped messages of congrats from some of the actor's superstar friends, as well.
Cruise and Winfrey memorably last sat down together on June 23, 2005, when the War of the Worlds star confirmed he was cuckoo for Katie Holmes, thereby tempering his screen-idol status with rumors of…well, some downright freaky behavior.
He even went so far as to marry and mate with the former Dawson's Creek ingenue a year later!