These are some new photos of Tom Cruise and little Suri at Disneyland yesterday. I think these are sweet photos – as much as we bitch and moan about Tom Cruise and his lifts of delusion and his Xenu-centric lifestyle, he’s a pretty-hands-on dad, and he adores Suri. I think it’s adorable to see a father spending the day with his young daughter doing activities that he knows SHE will enjoy. Although… Suri’s got a look on her face like, “I was told there would be more princesses!”

Like Alice herself, Suri Cruise spent the day in wonderland on Wednesday, as her dad Tom Cruise treated her to an outing at Disneyland – including a spin in the Mad Tea Party.

Sporting a purple dress and a pink top with white polka dots, Suri, who’ll be 6 in April, found time to get pink-and-purple face paint in a swirling design around her eyes.

There was no sign of mom Katie Holmes, but Tom, 49, looked relaxed and happy, in jeans and a blue-and-white striped T-shirt, as he enjoyed the father-daughter bonding time at the Anaheim, Calif., resort.

[From People]

See? Nice. Nothing scandalous. Tom just had a day off and decided to spend it with his daughter, who… I guess she’s being home-schooled at this point? There were rumors of Suri’s enrollment in a Scientology school last year, but Katie seems to have taken Suri out of the school for NY Fashion Week, and then Suri just never returned. Tom is still riding high after Mission: Impossible 4 did so well at the box office – Cruise is back, bitches! So expect more photos of Tom showing off his good-dad cred!

UPDATE: Just adding another photo of Tom & Suri in the teacup!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here are even more photos of Tom Cruise papping himself with his family to promote MI4. The man is just … well, he doesn’t stop. I realize that he’s got a product to sell and has much at stake with this movie, and Kaiser described Tom’s attitude well in terms of “hustle,” but Tom really needs to take a break soon. I’m actually startng to worry about the little fella. It’s simply not healthy to run this hard for so long.

Also, Tom should really think about disappearing for awhile after he finishes up this MI4 publicity blitz because the backlash is commencing in earnest and from more than just a gossip standpoint. Even Reuters has published an article (a really “amazing“ one) entitled “The Curse of Being Tom Cruise” that includes much of what we’ve already discussed here including a bit about those paid fans in Mumbai. Overall, it’s a pretty brutal take on Tom’s public persona and concludes that Tom’s fame is quickly approaching that of a reality star instead of an A-list movie actor.

Now Hollywood Reporter has jumped in with a piece dedicated solely to the topic of Tom’s morphing face, which Kaiser, CB, and myself have already covered at great length. The HR article even discusses the Mail’s piece about Tom’s makeup fetish (which I referenced yesterday) and goes into detail about Tom’s secret professional relationship with a famous Brazilian plastic surgeon:

Tom Cruise, 49, is looking eerily younger than ever. Which leads us to surmise that A. he’s getting some help or B. he’s got a scary portrait in his attic. The actor — who turns 50 on July 3, 2012, — has looked particularly fresh-faced as he promotes his new movie Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol

So what’s his secret? According to the Brazilian mag EPOCA, Cruise has had meetings with world famous Brazilian plastic surgeon Dr. Ivo Pitanguy. Cruise even invited the good doctor to the 2009 Rio premiere of Knight and Day. And on that same trip, Cruise, wife Katie Holmes and daughter Suri, were photographed having a lunch at Pitanguy’s private island in Brazil’s Bay of Kings.

British tabs are already reporting that Cruise has become more concerned with his skin, even using his wife’s creams. Since Dr. Pitanguy’s skin care line, Beauty By Clinica Ivo Pitanguy, is also available at U.S department stores such as Berdorf Goodman, Cruise could indeed be slathering on his friend’s pricey goop. The New York Times has already lauded Pitanguy’s new “It” Cream, the Restoring Formula in his PreVious skin care line. The cost: $300 for 1.7 ounces.

Pitanguy is credited with triggering Brazil’s obsession with plastic surgery. He’s allegedly worked on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Persian Empress Farah Diba, French president Francois Mitterrand and Frank Sinatra. A jet-setting multi-lingual Renaissance man, Ivo is also friends with Carla Bruni, the First Lady of France, Michael Caine and the late Salvador Dalí and Audrey Hepburn, The Times also profiled the good doctor, whose scapel has been said to be “guided by heaven.”

Another aging celebrity we’re keeping a close eye on is Rolling Stone Mick Jagger. Our sources say he’s now using his girlfriend L’Wren Scott’s magical skin potions from Dr. David Colbert, including Colbert’s Intensify Facial Discs, Stimulating Serum, Nutrify and Protect Day Dream and Heal and Soothe Night Cream, available at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and on his website.

If Dr. Colbert’s products can make a difference in Mick’s 68-year-old weathered face, we’re buying this stuff in bulk. And how many Frequent Flyer miles does it take to get to Brazil?

[From Hollywood Reporter]

A plastic surgeon who’s allegedly “guided by Heaven” doesn’t sound like he falls in line with the tenets of Scientology, right? Then again, the usual CO$ rules don’t necessarily apply to Tom. But yes, I totally buy that Katie and Suri were wined and dined while Tom was nipped and tucked.

Tom also appeared on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” to talk more about the MI4 stunts. Fallon’s praise was so effusive that I thought the poor guy was going to wet his pants in excitement, and when he called Tom a “manly man,” you could visibly see Tom’s feathers fluff right up. It was a lot like the final act of Black Swan. Anyway, Fallon totally beat Tom in a wreath-throwing contest too, and I bet it secretly killed Tom not to be the very best at something:

Meanwhile, here’s a photo of Katie stepping out alone on Tuesday evening (even robots need some breathing room) to check out the Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, which sort of irks me because I adore Anton Chekov and even chose my daughter’s middle name based upon a character in that very play. Katie couldn’t possibly understand.

Later, Katie stepped out with Suri and Tom (photographed separately below) for yet another late night:

Suri, in an unusual gesture, seemed perfectly happy to interact with the paps:

Finally, here’s Tom walking by his lonesome behind Katie and Suri, which is strange because he usually likes to be front and center:

Photos courtesy of Fame

Tom Cruise isn’t quite finished pimping out his family for the sake of promoting Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, which I guess is sort of understandable since he doesn’t mave much else to talk about other than his insane stunt work in the movie. I mean, he’s finally figured out that no one wants to hear him talk about Scientology and the evils of psychiatry, so that’s something positive. Still, Tom’s been around the globe a few times in the past few weeks, and then he returned to New York City to get papped with the family all weekend while carting poor Suri around without a coat. By the time he and Katie actually walked the red carpet, they both looked exhausted as hell.

As a general rule, I can’t even imagine how exhausting it must be for Katie to deal with Tom on a consistent basis and even experience his suffocating “lovebombing” when he’s away for work too. Make no mistake that Tom is still thrilled to have Katie as his wife (whatever that actually means to them as a couple), and he’s still giving interviews to discuss her “amazing” qualities. He really needs to learn some new adjectives, right?

The parties just don’t stop for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes this holiday season. The couple celebrated their five-year anniversary last month and her 33rd birthday on Dec. 18.

“Every day I fall more in love with her,” Cruise, 49, told PEOPLE at the New York premiere of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol on Monday at the Ziegfeld Theatre. “It’s been quite an amazing five years because of her. She’s an incredible woman. She’s everything to me.”

To mark her birthday, the couple enjoyed a Big Apple tradition at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes with daughter Suri, 5, and her grandparents, Kathleen and Martin Holmes.

The family then dined at Buddakan for a birthday meal on Sunday.

“We had a lot of fun. It was a great day,” Cruise says of the party, which included some romantic treats for his wife. “We had flowers and cake. All that stuff.”

[From People]

Yeah, Katie’s birthday must have been quite the event, what with the Sciento-clown in attendance. Shudder. Meanwhile, Tom hasn’t forgotten about his other girl either, for he’s also paying lipservice to Suri as well:

Suri Cruise isn’t a sartorial copycat.

The fashionable 5-year-old — who’s been known to rock faux fur jackets and kitten heels over the years — has an innate sense of style, according to her dad Tom Cruise.

“She was just born that way. I don’t know what to say,” a proud Cruise, 49, told Us Weekly at the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol premiere in NYC Monday. “She really creates her own outfits.”

Adding that Suri “dresses herself,” Cruise said his wife Katie Holmes, 33, has helped curate their daughter’s love of clothes.

“Katie has her create things and sew and stuff like that. It’s kind of amazing,” Cruise said. “It’s beautiful. It’s really beautiful.”

Holmes — who recently admitted to coordinating outfits with her celeb BFF Victoria Beckham — also helps her action star hubby get dressed for red carpet events.

“Whatever my wife wants me to wear, I wear,” Cruise laughed. “It’s simple. She has amazing taste.”

[From Us Magazine]

Okay, that last part must have been a lie because, seriously, are we supposed to believe that Tom only wears lifts because “amazing” Katie dictates that he must do so? I think she sort of enjoys towering over him sometimes. Rather, it’s Tom who can’t handle the truth.

In addition to Tom’s vomit-inducing words about his lovely and incredible wife, the Cruise also stopped by “The Late Show with David Letterman” on Monday evening to promote MI4, and he barely gets a word in about his wife and daughter because Dave (mercifully) keeps quizzing him about the movie stunts. However, Tom does make quick mention of Katie staying home from the international MI4 tour because the schedule was jam-packed, not because she was lounging somewhere on a recharging dock as I previously guessed. My bad.

On a slightly amusing note, the Daily Mail has some photos of a very heavily made-up Tom outside the Ed Sullivan show after chatting with Letterman. While I’m aware that guests on the show wear make-up for the cameras, the amount of blusher and lipstick on Tom is ridiculous, and someone should’ve made him wash that stuff off before heading onto the street. Fortunately, you can’t really see it while he’s chatting to Dave onscreen though. Here’s a clip of the show, which is largely uneventful because Tom’s apparently taken a few PR lessons on how to hide the crazy. He does slip once though when Letterman says the word “ass” — Tom begins laughing hysterically and then repeats the word. What a freak.

Now as a special bonus, here’s ore of Tom’s freaky plastic-surgery face from the MI4 NYC premiere. You know you love it.

Photos courtesy of Fame and WENN

Well, I suppose that these several new batches of photos are what we get for wondering where Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise have been hiding out, right? Here’s Tom Cruise dragging his unwilling daughter (seriously, she is not enjoying the act of getting papped) out in the brisk Manhattan weather on Friday. As you can see, Suri’s wearing what looks to be a spring-summer dress, no tights, and strappy kitten heels even though, as of late, NYC has been enjoying highs in the mid-30s and lows. Also, Tom is carrying Suri’s coat instead of making her wear it. Naturally. Later on, Tom was snapped picking up Suri from gymnastics class. He carried her while wrapping her up in a blanket but was still conspicuously carrying that damn coat:

This was only the beginning of a frenzy of appearances by the Tom and his two ladies. Over the past few weeks, Cruise has been showing off his excellent plastic surgery work while doing international promotion for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. There was the big question of where he’d stashed Katie during this entire extravaganza, but then last Thursday, Katie and Suri returned to public view after a month of absence. Then we heard about how Tom had been “lovebombing” his amazing wife while he was away, and suddenly, he returned to their side as if by synchronized dance. Now the trio has commenced a publicity blitz in New York City, which I can only assume will eventually culminate in the NYC premiere of MI4.

See this side-eye that Tom’s giving the camera? It’s the “Not only am I a sexy and botoxed-up, good little dancer who is both manly and sensitive, but I’m also a loving family man too. Now go see my movie!” look:

But the fun didn’t stop there. Here are Tom, Katie, and Suri on Friday evening as they headed out to watch The Nutcracker, and at least Suri was wearing a coat:

Then on Saturday, Tom and Katie stepped out for some alone time and headed towards a dance class together. You know he loved that. I bet he wore some tap-dancing shoes with lifts too.

On Saturday evening, the loving, perfectly normal family headed out for the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.

Oddly enough, a very sad-looking clown was photographed Sunday outside the Cruise-Holmes abode and was thought to be headed for the celebration party of Katie’s 33rd birthday. Introducing Sciento-clown:

Finally, Tom took his girls out to celebrate Katie’s birthday with dinner at Buddakan restaurant on Sunday evening. Yes, that’s three consecutive late evenings out for poor Suri in a row. But hey, Tom’s got a movie to promote! On a side note, how bad must those faux-work boots smell by now? Tom probably needs to air those things out for a good few weeks, you know, unless he just never takes them off. Ever.

Photos courtesy of Fame

This past July, Katie Holmes famously declared that daughter Suri is “an amazing athlete, singer and dancer.” Now, Katie can add one more “occupation” to her daughter’s list — author. Of course, Katie can’t even be bothered to make sure her daughter attends school during fashion week. My point is that Suri’s parents haven’t exactly made her education a priority in life, yet now they are declaring her a self-made author? For the biological daughter of Tom Cruise, the Xenu-blessed sky is the limit:

Suri Cruise, author? According to a family friend, the 5-year-old is currently penning her own children’s book! And her parents, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, think it’s so good, they plan to publish it when she’s finished. “Suri is smart beyond her years,” the family friend tells In Touch. “Not only is she writing the book, she’s also working on all the illustrations. She is actually very talented for someone so young.”

And her parents couldn’t be more proud. “Tom and Katie are careful not to push her too hard, but of course they think she is a little genius,” adds the friend. Although Suri hasn’t come up with a title just yet, the insider reveals the story is about the adventures of a little girl who lives in a big house in Beverly Hills. Sounds like more of an autobiography to us, Suri!

[From In Touch, print edition, December 5, 2011]

Oh boy. Isn’t that “amazing“? To Katie, everything truly is amazing because she’s been re-programmed that way. In addition, Scientologists essentially believe that children are merely adults in small bodies, but the notion of Suri penning anything more than a few stapled-together pages is ridiculous. Naturally, most parents believe that their kids can walk on water, but most parents also don’t have the money and/or power to get their kid’s random scribblings published as a book. However, I don’t doubt that Tom will eventually strong-arm some poor publisher into doing his daughter’s bidding. And then poor Connor will have just one more reason to rage against the machine. Team Connor.

Photos courtesy of Fame

It’s always interesting when children raised inside of Scientology start to kick the cage a little bit. Of course, we’re talking here about 16-year-old Connor Cruise (son of the unhinged, lift-wearing midget known as “Tom”), for whom the plight certainly isn’t nearly as desperate as the young ladies who founded the Ex-Scientology Kids website. Still, Connor is pretty high profile as far as the CO$ is concerned, so it came as quite a surprise when he showed up on 10/26 at the TeenNick HALO Awards wearing a blatant symbol of Christianity around his neck. Let’s take a closer look at that Jesus emblem:

Let’s not completely jump the gun here though, for Scientologists are technically allowed to celebrate holidays like Christmas, according to Juliette Lewis. Still, their version of the holiday is much like X-Mas in that it’s pretty secular and largely revolves around the materialistic, gift-giving aspect of the season. So in contrast, is it a big deal what Connor is doing here? I tend to think it’s something worth acknowledging; and while this could merely be a passive-aggressive statement against the cult, he must have known that people would pay attention to a known Scientologist who is walking the red carpet with a Jesus necklace on.

This much celebrated demonstration of sentience on Connor’s part dovetails nicely with a story from this week’s In Touch that Connor is “losing his religion” and also has felt (for quite some time) that he doesn’t get enough attention from his parents:

Most kids spend their childhood under their parents’ thumbs — it kind of goes with the territory. But a family friend says that Tom has been unusually strict, and that Connor is finally getting sick of it. “He’s starting to rebel against his father and the other components in their life, maybe even Scientology,” the friend says. Connor was raised in Tom’s controversial religion, but he has recently been seen wearing Christian symbols, like crosses and a Jesus pendant. “He wants to be independent,” the friend says, “but Tom doesn’t want to give up control over his son.”

From the outside, Connor Cruise looks like one of the luckiest kids on the planet: His parents and stepparents are world-famous entertainers and — materially, at least — he wants for nothing. But the truth is tragically more complicated. As a source close to him tells In Touch, “Connor has always had a difficult relationship with his parents, and it has definitely affected him. He has broken down crying about it.”

The 16-year-old (as well as his sister, Isabella, 18) was adopted by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman when he was a newborn. And he has long strugged with insecurity about his place in the family. “When he was young,” the source says, “Tom was always off doing his thing, working like a mandman. He traveled all the time, and was totally focused on his career. When he came home, he didn’t always have much left to give.” While Tom’s rep unsurprisingly denies the story, as a result, the source claims Tom, 49, and Connor’s relationship became strange and cold. “Tom is a very difficult man to get to know on a deep level. It’s almost like he treats Connor like a business associate rather than a son.”

Unfortuantely, Connor’s relationship with Nicole isn’t any better. “She wasn’t the best mom to him and Isabella,” the source says. His parents divorced in 2001, when Connor was just 6. And though, for a time, Nicole made an effort to stay involved in her kids’ lives, she had a miscarriage after Tom started the divorce proceedings, and it was hard for her to cope. “She forgot so many things, like school pickups and projects; she was a wreck, and probably had trouble giving them the affection they needed from her,” the source says.

Eventually, Nicole moved back to Australia. The source thinks Connor had been dealing with abandonment issues as a result o being adopted, and it was possibly the worst thing that could have happened. Until, that is, his half-siblings were born and he saw how differently their lives are from his.

On one hand, yes, Suri — Tom’s daughter with Katie Holmes — has a strange, sheltered life. But her parents also unabashedly lavish the 5-year-old with attention, fancy family trips and essentially whateve her heart desires materially. And Connor has had to watch jealously from the wings as his icy father grows warmer and warmer to his half-sister. “Connor loves Suri,” the source says. “But he also thinks she gets a lot more of Tom’s time and attention than they ever got.” The same goes for Nicole’s daughters with her husband, Keith Urban.

Now, the family friend says, “Connor is at a crossroads in his life. He’s been pushing for more freedom — he wants to drive a car and date whomever he chooses.” And this could spark a major war at home with his control-freak dad, who’s so notoriously stubborn about his beliefs. But ultimately, Connor’s move to separate himself from the family could be a good thing. And ironically, it may just be the best way to finally get Tom’s attention.

[From In Touch, print edition, November 21, 2011]

This is really a sad story, but I believe it completely. After all, the poor kid went though a divorce, which culminated with having his mother ripped away from him and declared a suppressive person. Now, a robot named Katie exists in Nicole’s place. As for his father, Tom’s always been a workaholic and still even follows up a long day on the set of an action movie with 10 hours of singing and dancing in preparation for the next film.

Meanwhile, Connor still attends the Delphian School (which, interestingly enough, is located on grounds that were once scouted for use as a penitentiary) in Sheridan, Oregon. As such, he has been immersed in L. Ron Hubbord’s Study Tech since, well, before he could even read. So Connor has spent his childhood in boarding school and has been raised by the cult although, at times, Tom and Katie made a few photo ops with him as recently as 2009. It’s just not enough though:

Meanwhile, Connor’s 18-year-old sister, Isabella, was also reportedly pondering giving up Xenu last year in exchange for rekindling her contact with mom Nicole Kidman. However, this plan was quickly scrapped when Katie enticed Isabella by making her an apprentice for the busted Holmes-Yang fashion line. Problem solved. For now.

I can completely empathize how Connor must feel while watching Tom from the sidelines, since he seems so much more joyous in public with Suri than he ever has before. There’s no way in hell that Suri will one day get shipped off to Delphian. Hell, Katie can’t even manage to attend fashion week in NYC without pulling Suri out of school. Although most Scientology children her age are on the brink of a demanding upbringing, things will be different for Suri. And I think that Connor realizes that.

Photos courtesy of Fame and WENN

Leave it to Tom Cruise to one-up Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima in the diva preparation department. While Adriana may very well eschew solids for nine days and exercise twice per day for her chosen art, Tom took his role as rocker Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages so seriously that he reportedly sang five hours per day and then added another daily dose of five hours strictly dedicated to dancing. Well, I guess this sort of explains why Mr. Desperate To Please was photographed rocking out on a balcony to universal cringes. All of this fuss happened just so that Tom was able to belt out songs such as “Pour Some Sugar on Me” to the best of his ability. Still, Tom bestows all credit upon Katie for his relatively newfound fascination with dancing:

On Dancing: “I had started dancing because I was inspired by my wife. She kept saying, ‘You’ve got to do a musical sometime,’ Kate’s a dancer, so she would say, ‘Let’s go to dance class,’ and she would take us and that’s how I kind of came up with the idea of Les Grossman doing hip-hop. And then to take it to this level with this? It was really fun.”

On Preparing For His Role: “I was working on it when I was finishing Mission and I was singing five hours a day and I was dancing five hours a day. Adam said, ‘Look, we’re going to have a lot of fun,’ and we really did…. I did six months preparing for the movie, and all my stunt training and all of those years doing that, it helped me with the choreography.”

On Working With Director Adam Shankman: “He’s on fire. What he accomplished with Hairspray was amazing. My daughter has seen it 15 times and our whole family has watched it over and over and it’s just enormously entertaining. To be able to hold that tone throughout is really something.”

[From 21 Frames]

I kind of love that Tom went home at night from the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol set and headed straight into dancing mode. After all, nothing quite polishes off a day of dangling from a giant phallus as, say, doing the hustle in the pale moonlight. Really though, I am somewhat impressed by Tom’s devotion to be the best little dancer that he can possibly be, but ten hours per day of practice is a bit excessive although not entirely inconceivable because — let’s face it — Tom is manic. He is the classic unhinged, lift-wearing midget. He must be exhausting to be around, which is probably one reason that Katie looks so zoned out all of the time. Seriously, when these two make whoopie (shut up, you know that’s what they call it), Tom still feels the need for speed. Yuck.

In addition, no one should be the least surprised that Tom loves Hairspray, and I’d be willing to bet that he’s the one who encouraged Suri to watch it fifteen times. “Awww, dad …. again?” Seriously, Tom probably admires John Travolta for having the metaphorical balls to wear a dress in that movie; yet Tom must also take comfort in the fact that he’s the one who’s brave enough to wear the heels in Rock of Ages. And for that matter, in all of his other movies as well.

Photos courtesy of Fame

Here are some new photos of Suri Cruise and Katie Holmes out and about in NYC yesterday. That was a fast trip to LA – just one day before, Katie had been at the LA premiere of Jack & Jill, the Adam Sandler movie where she plays “Jack’s wife”. At the premiere, Katie wore her own hideous design. I don’t know who or what she’s wearing in these candid photos, but it’s an improvement. She looks great in a pair of jeans, a white blouse and a crisp blazer. She should try this for a premiere some time.

As for Suri… I feel like a dick for even looking at these photos. She doesn’t want to be photographed. She’s holding up her little white stuffed cow to shield herself from the paparazzi. It’s sad that the paps love to take photos of her, and it’s also sad that Katie doesn’t seem to know what to do about that. It’s also sad that my first thought upon seeing these pics was, “What’s Katie promoting?” We haven’t had new Suri pics in a while – Katie’s on the promotional trail for Jack & Jill. Thus, new Suri pics. Also: I love Suri’s green Mary Janes. They’re super-cute and they’re the perfect shade of Kelly Green.

By the way, Yahoo had a longish essay on why and how Katie Holmes is “back to normal” – meaning that she isn’t wandering around in a chemical-induced Xenu-fog all of the time anymore. You can read the piece here – I don’t agree with all or many of the points, but I do agree that she seems somehow healthier these days. She seems to have gotten a bit better over the course of this year. Maybe they adjusted her tranquilizers. Maybe she’s being allowed to make the occasional outing with a CoS handler. Maybe she fond another outlet for her frustrations – but she does seem to be doing better.

UPDATE: We just got the ID on Katie’s skinny jeans – they’re Earnest Sewn skinny jeans in Sadie, and they cost $198.00.

PS… in the photos of Suri running, I imagine her making little “Beep-beep” sounds like the Roadrunner.

Photos courtesy of Fame & Pacific Coast News.

Katie Holmes covers the November issue of Marie Claire to promote her role in Jack and Jill (in which she plays the wife of Adam Sandler, who does double duty in drag) while wearing a red leather jacket and generally looking like she’s talking out of the side of her mouth. In other words, it’s business as usual minus the fug booties from hell and the Scientology minders; although it is not out of the realm of possiblity that both were lurking in the background.

At any rate, Holmes is being interviewed by Pankaj Mishra, the author of The Romantics (the novel that was adapted into the 2010 movie starring Holmes), in the same dubious tradition of Stephenie Meyer’s lukewarm interview of an ass kissing KStew in Glamour. Here, the roles are reversed, with Pankaj writing ridiculously flattering statements — “she looks like the quintessential movie star,” “[h]er dancer’s figure and Empire State Building legs literally stop traffic,” and “massive doe eyes, rosebud cheeks, and darling smile” — to describe Holmes’ physicality. The interview is … unfocused and strange at best, and here are a few excerpts:

On The Future: “I feel ready for the next chapter of my life. I’m excited to begin a new phase: roles I might have been afraid to play before, places I want to travel to with my daughter. I’d like to build the design business. But not too fast.”

On Working With Adam Sandler: “Adam has comedy down to a science. He knows how to find the funny — not just in himself but in everyone around him. He makes you feel comfortable and supported so that you can be your best. And he runs the takes again and again until comfort gives way to laughter.”

On Balancing Work & Family: “I’m thinking about getting rid of this,” Katie says mischievously, pointing at her cell phone. “Wouldn’t it be great to have an old-fashioned phone sheet? Go to your office, make your calls, and then continue with your day?”

“My daughter was with me the other day at a work event, and it was a long day. I took out some paper and markers that I had in my bag, and someone said to me, ‘Oh, that is so cute,’ and I looked at her and thought, No, this is not cute. This is what all mothers have to do.”

“Being around this business, my daughter is exposed to people with incredible talent, people who are the best at what they do. People I only dreamed of getting to work with as a little girl.”

[From Marie Claire]

Okay, I’ll give her that bit about paper and markers. Every mother that I personally know (including myself) will readily admit that crayolas and markers are the most portable form of kiddie entertainment in the world and also a great way to stimulate young minds. Even though she does questionable things like taking lipstick-wearing Suri out of school for New York Fashion Week, Katie really does seem to be a pretty devoted mother, and she mentions Suri several times during the interview. Oddly, Katie does not mention Tom Cruise at all. Poor unhinged, lift-wearing midget.

Now for the accompanying photoshoot, which is pretty bland and features Holmes wearing lots of heavy eye makeup and wearing “dreamy” dresses. Well, I like the parts of the green dress that are visible, but the rest is pretty meh.

Photos courtesy of Marie Claire and The Fashion Spot

I’ve already seen some sites yelling about these photos of Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise in Pittsburgh – yelling because they didn’t like Suri’s little ladybug (ladybUGG?) costume. For why? She looks like a kid! She looks adorable. I’d rather see Suri dressed up in some funky kid costume than dressed up in a doll dress with kitten heels and lipstick, you know? She’s fine. And she looks weather-appropriate too.

Besides, if you’re going to yell at someone, can’t it just be Katie? What is going on with her this week? For several months, Katie has been taking great strides. Her hair has been looking Middleton-esque. Her makeup has been getting better and better. Her clothes fit and coordinate, and they’ve often been flattering and cute. And then, like a fug bolt of lightning, Katie tried to make oversized designer overalls “happen”. She tried to make them work by pairing them with some little suede high-heeled booties. The look was terrible. And now this outfit – not as bad as the overalls, but still not great. The jeans are dated and too tight, and the booties are still not working. Katie, darling, you are not Kate Bosworth. Not even The Bos could pull off this look.

Photos courtesy of Fame.