Before I get to the main part of this post, I wanted to briefly mention that there’s an odd puff piece about Katie Holmes that popped up a few days ago in the New York Observer. The article talks up Katie’s impact on the popularity of her apartment building, the Chelsea Mercantile, which has supposedly gone into huge demand in real estate circles after Katie and Suri took up residence there last summer in the wake of the TomKat divorce. The piece goes on to talk about how Katie’s career is on fire, and it’s no big deal that her big return to Broadway in Dead Accounts closed two months early because Katie’s already back at work playing a bipolar poet in Spike Lee’s new project, Mania Days. We shall see what happens.

Now for the weird, out-of-left-field story about Suri Cruise’s supposed new fashion line for children. I’m labelling this an unexpected story because Suri has been keeping a low profile of late. She’s been busy with school and both Katie and Tom Cruise (that is, if he’s seeing Suri at all) have been keeping their child under wraps. I suspect that Katie is taking advantage of the Avenues school’s underground parking garage, and the paparazzi in general have shown a lot less interest in Katie and Suri since the divorce story has cooled. That’s a great development for Suri, by the way, since she seemed to be quite frightened of all those shouting men with flashbulbs. Anyway, the Sun has posted an odd ditty about 7-year-old Suri launching her own fashion line, and this tale is complete crap (Katie’s rep has already denied the story to Vogue UK). But it’s still worth a read if only for the excellent dig the Sun takes at Tom:

Suri Cruise is bringing out her very own fashion line – at just seven years old. The daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has just inked — or maybe crayoned – a £1.5million deal and her label has been imaginatively named Suri.

The fashion-conscious schoolgirl, who regularly tops lists of most stylish celebrity child, will launch her first collection for young girls this autumn in a New York department store. If successful, the Suri brand will be rolled out in shops across North America next year.

A source said: “Suri is only seven but she is incredibly interested in clothes. She has been through a very difficult year and adapted amazingly to her new life in New York, including the upheaval of starting normal school.

“This is a nice hobby for her, it’s certainly not going to take over her life. Most girls dream of being able to make their own clothes, this just means her drawings will now become a reality. It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out, there’s nothing around quite like it.”

Given her age, Suri’s rough sketches are likely to be similar to our one on the left. So you can understand why mum Katie and her stylist Jeanne Yang are also on board. The line will cover everything from dresses, tops and jeans to shoes and accessories. Plans for a fashion range have been in the pipeline since last year, after several firms approached Katie.

The initial idea was for Suri to have a fashion blog, but the concept was extended after she started to talk about special designs for her clothes.

The move is good news for her film star dad, Tom. If all goes well, Suri will be encouraged to bring out a boys’ range – and that’ll mean plenty of free clothes in his size.

[From The Sun]

Here’s the thing — Suri doesn’t need a piddling $1 million or so in US dollars, and it seems like Katie is doing everything possible to keep Suri in childhood mode while, you know, she’s still a very young kid. Obviously, this story would sound fake even if Katie’s rep hadn’t issued a denial, and thank goodness there won’t be a Holmes & Yang influence in the children’s style department. Can you imagine what an utter mess that would turn out to be? If anything though, I do hope that Suri continues her fashionista ways (although she may grow out of it like my daughter, who used to love dresses but can’t stand them as a tween) and eventually convinces her mother to forever give up those fug booties.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Here are some photos of Tom Cruise looking very important at a pre-BAFTAs dinner last week in London. I wish we had some new photos of Tom with his youngest daughter, Suri, but we probably won’t see any pictures like that for years to come. That’s because Tom has finally figured out our collective game of keeping track of when he sees Suri, and he realized that last year’s four-month absence from her life made him look really bad. Hence the total lack of photos when Tom (allegedly) visited with Suri over Thanksgiving. How unfortunate.

The lack of Tom/Suri photos is also rather amusing because there has been no settlement in Tom’s lawsuit against Bauer Media Group for Life & Style’s story about how Suri was “abandoned by daddy” in the wake of Tom and Katie’s divorce. To recap, Tom threw his lifts at the ceiling because L&S published the details of how he hadn’t seen Suri (at press time) in over three months because he was in Europe (where he remains to this day) shooting a bunch of forgettable action movies. Tom always maintains that he calls Suri every day, and he believes that’s good enough for a flourishing daddy-daughter relationship. The thing is (and I know I’ve said this before), I don’t think that Suri has really noticed much of a difference since the divorce (other than Katie not going to Disneyland and such). Especially for the last few years of theat ill-fated marriage, Tom was never around, and Katie and Suri were usually on their own in New York. The main difference now is that Katie is allowed to go places (without having to ask her Scientology handlers’ permission to do so), so we’re now seeing the evidence of a very strong mother-daughter bond on the streets of Manhattan. And as always, Tom is missing in action while being gross and raving in London nightclubs.

Anyway, Tom is still suing Bauer for $50 million plus punitive damages, and he’s insisting upon a jury trial. The initial lawsuit filing (hilariously enough) claimed that “plaintiff is not a litigous person,” but Tom was making an exception here because of Bauer’s “vile and reprehensible” conduct. Of course, the plan was that Bauer Media would roll over and offer a settlement, and then Tom would be vindicated as the BEST DADDY EVER. That hasn’t happened, and now the case is moving into the discovery process and looking ahead towards trial. On Thursday, a full Joint Rule 26(f) document (which is filed jointly by both sides as a discovery plan) was filed with the court. The full document is available here, but here are the major highlights:

Here are some of the things that Bauer Media, represented by attorney Alonzo Wickers, is seeking:

* The extent to which Cruise was in contact with Suri following his separation and divorce from Katie Holmes.
* The expectations for Cruise’s contact and visitation schedule with Suri and the terms of the divorce agreement.
* The role that Cruise’s membership in the Church of Scientology played in his decisions regarding his visitation and communication with Suri.
* Suri’s mental and emotional state following the separation and divorce.
* Cruise’s claim and litigation history.

On that last point, at the time of the filing, Cruise lawyer Bert Fields said: “Tom doesn’t go around suing people. He’s not a litigious guy. But when these sleaze peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he’s going to sue.”

Bauer also is seeking to depose Aaron Moss, another of Cruise’s lawyers, which the attorney is resisting.

Not to be outdone, Cruise has his own discovery demands. Some of the things the plaintiff is seeking:

* The identity of the magazine’s sources and communications with those sources.
* Bauer’s policies and practices with respect to obtaining information, paying for sources, verifying the credibility of sources with whom the writers and editors haven’t spoken.
* Bauer’s practice of publishing stories about Cruise.
* Bauer’s history of bigotry and hatred toward minority religious groups and their members.

According to a document filed Thursday, Bauer will attempt to exert journalistic shield privileges to protect the identity of its sources.

[From Hollywood Reporter]

Naturally, Tom’s lawyer has accused Bauer of “bigotry” because Tom is somehow trying to frame himself as a “minority” since he’s a Scientologist. Never mind that Tom’s religious persuasion really should have nothing to do with whether or not he had “abandoned” Suri. This really is going to be a total sh-tshow if the trial ends up happening because Tom is just using the standard Scientology scare tactic of filing legal papers to scare his opponent. Where the CO$ is concerned, nothing ever goes to trial because there are so many threats and incidents of harassment (see Operation Snow White) that the other party (either private or governmental) usually ends up just dropping everything. Tom wants this case to settle, and he’s probably freaking out that it has reached the discovery phase.

The Hollywood Reporter further notes that a trial would be projected to last for five days, and the next motions are due by Feb. 28. So I guess we’ll find out more stuff soon. Since this is a libel case, Tom would have to prove that the Life & Style is false in order to win. The major irony here, of course, is that Tom would be willing to spend five days in a courtroom to prove what a great father he is, when really, all he needs to to is (you know) actually spend time with his daughter. Good luck with that, Tom.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Pacific Coast News, and WENN

Here are some photos of Katie Holmes last week at a photobooth event at Godiva Boutique where she promoted a sweepstakes and gushed over her love of Valentine’s Day. While this might seem strange considering her recent divorce from tiny Tom Cruise, I sort of get it. Like Katie, I harbor a fondness for cupcakes and chocolate and also love the color red, so I don’t mind VDay even though coupley stuff makes me want to hurl. Even when I’m in a relationship, I don’t like mushy stuff like that. So I can identify with Katie being excited about the holiday for reasons other than the obvious.

While Katie was at this Godiva event, she talked about her family traditions that were started by her mother, who specialized in making red pancakes during the month of February. She also says that she and Suri are fond of making their own flower arrangements (not suprising at all), and Katie gushed over the different types of truffles at Godiva: “There’s a truffle for every mood you’re in. So if you’re not really feeling chocolate, you could do the birthday cake truffle the pink one I really like that one. But then if you really just need a little hunk, there’s the praline brownie, which was amazing. And the cookie dough, which I also really love.” Does anyone else think that Katie should open her own truffle and cupcake shop?

In other Katie-related news, we’ve already heard that she’s having fun with male friends on platonic dates. Now that it’s been over seven months since she filed for divorce from Tom, Katie reportedly feels like she wants to date again, but she’s super worried about losing her newfound independence. Can you blame her for her concern?

Katie Holmes is feeling ready to cautiously dip her toe back into the dating pool again after seven months of living the single life, but she’s vowing to take things slowly as she continues to recover from the emotional scars left by the end of her five year marriage to Tom Cruise, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

The Dawson’s Creek actress is worried about entering into a serious relationship with a new man, because she fears it would spell the end to her newly discovered freedom.

As we previously reported, a source told Radar that the mom-of-one was spurred on to divorce her high-profile hubby after becoming sick of his “controlling ways” and growing more and more irritated by Tom’s desire to control their relationship, their daughter’s upbringing and Katie’s every move — something she has vowed never to be subjected to again.

“Katie’s in a dilemma, because she wants to date but is concerned where it could lead to from there,” a family insider tells Radar. “She’s worried that if she commits herself fully to another man, she will have to give up the freedom she’s enjoying so much at the moment. As a single woman, she has no one controlling her nowadays, telling her what to do or who to see and she absolutely loves it!

“However, at the same time, she also misses being with someone special to share experiences with and she doesn’t want to be alone for the rest of her life. Katie’s got Suri for the time being, and she is her best friend, but she does eventually want to find a man she can be that close with as well. She’s just a little nervous and cautious about relationships still right now,” the insider reveals.

[From Radar Online]

We’ve already heard that Katie has been flourishing in her new life and that she hasn’t been ready to date until now, but she definitely doesn’t want to date an old “geezer” like Tom again. Certainly, being married to Tom for six years (and being with him for at least a year prior to marriage) has taken a toll on Katie’s psyche, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she had a mild form of PTSD since she was so tightly controlled (by both Tom and Scientology) during the entirety of their relationship. No wonder she’s so hesitant to jump back into the dating pool again.

These are photos of Katie out an about in New York City over the past week or so. Her hair looks fantastic.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News and WENN

Here are some newish photos of Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise freezing their butts off in Manhattan last weekend. Suri’s panda hat is so damn cute, and it’s truly a testament to the disappearance of Tom Cruise that Suri now dresses for the weather. As much as Suri seems to love New York, I’d bet that that little girl would really enjoy an island getaway right now, don’t you? And Katie looks like she could use a vacation herself, especially after the new announcement that her Holmes & Yang line will not be showcased at the next NYC fashion week, which I guess means that last fall’s messy display officially didn’t go over so well. A few weeks ago, the January 21 edition of the Enquirer wrote that Katie is shopping for a television show based in New York City. That’s a good plan and one that we’ve already suggested for her. The small screen loves Katie Holmes.

In the meantime, Tom apparently has designs on giving Suri some warm time away from New York. Remember how, after Katie filed for divorce last summer, Tom initially put on a huge show to prove he was the best daddy in the world by holding Suri and smiling at the paps and swimming with tabloid reporters? Then after several months of radio silence, Tom realized the error of his ways because we were able to track his four-month absence from Suri’s life, so he then decided to announce his Thanksgiving visit with Suri but kept her well-hidden from the paps so that we couldn’t reset our calendars. Well, Tom is still biding his time and working on the “long-term plan” (i.e., his “full-court press“) for getting Suri away from mean old, Scientology-hating Katie. His $24 million weapon? A new Hawaaiian compound. Seriously:

Aloha! Tom Cruise has falled in love with the tiny, secluded Hawaiian island of Lanai and plans on buing several acres of waterfront real estate to build a world-class compound. The superstar spent the fourth week of January in the tropical paradise as a guest of his pal David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire who recently purchased the entire island.

“Tom was just blown away by Lanai and right on the spot decided to buy property there,” a source tells Star. “He wants to make it his own tropical paradise, to share with Suri and his other children.” Tom toured several properties, including a $4 million residence on exclusive Hulopoe Drive. Built in 2003, it has a breathtaking view of Manele Bay. He also looked at a home right next door, built in 2004, for $4.2 million. “Tom plans on buying the two adjoining properties and putting them together into one mammoth $8 million playground,” said the source. “He’d demolish the existing houses and buld one big structure.”

He’s also considering four additional $4 million-plus lots, making the total for all his properties more than $24 million! In fact, the source says that despite holdings in Beverly Hills; Telluride, Colo.; and New York City, “Tom’s planning to make his new home in Lanai the corwn jewel in his real estate empire. A place he and Suri could clal their own!”

[From Star, print edition, February 11, 2013]

Now you’re just picturing Tom in a hula skirt, right? Yes, he’ll still be wearing his ridiculous lifts at the same time. Amusingly enough, Star claims to have an exclusive story here, but the Enquirer has printed an almost identical (but wordier) version that also implies Tom wants to have a Hawaii compound because “Lanai is about as far away from Katie’s home in New York as any place in the country.” That sounds about right. Hopefully, Katie will be able to keep Suri in NYC for the entirety of the school year, and then Hawaii won’t be as much of a lure once summer temperatures hit. One can only hope.

Incidentally, here’s the brand new poster for the 3-D, IMAX version of Top Gun. Yes, this is really happening. The most unintentionally homoerotic volleyball scene in the entire universe will be enhanced by 3-D glasses. Those balls are going to be flying everywhere.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News, WENN, and Paramount Pictures

Here are photos of Katie Holmes yesterday outside the Ed Sullivan theater ahead of an episode of “Late Night with David Letterman.” It must have been really creepy to have to sit in the exact same seat as Tom just a few days ago when Letterman dropped his F-bomb. Like, I bet she could pick up his advanced, OT Level VIII scent in the chair. Maybe Dave swapped out chairs in advance for her. I’d hate to put my butt where Tom’s lift-wearing butt has been, and I haven’t even slept with the guy.

Look at what Katie’s wearing! She looks fantastic in this body-hugging, hot pink dress, doesn’t she? Nice coat too. Katie is definitely not sleeping with Tom now, and she might even be dating again, according to an eyewitness report from the NY Daily News:

Katie Holmes may have dived into the New York City dating pool. The Dead Accounts actress and mom to 6-year-old daughter Suri was spotted with a handsome guy who walked her inside her Chelsea building late Saturday night and lingered while they said an extended goodbye.

“They were saying a long, long goodnight, talking and looking pretty romantic in the lobby around 2 a.m.,” an eyewitness tells Confidenti@l’s Marianne Garvey. “He looked like a finance type, was wearing classic Cole Haan shoes and a navy pea coat. He walked her to the elevator and then she said ‘good night’ and smiled.”

Our spy also says Holmes, who turned 34 on Tuesday, looked “gorgeous,” dressed simply in a white Burberry trench with jeans and flats and was leaning against the wall “twirling her hair with one leg up. She was very pretty and very flirty.”

[From NY Daily News]

I hope this story is true, and Katie had a certain glow to herself last night. Girl is working it.

Here’s a clip from last night’s Letterman episode. It’s not really noteworthy (Katie talks about forgetting part of her speech for Dead Accounts) except to see a full view of the dress. Also, the difference between this and her 2008 Letterman appearance is pretty signficant. Bye bye, Katebot.

This week’s tabloids are all worked up about whether Suri will spend Christmas with Tom or Katie. As we’ve already heard, Tom claims that all of his kids will be with him for the holidays. However, he allegedly spent Thanksgiving with Suri, so it must be Katie’s turn for Christmas. Of course, we just covered this week’s Star story that says Katie and Tom were doing it while he was visiting NYC to promote Jack Reacher, and the full story has even grosser (totally made-up) details about how “Katie’s physical passion for Tom never subsided,” and they’re going to spend Christmas together as a cohesive family unit in Telluride. Whatever.

Unfortunately, Katie changed outfits after the taping of “The Late Show,” and I really don’t know why she was wearing this. She kind of lost me here.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Here are some photos of Tom Cruise at the London premiere of Jack Reacher, and of course he’s wearing his lifts. Why wouldn’t he? This time around, it’s even more important that Tom look fake-tall because he’s playing a 6’5″ brick sh-thouse in the movie. But still, there’s nothing new about these stylish high heels (or him getting lazy with blue jeans at a premiere), so let’s just take a good look at Tom’s face. We can do that, right? Because about a year ago, Tom walked many red carpets for Misson: Impossible 4 while looking like he had the best plastic surgeon ever. Here, Tom looks like he’s skipped his pre-red carpet botoxing sessions in an effort to milk his lonely and miserable post-divorce persona. Instead of ‘tox, Tom is wearing an ungodly amount of makeup for the cameras. Foundation city, people.

Before we get to the rest of the red carpet appearances, here’s a quick update on Tom’s upcoming holiday situation with Suri. Of course, Tom was presumed to have spent Thanksgiving with Suri in London (after a 17 week absence in her life) even though he was on the All You Need Is Kill set all weekend long, but now Tom’s putting it out there (via People) that he’ll be spending Christmas with all of his children. That is, Bella, Connor, and Suri as well? That’s what Tom’s camp wants us to believe:

It’s shaping up to be a very merry Christmas for Tom Cruise.

Looking upbeat and winter-warm in a navy sweater and jeans at the London premiere of his new crime thriller Jack Reacher on Monday, the actor, 50, spoke to reporters for the first time since his split from Katie Holmes.

“We have got lots of very special things planned [for the holidays],” said Cruise. He added that he plans to spend Christmas with his kids Bella, 20, Connor, 17, and Suri, 6. “We are all going to be together. I am looking forward to it.”

Based in London since August while he shoots the sci-fi action film All You Need Is Kill, Cruise says he feels right at home across the pond.

“I love it here,” he tells PEOPLE. “I have made so many films here and I have worked with so many of the actors here. It is a wonderful place to live.”

Make that live and work. “I am shooting a film over here … seven days a week. But I feel great,” he added. “It doesn’t take up all my time, but I have a very busy schedule and I like it that way.”

[From People]

Naturally, I don’t buy this pro-Tom story because with most divorces, parents alternate holidays with children. Like, Tom would get Thanksgiving this year and Katie would take Christmas, and then next year they’d swap schedules. Also, the Mail quoted a source saying that Suri would be with Katie for the winter holiday break including Christmas. Of course, now that Tom strategically managed to (allegedly) see Suri a few weeks ago without grinning for the paps, now he can also just lie about seeing her whenever he feels like lying about it. So we’ll see what happens.

Now let’s move onto the little bit of fashion present on this chilly London red carpet. Tom’s leading ladies have been wearing a lot of yellow this year (see Julianne Hough in chartreuse for the RoA premiere), and Rosamund Pike is following this ill-advised trend.

Actually, I’ve got nothing against yellow on the red carpet and thoroughly enjoyed Kristen Stewart’s chrome yellow for BD2 Madrid premiere last month. Here, Rosamund goes with canary yellow in a full-length, backless Alexander McQueen gown that has an awkward cut-out effect from the front view, which exposes her prominent rib cage for all to see. Are those blue shoes peeping out from below the gown? Yes, but again, the color choices are not really the problem here — the shape and cut of this dress are both so awkward, and I swear it looks (from the back view) like this gown has a drawstring waist. Rosamund is looking kind of tweaked, but I do like her hair.

Robert Duvall is in this movie as well, but I’m not mad at that. He deserves a big-budget paycheck too.

Now it’s time for more gratuitous, insincere Tom Cruise photos, which are some of my very favorite things ever.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

Here are some photos of Tom Cruise (and his sexy lifts) filming All You Need is Kill in London over the weekend. These set photos aren’t nearly as righteously epic as the film’s first official still, wherein Tom looked like he was preparing to crap his pants in the role of an inept military leader trapped in a time warp while fighting a war against invading aliens (all hail Xenu!). Tom was on the set for this film all weekend long. He was photographed on location in Trafalgar Square on Saturday (while wearing his puffy, moob-hiding jacket). Then on Sunday, Tom was shooting in full military costume while Traflagar Square was completely closed off to the public while Tom flew in via RAF ‘copter and frolicked with a bunch of tanks and whatnot. How exactly was Tom working all weekend if he was supposedly visiting with Suri for the first time in more than 17 weeks? That’s a damn good question.

Of course and according to the unsubstantiated rumor masquerading as a legitimate HuffPo story, Suri was with Tom from Tuesday through Sunday, and she was presumed to have been squired back to the States via Tom’s private jet late Sunday evening. In an interesting move, People picked up the same visitation story with no additional details and despite the very clear fact that there have been NO new pictures of Tom and Suri together. However, Tom did find time to spend the entire weekend on the London set of his latest machismo-filled action flick. Here are the details of the weekend shoot from the Mail:

It’s not every day London’s Trafalgar Square is completely shut down for the filming of a big budget Hollywood movie. But then again, it’s not every day that Tom Cruise is in town.

The 50-year-old actor certainly made sure to make his presence known as he cordoned off the famous location to shoot scenes for his new movie, All You Need Is Kill, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Arriving on location in an RAF helicopter, the Hollywood star touched down with a bang as the chopper carefully negotiated its way onto the central London set.

But it certainly wasn’t for the faint-hearted, with the helicopter having to narrowly dodge a number of landmarks, including Nelson’s Column. And as he landed slap bang in the middle of Trafalgar Square, Tom treated onlookers to another joy as he stepped out looking utterly dapper in a hunky military uniform.

The star was groomed to perfection as he marched through the streets in his tailored khaki ensemble, which was accessorised with a smart hat and aviator-style sunglasses. Tom was joined on set by a whole host of extras, who seemed to be wearing protective helmets and khaki ponchos over their camouflage gear.

The A-list actor seemed on fine form as he got to work, looking cool, calm and collected as he shot a number of action scenes. The star made his presence well and truly known as he cordoned off Trafalgar Square once again to film scenes for the movie in the miserable weather. Giving tourists a treat, the 50-year-old and the crew had shipped in a number of large tanks, suggesting that they were filing an action scene.

[From Daily Mal]

So what gives? I was initially inclined to believe that Tom was actually with Suri but only because she wasn’t photographed with Katie over the holiday weekend. However, there have been no photo ops from Tom either, which is a very uncharacteristic move from him. Did his team finally wise up and say, “Tom. No more grinning at paps or swimming with reporters. And definitely no more wife auditions“? I doubt it. And what about Tom’s obvious desire to prove his #1 Daddy status after suing Life & Style for their recent “abandoned by daddy” story? I just don’t know.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

Here are some photos (which I haven’t had the occasion to use until now) of Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise in New York City on 11/12. In these shots, Katie is walking Suri home from school, and this little girl is honestly growing more adorable with every passing day. If and when Tom sees Suri in person again, he will be very surprised on how much she’s grown and changed since he’s been away while faux-swaggering out of London nightclubs and trying to look like a badass on his latest film set.

At the moment, there is an interesting rumor circulating about Tom and Suri being together in London right now for the Thanksgiving weekend. If this story (from HuffPo) is true, then Tom finally made good on seeing his youngest daughter after more than 17 weeks of physical absence from her life. However, I’m going to pull a standard line from the internet (because it’s very appropriate to use here) and say, “Pics or it didn’t happen.” Because if we don’t see photos of Tom and Suri together this weekend, it really didn’t happen. Tom is so concerned about his “loving father” image that he’s actually sued Life & Style for their “abandoned by daddy” story. He would want the world to know that he and Suri have been reunited again just like he did last time while grinning at the paps and joyously swimming with a tabloid reporter. So I’ll drum my fingers until I see visual proof, but in the meantime, here’s HuffPo’s story on the matter:

When Katie Holmes left New York’s LaGuardia airport early Thursday, heading to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with her parents, daughter Suri was already in England, spending the holiday with her dad, Tom Cruise.

“Suri left Tuesday and will return Sunday to return to school on Monday,” a source close to Holmes tells The Huffington Post. “Tom and Katie agreed to this weeks ago.”

Six-year-old Suri will join her dad, who is currently shooting a film in the UK, and Tom’s two other children, Conner and Isabella Cruise. Suri is currently living with her mom in NYC, where she is in previews for her return to Broadway in the new play Dead Accounts, which opens November 29.

“We have Thursday off, so I’m going to have a chance to go home with my family,” Holmes told Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan a few days ago. “My sister makes a really good sausage stuffing and my mom makes a great turkey.”

[From HuffPo]

Last week, Katie herself had already debunked a ridiculous story — wherein she was going to make Thanksgiving dinner “from scratch” for Suri and Tom in Telluride — by stating that she cannot cook at all. So we knew for sure that the three of them wouldn’t be together “as a family” for the holiday, and there would really be no reason for Katie to fall into Tom’s trap anyway. However, is Suri actually with Tom right now as HuffPo seems to believe? The Mail is also running this story as fact but seems to mostly quote HuffPo’s story without attribution. At this point, it’s just an unsubstantiated rumor. Sure, it could be true, but if Suri and Tom are actually together, you can bet that he will definitely come up with paparazzi-witnessed proof for us.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News

This week’s issue of Star magazine runs with a cover story about how Katie Holmes is embracing single motherhood to such a degree that she’s entered the planning stages of adopting a toddler girl to give a playmate to “lonely” Suri. The story actually seems quite feasible considering Katie’s rapid fire ascent into independence following her split from Tom Cruise. The story gives a lot of believable supporting details like Suri asking Katie for a sister (and “even praying for one at night“), which will sound quite familiar to any parent of an only child. But as I always say (and my daughter has been asking for a baby sister since age 4), they can ask all they want — that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. That’s pretty much what I think is going on with Suri asking for a sister, and Star is making up this story out of thin air. Still, Star does acknowledge that Katie’s rep has denied the rumors but still maintains that “Katie is in the beginning stages, but her goal is to have a new addition to their family within the next year.” Gossip Cop has also received a denial from Katie’s rep as well:

Ever since Katie Holmes left Tom Cruise over the summer, tabloids have continually run BOGUS stories claiming her and Suri’s lives were somehow unhappy and unstable.

But it’s just the opposite.

As Gossip Cop originally reported, one of the main reasons Holmes divorced Cruise was so that Suri could go to school with kids her age, rather than be home schooled by Scientology instructors.

So, the claim that the actress is going to adopt because Suri in lonely and has no friends is completely baseless.

And while it’s natural for small children to ask for younger siblings, it’s NOT true that Suri is unhappy because she doesn’t have a little sister, and it’s totally FALSE that Holmes is “concerned” about her daughter’s supposed solitary state.

A rep for Holmes tells Gossip Cop exclusively it’s “NOT true” that the actress has any plans right now to adopt a child, adding, “Star obviously needed to sell magazines.”

[From Gossip Cop]

Oh well. Star tried really hard with this filler story (it really has been a slow news week leading up to Thanksgiving) and even added amusing details about how Katie “checked out the Angelina Jolie approach of looking at orphanages in Africa, Asia and Europe” but settled upon using an NYC adoption agency. Obviously, this is a nice story as far as gossip goes, and who knows if Katie will actually adopt in the future, but it’s safe to say that she’s already got her hands full with raising Suri and attempting to reboot her acting career on Broadway. Nice try, Star.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

Here are some photos of Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise arriving at the Music Box theater (where Dead Accounts is playing) on Saturday evening. It must not go unnoticed that Suri has been dutifully wearing a coat ever since Katie officially took over the “full legal custody” parenting reins. Suri’s even walking on her own a great deal when she’s not hiding her face from the everpresent photogs. A lot of people complain about how Katie carries Suri in a lot of these pap photos, but it’s a much better alternative than, say, letting her be blinded by the flashbulbs and walking into a stop sign, no? Or out into NYC traffic. Just saying. This little girl does love her grannysmith apples though.

A new story in this week’s In Touch would have us believe that Katie has bestowed a new name upon Suri, but it’s not nearly as nefarious as it sounds. Instead, Katie now calls Suri “Sara” in public for security purposes, which makes sense because Suri isn’t exactly one of the countless “Avas” that run amuck through celeb and non-celeb name circles these days. Here are the details:

In Touch has learned that Katie Holmes has a new name for her daughter Suri.

A source close to Katie explains that she’s been calling Suri “Sara” in public “so as not to attract attention.”

The 6-year-old with the unique — and internationally recognizable — moniker is trying to avoid “privacy issues,” the source further tells In Touch. “Everyone in the world knows Suri Cruise, so if Katie or a babysitter says, ‘Suri,’ people immediately look to find her.”

Katie was recently overheard referring to her daughter as “Sara” to her Dead Accounts co-stars at rehearsals and luckily, the first-grader seems to love her other name! In August, Suri was seen at a Build-A-Bear Workshop requesting that her stuffed animal be named “Sara” — and she even specified no h so she and the doll would have the same number of letters in their names.

The source says the high-security measure taken to shelter Suri is “no different than celebrities checking into hotels under a different name.”

[From In Touch Weekly]

I personally think that it’s a great idea to call Suri by a different name in this regard. Tom will probably be spooked by it because he’ll think Katie’s just taking a dig at the name he likely picked out for her (because Tom was in charge of everything in the relationship), but Suri is actually a dimunitive name of Sara, so it makes sense as an alias. It’s certainly better than Cage Hunt for crying out loud.

Earlier in the day, Katie was out by herself and showed off some new fug booties, this time in black. I’m not complaining because Katie loves her booties, but as for this dress … just no.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet