We all thought Tom would never let her out of her cage – but somehow Katie Holmes has managed to escape long enough to actually do something to salvage her career. Holmesbot will be playing the role of Ann Deever in Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons. Which means she’ll be heading to the Big Apple – presumably with Tom in tow. It has been widely reported that Katie wanted to go to New York as a sort of trial separation from Tom. Not surprisingly, he put the kibosh on that pretty quickly.

Discussions to bring the actress to Broadway were confirmed back in March, and now a deal seems inevitable. Producer Eric Falkenstein tells OK! he thinks Katie is perfect for the part. “Katie is very well suited for the role of Ann,” he says. “There is an additional layer of soul to Ann and from the work I’ve seen of Katie, she has always impressed with multi-faceted characters. She would nail it.”

Falkenstein also feels that Mrs. Cruise’s star-power won’t overshadow her acting ability. “Despite being in the spotlight and her celebrity status, the fact remains that she has a tremendous record of performances,” he says. “I think Katie is a tremendous actor. Whenever she decides to come to the stage she’ll be terrific.”

All My Sons will hit Broadway with a preview in September and open a month later in October. A formal announcement is expected to take place within the next 10 days.

[From OK! Magazine]

Notice how nice OK was to sidestep the whole Tom issue? Will Tom let Katie off her leash? Will he reprogram her circuits? Will Katie cut the cord? What other ridiculous metaphors can we use to imply that Tom Cruise is a controlling nut bag?

It would really be fabulous if Katie got a little time away from the Scientology influence. But with all the minders Tom keeps around, that seems highly unlikely. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see if she can pull off the role. I’ve always found her acting rather drab at best. And since Tom’s groomed her, she speaks with this ridiculous faux-softness that I just can’t stand. I’m not sure how that will transfer to the stage. Nonetheless: spread your wings Katie! Break out of the cage! Fly away! Okay I really am done with the metaphors now. Just leave the guy.

Here’s Katie and Tom at the Fashion and Fantasy’ Costume Institute Gala on May 5th. Images thanks to WENN.

Things looked pretty tense for the Cruise family as they sat in a box at an LA Galaxy Game on Saturday. It was the first time Tom, Katie, Suri, Isabella and Connor have all been photographed together at an event or by the paparazzi since December, 2006. In the fall of 2006, Katie and Tom were pictured sitting on the sidelines and cuddling at Isabella and Connor’s sports matches near constantly. After Suri was born Tom’s older kids pretty much dropped out of site. Connor was seen out on his 13th birthday having dinner with his dad in January, but that was a rare sighting.

There may be a good reason for the palpable misery and tension among the Holmes-Cruises - The LA Galaxy soccer team featuring David Beckham lost that game on Saturday 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls.

Three of David Beckham’s sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, were in the box with them, but their mom was not at that game. Victoria Beckham caught a flight from LA to London earlier that day, which may have made it convenient for her to avoid being seen with the Cruises. Victoria and David recorded a tribute to Cruise that aired during the Oprah special, but it primarily focused on his films and they did not talk as much about their friendship with him.

Little Suri, two, held her ears when the crowd cheered. Her older sister, Isabella, 15, is shown handing her a doll to try and make her feel better.

Thanks to Splash for these photos.

Yesterday Oprah had Tom Cruise on in front of her screaming studio audience in an attempt to remind us all why we fell in love with the crazy cult spokesperson in the first place. The show featured clips from Tom’s 25 years in film starting with Risky Business as well as taped celebrity tributes from his friends and coworkers. Oprah really laid it on thick with the audience, and emphasized how great Tom’s movies are as well as how normal and likable he is. I was skeptical at first, but she seems to have helped with Cruise’s image immensely. Oprah aired a full episode on Friday in which she visited Cruise’s Telluride home and asked him some semi-difficult questions about his “religion” and the couch jumping episode that aired in May, 2005. On Monday it was all about celebrating Cruise and welcoming him back into the good graces of public opinion. Maybe if Cruise continues distancing himself from his troubled cult he’ll be able to improve his image.

Scientology not mentioned at all; Katie and Suri were not in the audience and did not appear
I came away from the show feeling a little better about Cruise, but not one mention was made of Tom’s religion, Scientology, in the entire show, and you can assume he’s moving away from being so outspoken about it. Katie and Suri did not appear on stage or in the audience, despite a story from an audience member in In Touch yesterday that they came on stage at the end.

Tom launches very good PR website
The thing that really influenced my opinion of Cruise, and I’m not going to act like it didn’t, was his new super slick website, TomCruise.com. It has a well-produced montage of clips from his films, none of which feature his ex wife Nicole Kidman in their work together, set to music. The guy can really act. Jerry Maguire is one of my favorite movies of all time. No mention of Scientology or any apologies or explanations are offered on the site. They really handled it well by focusing on his career and accomplishments.

I wrote a more lengthy story on the entire show which follows, so I’ll just add a break here and let you know that all the videos are at the end of the post.

Then they showed a clip of Cruise on Risky Business at the age of 19 doing his thing singing “Old Time Rock and Roll.”

Oprah clarified that Cruise made up that dance. Tom waxed the floor on his hands and knees and decided to put his socks on to make the dance smoother.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith talk about what a great guy Tom is
The show featured segments with Tom’s celebrity friends talking about his films and their experiences with him. The first celebrities shown were Will Smith and Jada. Jada, with a bizarre mullet 80s cut, explained that she got to know Tom when they both worked on the film Collateral, in which he was trying to kill her. She said that was intense but that “to me, nothing he’s done professionally could hold a candle to who he is as a human being and that’s real.”

Will said “I’ve met very few people who’ve made that commitment that when they leave they want the world to be better - period - because they’re here.”

When the camera cut back to Cruise, Oprah asked what the friendship with the Smiths meant to him and he said “everything, they’re just real true people and I love ‘em.” Yeah, they’re Scientologists too.

After the break Tom admitted that he sang his song from Top Gun, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” to Katie at their wedding after Oprah asked him specifically about it.

He said the best thing about making Top Gun was flying in the F15s, but that he’s been interested in airplanes his whole life.

Renee Zellweger calls Tom magical
They showed a clip from Jerry Maguire, and Renee Zellweger explained the “You Had Me At Hello” scene. She said Tom brought something with him that day. As for his personality she says that he has a heartfelt laugh. “You can’t dissect what makes Tom Cruise special. He just is. Hi Tom Cruise… I know that you’re a really good person. Congratulations.”

Cruise called Zellweger genuine. Oprah then threw him a super soft curveball and asked “What makes Tom Cruise nervous?”

He said that he gets excited, not nervous, making movies, and feels like he belongs there.

Victoria and David Beckham say one of their first dates was to Jerry Maguire
Victoria and David Beckham said that Jerry Maguire was special to them because it was one of their first dates. They said that Tom sent them the jacket he wore in the film and Victoria joked that David “hasn’t taken it off since.”

Jamie Foxx says Cruise came to him for advice, is bothered by stories about him
Foxx talked about “Born on the Fourth of July,” in which he says Tom departed from his movie style. He said “You saw how wide his acting muscle was.” He says Collateral changed his life. He joked that when his car crashed in the film people on set were more worried about Tom Cruise than him.

As for Tom’s past few years, he said “All the stuff that’s gone one the past couple years, it does affect him. He does feel it. Sometimes he will question ‘why’s it happening to me?’ you know. I said ‘you just keep being you, you keep being Tom Cruise and then you see him going through the worst of it and come out of it beautifully because he stays true to himself.”

Oprah asked about “Born on the Fourth of July” and Cruise’s Oscar nomination. He said people told him that it was a bad role choice and would ruin his career.

Dustin Hoffman distances himself from Tom
Hoffman was on for his segment and said that he farted in a closed phone booth while they were filming Rainman in 1988, and that they made it part of the scene. He said that it was his favorite scene in any movie he’s ever done.

Then Hoffman was slurping soup and joking that he had to eat lunch. He said “It’s a tribute that they thought you handsome enough to be my brother in the film. We were quote ‘brothers in the film’ but we were also brothers in life. It’s been extraordinarily painful experience for me not seeing you more often in these 20 years… We haven’t really connected. I hope you understand I’ve had to learn to cope.”

He kind of redeemed it by pretending to eat soup with a cut out version of Tom and saying they were going to go skydiving together, but despite the humor in the clip you can be sure that he’s making it clear that he’s not tight with Tom.

Dakota Fanning and Steven Spielberg pay tribute
Dakota Fanning was on and talked about being starstruck working with Cruise in War of the Worlds. She said he was very friendly to everyone and was always bumping fists. She said that Tom called her in the years after the film wrapped to “encourage or support me, or just to say hello” and that it meant a lot to her.

Oprah talked about how nice he is and how kind he is to the staff on his fims.

Steven Spielberg said that if he had to pick his favorite role of Toms, he wouldn’t pick one of his own films as that would be biased. He said Magnolia is “the deepest I’ve seen Tom go.” He said that Tom compels us to pay attention to him and “is a magnet”

The end part: laying it on thick
Oprah: “We all remember these films. We all remember going to the theater seeing these films.”

They fielded a question from an audience member about how Tom would spend a day off, and he said playing games with his family, going for a ride in his airplane and/or a hike, and having dinner at home and watching a movie.

Oprah: “They’re very normal. Lots going on at the same time.”

Another audience member asked Tom if he’d accomplished all his dreams. He said “I’m surprised how much I accomplished and I feel really privileged to be able to do what I do and I thank you all for allowing me to entertain you.” [Audience claps]

Oprah asked “25 years after Risky Business, isn’t it bigger than you’d ever dreamed?”

“Yes, as you go along you think ‘How can I keep challenging myself more?’ There’s always something else.’”

Oprah: “Do you feel most at home there? Like this is what you’re born to do?”

Tom: “I feel that this is what I’m supposed to do.”

Oprah: You Love It.

He says Suri calls him “Dada Cruise.”

Oprah gives the audience a boxed set of all of Tom’s 25 movies
Oprah: “Doesn’t this show make you want to go home and watch all of Tom’s movies.”

Then Oprah gave the audience a gift of all of Cruise’s movies and of course they screamed and yelled.

Here are the videos:

Part 1: Includes well wishes from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith.

Part 2: Includes segments with Renee Zellweger and Victoria and David Beckham offering congratulations.

Part 3: Includes segment with Jamie Foxx.

Part 4: Includes tribute from Dustin Hoffman

Part 5: Includes tributes from Dakota Fanning and Steven Spielberg

Part 6: Includes audience questions emphasizing how normal and grateful Cruise is for his success

Part 7: Oprah gives studio audience DVDs of all his movies.

Part 8: Cruise autographs box set for Nancy, his biggest fan

All photos courtesy of Oprah.com.

A lot has already been said about the Tom Cruise interview on Oprah Friday, and now that I’ve had a chance to watch it I wanted to add my opinion. I came away with about a 10-15% better opinion of Tom, which was largely based on the final part of the interview in which his insane grin and rehearsed answers fell away and you could see that he was a guy who really loves his family and has what sounds like a great appreciation for them and for his lifestyle.

Here are a few things that I noticed about the interview that haven’t been covered elsewhere. Star Magazine and US Weekly have some good summaries of Tom’s response to specific controversies. Oprah.com also has a decent overview, but some sections of the interview are not covered.

Tom calls Holmes, “Kate” throughout, she only appears in the beginning
Katie Holmes and her monotone cooing voice only appeared at the beginning of the interview, in which she says hello to Oprah, shows her the mudroom of their Telluride home, and says that she’s going to town with the kids. You can tell that Tom chose to have the interview in Telluride because their house has a cosy feel to it. This is surely a sharp contrast to their new $35 million Beverly Hills mansion that’s being renovated and decorated with no expense spared. Tom gave a tour of the home which included Suri’s cute playroom under the stairs and her giant room with kids’ toys and stuffed animals.

The first part of the interview was more of Tom spinning things to make it seem like he’s not the wild-eyed cult devotee we know and mock. He wasn’t that convincing at first and came across like I expected him to. To paraphrase: “The Scientology tapes were stolen, they were taken out of context, it’s a minority religion, etc.” He referred to Katie as “Kate” throughout and Oprah followed suit.

Reveals that Suri was born a year to the day after he met “Kate” Holmes
He said that he can’t articulate what Kate means to him, it’s so special, and when Oprah asked him if he’s ever felt this way about anyone before, he said “no.”

“Suri was born a year to the day that I met her. The same day, April 18, is the day that I met her, April 18 Suri was born, and it just kinda has that thing, you know and it was just something that just… it just gets spun and spun and spun.”

As for the way people mocked him after that, he said he just took it in stride and it was a “confluence of things.”

Uses “amazing” way too many times to describe Holmes’ family
Cruises’ response to Oprah’s question “How’s Kate’s family accepting you?” sounded like the stuff that wide-eyed Holmes was spouting before she learned how to speak in that soothing low tone about how fabulous their life is. He used “amazing” way too many times without much detail:

“They’re amazing. I love them. Oh I love them. They’re such amazing people, and you see why Kate is such an amazing woman. Incredible integrity and strength and they’re family.”

Tom tries to say he has joint custody of children with Nicole, but is totally unconvincing
When Oprah asked Tom if Bella and Connor got to see Nicole, he again gave general answers without specifics and seemed like he was full of it.

Oprah: “What’s your relationship like with Nicole now?”
Tom: “Good. Easy.”
Oprah: “I’d read that she’d been pushed out of the children’s lives. True or not true?”
Tom [laughs, bobs head]: “No, that’s ridiculous.”
Oprah: “The children still maintain a relationship with her and see her?”
Tom: “No they share custody.”
Oprah: “How is it.. Is there a time when everyone’s together, Kate and Nicole.. whatever?”
Tom: “No, it’s just so busy… it just hasn’t eventuated in that way.”
Oprah: “But the children get to see her regularly?”
Tom: “We share custody whenever. Whenever. That’s what it is.”

When Tom talks about Suri his rapport improves with Oprah and she really warms up to him and the conversation flows. He calls Suri “magical” and tells a cute story about how Kate had a Santa outfit custom made for him. Suri immediately realized it was him and said “No daddy!”

It seems like too little too late for Cruise, but he’ll have another whole show with Oprah on Monday in front of the studio audience. The guy is really charming and gracious to fans and he will probably make a much better impression at that point. He got through the tough questions already and now it’s on to wowing the women with his bright eyes and laughing personality. He might make us forget his antics for the time being, but I don’t know if it will be enough to save that Valkyrie movie or his cult. It’s time that the axe came down hard on Scientology, and Cruise has been their apologist for way too long.

Here are the videos.

If you don’t have time: short clip where Cruise gives the quotes mentioned above

Full Interview follows
(some clips have commercials which are easily skipped by moving the cursor)

Introduction: Katie says goodbye and Tom shows Oprah the house:

Part 1 of interview:

Part 2 of interview:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

As nice as it must be to be famous and wealthy, I really think I’d rather be a platypus than Katie Holmesbot. Which is ironic, because Tom Cruise tends to treat his wife the way I imagine a wayward platypus should be treated. Katie has been forced to go to Scientology “boot camp” according to Star magazine. Though boot camp sounds a lot more like what cult experts call “reprogramming.” Apparently Katie had an original, independent thought, and that freaked Tom out. So he shipped her off to have her circuits rewired – though we’re not sure if she’s as good as new yet.

In the new issue of Star, we report exclusively on how Katie was recently secluded for three days at Gold Base, the remote, supersecret Scientology compound in Hemet, Calif., where she was put through a demanding schedule.

“It included various tests, confession sessions, tons of reading and physically challenging purification processes,” a Scientology insider reveals. “Tom insists that auditing and purification practices are incredibly beneficial to Scientologists at all levels.”

Katie’s intensive Scientology training and treatments have been accelerated in recent weeks, says another source, because she wanted to go to New York City without Tom to star in a Broadway play. But Tom stepped in and put the kibosh on her plans. And now Katie’s been going in for a series of intensive auditing sessions, some which have lasted for 36 hours straight — with little sleep or food.

[From Star]

I’m pretty sure that along with her GPS tracking chip, Tom also had some kind of Frankenstein-esq nodules installed onto Katie’s neck while she was at “Gold Base.” He can hook her up whenever he wants, charge her batteries, and reprogram her wiring to revert Katie to her factory default settings of “Blank.” And then fill her with whatever information or personality he wants. Though from recent interviews, it seems like she must be low on disk space or something, because Tom hasn’t installed much personality onto Holmesbot. Luckily she’s been reprogrammed, so I’m guessing that whole New York thing isn’t going to happen.

Header photo thanks to Popbytes.

The tabloids were buzzing a couple of weeks ago that Katie Holmes is leaving Tom because she was at their home Telluride, Colorado while Tom Cruise was encamped at Scientology Celebrity Centre in LA. Their massive new mansion is undergoing renovations, and maybe they just decided to take a separate vacation. As much as I would relish a real story that they’re breaking up, no one really seemed to have the details or evidence to back it up.

One tabloid tale that rings true to me claims that Cruise discouraged Katie from taking that stage role in Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” in New York. She is still said to be negotiating with producers, and Tom supposedly told her she doesn’t have the voice to do stage work. He sent her for voice training to - where else - the Scientology Celebrity Center:

[Tom Cruise] dumped on [Katie Holmes’] dream of starring on Broadway… in “All My Sons” - insisting her voice is far too drail to “project and dominate” in live theater!… Disagreeing angrily… Katie filnally caved and agreed to obey Her Lord and Master’s Looney-Order of the Day: Proceed immediately to Scientology Celebrity Centre in Hollywood, where a church-approved coach will exercise and strengthen your vocal cords!

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker’s column, May 5, 2008]

The full interview with former Scientologist and actor Jason Beghe is currently available on Xenu.tv. It’s in 8 parts and is long, but incredibly interesting. So far I’ve watched the first four parts, in which Beghe describes how he was sucked into the cult by striving for higher levels of self awareness, in which he says he only became aware of Scientology’s way of looking at the world. He said that Scientologists are often very decent people who believe they’re helping people. He was in Scientology for 12 years and it took him a long time before he realized what a trap it was. At that point he had spent a million dollars.

Beghe’s interview is worth watching to learn more about the way that Scientology tricks parisioners in spending more money on training, auditing and courses. He described how you’re told that you can achieve a state of clear, in which they claim you’ll never get sick and “no longer have a reactive mind.” Given Beghe’s experiences with fellow “clears,” he says that’s of course completely bogus.

Whenever you have a problem or an accident you’re told it’s due to a “Potential Trouble Source.” Everything negative that happens is all because of these Potential Trouble Sources, and he said it’s like the “spiritual flu.” You’re told to get rid of “suppressive persons” in your life, and in his case he was told to drop his best friend since the 9th grade, David Duchovny, who was actually very nice to him about Scientology and did not give him grief about joining the cult. Beghe said that all the courses, auditing, and programs he took through Scientology really damaged him psychologically.

It’s not surprising that Cruise would tell his wife that Scientology has a way to help her project her voice since they seem to have a high-priced course for everything. You only hope she can get out of that relationship and the cult’s influence before it’s too late for her, but she seems to be content with having sold her soul for unlimited designer clothing.

Thanks to WENN for these photos of Tom and Katie outside Cut restaurant on 2/27/08, where they had a double date with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Tom Cruise has finally come crawling back to Oprah. Or Oprah has finally come crawling back to Tom Cruise. It’s really hard to say. Tom famously embarrassed the crap out of himself when he appeared- couch jumping like a moron – on Oprah’s show in 2005. It really marked the beginning of a significant decline for him. Unfortunately, Tom – being Tom Cruise – didn’t realize he embarrassed the crap out of himself. In all likelihood, he still has no clue.

Tom and Oprah haven’t had much to say to each other since then. It’s not really known if that’s a coincidence or if there was an actual rift between the two. Oprah wasn’t invited to TomKat’s wedding – and given that Tom used her show to announce to the world “I love this woman!” a million freaking times, you’d think Oprah would get an invite. Winfrey also did a show where she talked about what she was really thinking during bizarre moments in the Oprah Winfrey Show’s past. She admitted she found Tom’s behavior a little bizarre… and that Katie Holmes was clearly incredibly uncomfortable.

Either way, whatever might have been going on between Oprah and the Cruises is long over – Tom’s scheduled to appear on the show during May sweeps.

Tom Cruise is returning to “Oprah”! The actor hasn’t appeared on Winfrey’s daytime talk show since his June 23, 2005, appearance where in addition to promoting “War of the Worlds,” he very enthusiastically expressed his love for future wife Katie Holmes (we’re putting the whole couch incident in the past).

It’s not clear what the focus of this show will be, but it is well-timed to May sweeps, and a quick look at the calendar shows that this summer is the 25th anniversary of Cruise’s breakthrough role in “Risky Business.”

A rep for Warner Home Video does confirm that there are “special plans” for the anniversary, and details are being finalized. Other celebrities have been contacted about being involved in the show according to sources close to them, so expect it to be an A-list hour of television. Cruise’s publicist wasn’t available for comment and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” didn’t respond by deadline.

[From the Scoop]

Never let it be said that the pint-sized actor won’t rise to the occasion for the sake of publicity. I sincerely hope Oprah nails down all her furniture before Tom comes on stage. In fact, if I were Oprah’s staff, I’d make sure to find some weighted shoes to have Tom wear, to further discourage jumping of any sort. It’ll be interesting to see if he manages to conduct himself with a modicum of decorum, or if he goes all manic on us again. Something tells me Tom Cruise may re-enact the infamous underwear dancing scene from Risky Business. And at this point, I think I’d rather he keep his pants on.

Madonna has come to the defense of Tom Cruise and his Scientology beliefs, saying he can worship anything he likes.

The singer, a follower of Jewish offshoot the Kabbalah, claims it is nobody’s business what religion people choose to follow.

She tells New York magazine, “I don’t care if people worship turtles or frogs - if they’re good people, that’s all I care about, and he (Cruise) is a good person. I think he gets a raw deal, just as I think the orphans in Malawi get a raw deal; just as I think a lot of marginalised people get a raw deal.”

PR Inside

Madonna does have a point here – religious persecution is not acceptable – but I love the way she brings the topic back to her own agenda. That’s the Madonna we all know and love! However, she’s forgetting just how the Tom Cruise brand of Scientology gained its reputation.

First, he claims Scientology can cure dyslexia, drug addiction, and chemical exposure. He also told Brooke Shields she shouldn’t take antidepressants for her post-natal depression, and that psychiatric medications are fake. Not to mention his ranting crazy Scientology videos the cult tried desperately to suppress.

Madonna, in case you were wondering, has topped the UK charts with ‘4 Minutes’, her 13th number one single in that country. She’s also topped the US charts. While Madonna may still be on top of the music charts at least her fashion influence is waning. The woman who inspired lace gloves and rah-rah skirts in the 80s has failed to create a trend with her pleather and spandex bondage gym gear.

Note by Celebitchy: Scientology also charges exorbitant sums of money from their brainwashed victims, much like Madonna’s Kabbalah cult. No wonder she’s defending Cruise.

Madonna is shown outside the gym she owns next door to her house on 4/19/08, thanks to WENN. I don’t know why she doesn’t just build an underground tunnel. Tom Cruise is shown clutching Katie Holmes at the premiere of her flop “Mad Money” on 1/9/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Johnny Depp almost got edged out of his seminal role in Edward Scissorhands by none other than Tom Cruise. Prior to starring in fantasy suburban tale Edward Scissorhands, which came out in late 1990, Depp was primarily known as a hot detective on Fox’s 21 Jump Street and had a few small film roles along with his lead performance in Cry Baby, which came out in the Spring of 1990. Producers went back and forth between Cruise and Depp, and almost gave the role to Cruise, but ultimately realized that Depp was more suited to the quirky role:

Depp shot to fame when he landed the title role in Tim Burton’s 1991 fantasy epic, but insists producers were determined to cast A-list actor Cruise in the role.

The 44-year-old was a relative unknown at the time and admits he desperately wanted the job - but he was only hired after the team began to question Cruise’s suitability for such an edgy project.

He says, “They (movie bosses) were interested in me for the part, but had someone else in mind too. A few days later, they called me to say the studio preferred the other actor.

“(It was) Tom Cruise. I was really disappointed. From the moment I read the script, I knew I had to be in it. But I understood that the studio wanted a box office superstar.

“Then a miracle happened. My agent called to say they wanted me instead.

[From WENN via Hollywood.tv]

I thought Tom Cruise could only play jocks and jerks who reach a turning point and then find themselves, and maybe the producers realized that and took a chance on a newcomer who would go on to greatness. It’s hard to know whether Edward Scissorhands would have been the hit that it was with Cruise in the role, but it’s a good thing Depp got the role and built a friendship with director Tim Burton. Can you imagine if he remained on television instead?

Star magazine is claiming that Katie Holmes wants a trial separation of sorts from Tom Cruise. And really, could you blame the poor dear? By Star’s account, Katie has finally had it with Tom and his maniacally controlling ways. I’m guessing her shopping budget just isn’t enough to compensate for being married to a crazy person anymore. Star is still claiming that Katie is in final negotiations to star in All My Sons on Broadway, and wants to move to Manhattan as part of a trial separation. Tom has told her it’s fine if she goes – but he’s coming with her.

Star also says that part of the reason Katie wants a separation is that she and Tom have been locked in a power struggle over how to raise Suri. Tom wants to make all the rules –which doesn’t sound like any big surprise.

… According to our sources, Katie, who was offered a role on Broadway, is trying to break away from her controlled life under the watchful eyes of her husband and move to Manhattan in what will be a sort of trial separation.

“She desperately needs to be on her own for a while, but there’s no way Tom is going to let her take Suri away,” an insider tells Star. “There’s no way he’ll allow it. He just doesn’t want Katie — or Suri — out of his sight for long. He told her that if she goes to New York, fine, but he goes with her.”

[From Star]

As much as I’d love this to be true, it sounds like complete B.S. Celebitchy pointed out that the tabloids are always quick to write a “marriage in trouble” story whenever a couple so much as takes a vacation apart. Star is one of the worst offenders. The Daily News noted today that although Tom and Katie are staying in different states right now, everything seems to be fine with the couple.

Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes have been living apart, we hear, but not because of any marital discord. Sources say the renovation at their L.A. manse has given Holmes and daughter Suri an excuse to visit the couple’s Telluride villa. Cruise, who has to stay in town for work, is said to be decamped to his luxe quarters at the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Centre.

[From Rush & Molloy]

So the more reliable parties are saying everything is fine and dandy in TomKat land. I had my hopes up, but really, thinking wifebot Katie Holmes would grow a pair and leave Tom Cruise is probably too much to hope for.

Here’s Katie Holmes leaving Joan’s on Third after lunch on March 16th. Images thanks to WENN.