Now that Katie Holmes has sorted out her personal life (and rid herself of a certain unhinged, lift-wearing midget), she’s getting her professional life back together as well. She’s just signed on as the face of Bobbi Brown cosmetics (with a reported $2-3 million contract). She’ll be back on Broadway in November too, and next Wednesday, Holmes & Yang will stage its first New York Fashion Week presentation with a huge show in the tents outside Lincoln Center. Of course, I still have my doubts on whether that collection will be any better than the Holmes & Yang looks that are illustrated in this post, but we’ll see what happens.

Before we get to some new stuff on the Tom Cruise wife-audition scandal, here’s some excerpts from a new WWD interview with Katie herself. She sounds very confident and optimistic about the future, but in a mostly realistic way:

On the press frenzy over her divorce: “I have a lot of feelings about the press,” she said with a smile. “There are a lot of people with much bigger problems and who are less fortunate. I try to keep it all in perspective.”

On the Holmes & Yang aesthetic: “Very simple, with very classic lines. We use a lot of silks and leathers and suedes. This year, we’re excited because we’ve incorporated a lot of new trims. It’s basically pieces that have evolved from basics, but not too far. They’re just nice, well-made luxury items that highlight the woman wearing them.” Price points start from about $700 and range to $3,000, she said. “We have a lot of casual, and gowns, some unique jackets.” Details include shirts lined in silk — “the silky part of the shirt is on your body all day. We try to make beautiful things, and we’re not so trend-driven. We try to do a touch of rock ‘n’ roll with our stuff, but keep it very classic.”

On stage acting: “It’s a medium I really enjoy.” She’s not bothered by having to perform every night. “I’m a schedule person. I like to have a routine. You’re also very in touch with your audience — they’re very much a part of the show, which is obviously something you don’t have in film. You get to know people in a different way. The matinee audience is obviously very different from the Saturday night audience. You learn about material — you really start to understand what works and what doesn’t. I think both film and stage are so challenging, but in different ways. With film, yeah, you have another take, but a lot of the time you’re losing the light, so you better nail it on that take. I haven’t found any part of acting to be easy.”

On her Bobbi Brown gig: “I think it’s amazing that Bobbi found a hole in the marketplace and said, ‘I’m going to do something about it. I’m going to create a line for real women who want to look pretty and have it be easy. This is my first foray into beauty products and the evolution of a look. You want the hair and makeup to support the woman, just like you want the clothes to support the woman. You don’t want to lose the woman. That’s how Jeanne and I design.”

She & Suri do crafts: Holmes credits her Midwestern upbringing and crafts with her daughter for helping to keep her feet on the ground. “I spray-paint shoe racks, because, why not?” But she says with a laugh that said projects aren’t always successful: “I think, ‘Oh, I’m a great mom’ — and then it doesn’t really pan out the way I think it’s going to. But the intention’s there. My sister teaches art, and she gives me a lot of ideas.”

She keeps moving: Holmes noted that she enjoys trying something new every day, without “being afraid to fail. Who cares? At least you tried. It’s usually the people who haven’t tried who are the naysayers.”

[From WWD]

I love that Katie is sounding increasingly less robotic with each progressive interview. Actually, this is the first real interview that she’s done after her Tom split, right? But she was starting to sound quite independent in those few interviews that filtered out immediately following the split even though they were conducted pre-divorce.

Now let’s get to a new detail on that Vanity Fair October cover story that has so far given mainstream credence to the story (which has also been confirmed by director Paul Haggis) that details and solidifies the Tom Cruise wife-audition process conducted by CO$ (and more about Nicole Kidman’s estrangement from her kids). The article also discusses how Tom ended his two-year relationship with Penelope Cruz over (surprise!) Scientology as well. Apparently, Penelope refused to completely give up her Buddhist ways, so David Miscavige “branded her a ‘dilettante’.” You know they probably originally told her that she could be a Buddhist and a Scientologist at the same time, just like they told Katie should could still be Catholic at the beginning of her relationship as well.

This next part is pretty funny. Business Insider has gotten ahold of a nasty letter from David Miscavige’s lawyer, Jeffrey Riffer, to Vanity Fair, which threatens the magazine with litigation (“The sting of the jury verdict will last longer still; far longer than any pleasure from racing to publish a poorly researched and sourced story“) and also stresses that “Miscavige and Tom Cruise are far too busy to have as close of a relationship as Vanity Fair alleges.” Riiight.

Meanwhile, this week’s tabloids all have their own takes on Katie’s reaction to the wife auditions. Star says that Katie is both “shocked and mortified” because “she had an idea that this is what went on, but not to this extent.” In Touch adds that Katie is “stressed out” over the article and basically feels like a fool for falling for Tom’s act, and Enquirer says that it’s finally settling into Katie’s mind that her marriage to Tom was also “arranged by Scientology” and that she was “also targeted to play the role of his wife.” Even worse, Katie reportedly feels that while her childhood dream of marrying Tom “came true, but it’s turned into a nightmare of the worst kind — and she still can’t escape it.” Yeah, it’s gotta suck for Katie to read that stuff in Vanity Fair. Most of us have seen the article as a good thing, and it certainly makes us empathize with what a horrifically controlling life Katie lived for years, but it’s also got to be difficult for Katie to feel like she’s re-living the nightmare after she finally escaped.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN