It's been over two years since Tom Cruise accused Matt Lauer of "being glib", and finally the Golden Globe nominee was back on The Today Show to play nice with his former public enemy. But hey, this is all part of Cruise's PR team's "Operation: Make Tom Cruise Seem Normal" (codename: Mission Impossible) that has him doing things like making fun of himself in Tropic Thunder and starring as a Nazi in the upcoming Valkyrie (but he's a good Nazi!). And not mentioning Scientology or psychology, or claiming to know anything about postpartum depression, in public, ever again. You know, normal dad stuff.
"I came across as arrogant," Cruise said emphatically during the interview, "also, that's not the way I am. That's not the person I am."
But as sweet as this reunion was, it isn't the first time Matt and Tom have been seen together this year…
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(Interview starts at 1:30) Tom Cruise dropped by Leno last night to make some jokes about the NBC time-change for the host, and his own Golden Globes nod for his turn as a fat bald producer in Tropic Thunder. Guess there wasn't quite enough backlash on that film, huh?
Cruise is competing against another cast member, Robert Downey Jr., for Best Supporting Actor, and while it's great that both these guys went through a complete physical transformation to play the roles, it sort of verifies what the movie was poking fun at with RDJ's character: you can't get awards unless you do some edgy shtick like paste on a fake nose, wear black face, or go three clicks short of "full retard."
So…hooray for self-fulfilling prophecies?
Guess it was too much to ask for another entertaining blockbuster this year (Dark Knight is going to continue trouncing everyone at the box office till Christmas): Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller's first directorial effort since Zoolander in 2001, is already garnering "meh" reactions from critics. Which seems kind of implausible for a film that's been mired in controversy since Robert Downey Jr. first spread on the greasepaint.
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Ever shirtless Matthew McConaughey will replace Owen Wilson in Ben Stiller’s upcoming movie, Tropic Thunder. Since McConaughey would never give his heart to a woman, he should be a safe choice. [Variety]
