TOM CRUISE - CRUISE CAMEO BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE

A cameo appearance by Tom Cruise as a bald, foulmouthed movie mogul in Paramount's Tropic Thunder "brought down the house" at a studio screening Tuesday night, the New York Times reported today (Thursday) in an article headed, "Tom Cruise, in Bit Role, Nips Studio's Top Gun." Paramount is owned by Viacom, whose chairman, Sumner Redstone, tossed Cruise off the Paramount lot in 2006, expressing his anger over Cruise's comments on behalf of Scientology while promoting the studio's latest Mission: Impossible sequel. Only last week Redstone and Cruise dined together, with Redstone remarking afterwards that they had buried the hatchet -- apparently unaware of the new hatchet that lay waiting for him. The Times reported that director Ben Stil ler had planned to keep Cruise's appearance in the movie a surprise. Cruise is not named in the film's credits and his scene is not included in the trailer for the film.

03/04/2008