BRAD GREY - PARAMOUNT BOSS MOCKS CRUISE AXING

Paramount studio boss BRAD GREY mocked his studio's rift with TOM CRUISE at a pre-Emmys party on Saturday (26AUG06), by 'axing' TV hit THE SOPRANOS. Grey is reportedly furious that Viacom boss SUMNER REDSTONE - who owns Paramount - ended the studio's deal with Cruise without consulting him. But he was able to joke about it at bash he threw for the cast and crew of HBO show The Sopranos at his Malibu, California, home. According to the New York Post newspaper, he told stunned but amused partygoers, "I know it's peculiar because Sumner doesn't own HBO, but Sumner is a very powerful man and he has decided to cancel The Sopranos. It's the decision he has made."