Did you hear the Matt Lauer "Today Show" interview with Tom Cruise today? I happened to catch it on MSNBC radio this afternoon. Cruise is so recklessly passionate about psychiatry and psychiatric medications that he ... well ... kind of seemed to need psychiatric medication.
Lauer remained poised through the whole thing and was the very soul of moderation. If Brooke Shields believes that anti-depression medicine has helped her, why isn't that good enough? But Cruise would not back off. He kept pounding on Lauer and insisting that he knew everything because he's studied "the history of psychiatry" and because Scientology is the true religion.
Jeez, isn't anyone telling him he's going to lose a lot of fans acting like that? He seems truly deluded and must think this will actually win people over to Scientology, when, in fact, it's quite the opposite.
ADDED: Oh, here's the TiVo of last night's "Letterman," with Cruise. When he comes out, the band plays "Jump." Ha ha. Tom was just fine. Nothing strange at all. Dave is very good with him.
MORE: Here's the full text of the interview -- with a few helpful illustrations.
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26 comments:
Saw it too. He acts like the kid (read: my little brother) who just "read a book" about the Holocaust or Einstein's Theory of Relativity and goes around telling everyone how smart he is and how dumb they are. I just want him to shut up.
Ann, Wisconsin is all the better off for you being in it! Your work is fantastic on here, really interesting how multi-faceted your range is!
shouldn't this post be entitled "the politics of zombies"?
The thing is, Cruise is probably more right than wrong. I know an entire family that was functional for years, and now they are all on medications for being bi-polar, or depressed, or whatever... and now the family is NOT functional. I know it is anecdotal, but it seems kind of crazy that after 5 years EVERYBODY in a household suddenly finds out they were sick all along and were fighting it off all that time...
Harkennodog: I agree. People are taking way too many drugs.
If Cruise put as much passion into his acting as he does against Ritalin... Who knows, he might rise above passable.
From scientology.org (the official site): "A maxim in Scientology is that only those things which one finds true for himself are true."
I wonder how Tom Cruise doesn't think this statement applies to Brooke Shields.
Slac: I didn't feel you were berating me until you brought up the subject. I think Lauer is very adept at controlling interviews and personally looking good and un-controlling while he's doing it. Cruise is cocky and threw himself into it and got burned. Cruise needs to learn that people are gunning for him and that he can be played. He's overconfident and needs advice. Let's say he has an agenda to promote. Well, okay, then learn to do it competently. Because otherwise, you're only hurting your own cause, because your opponents are making you look like a nut.
EddieP: You're right that he was overgrinning.
and somehow Nicole Kidman once married this guy...
what a world
He's overconfident and needs advice.
You, mean, like the advice of the publicist he just fired, and replaced with his sister and fellow Scientologist (and therefore, effectively no publicist at all)?
I've seen portions of a grand total of four Cruise films--Rain Man, Top Gun, Jerry MacGuire, and one of those John Grisham things. So, he isn't one of those celebs to whom I would turn for medical advice anyway.
But in seeing the clip of him with Lauer tonight, my family and I all groaned. The guy, who seems to be in the business of rapidly collecting as many starlets as possible for his trophy case, probably could use a good regimen of Ritalin.
I'm still trying to figure out if Cruise is being totally honest in his quest (not to sound Holy Grail-ish). If he is, then kudos to him, even if he's a bit loony, for finally opening up for once in his life. If not...then, it's sad.
But he's dead-on about Ritalin -- too often it's a way of not dealing with the fact that children are rambunctious and jittery and full of energy (and maybe need Ritalin because their parents give them junk food and TV constantly). The Onion ran a story years ago about the last child in the world not on Ritalin. They hunted him down and shot him with a dart gun or something. Funny stuff, but you came away from it thinking, not too far off.
Cruise really doesn't need to be slamming Brooke Shields, though. Bizarre choice. Maybe he's just a huge closet (no pun intended) fan of Andre Agassi, and blames her for his lousy play during their marriage.
No discussion of this interview is complete without seeing tvgasm's version:
http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/miscellaneous_tv/000888.php
Leland: Good idea. Let's try to popularize that.
Craig: I think you're projecting what you already believe. A celeb smiling a lot while promoting a movie is pretty damned normal.
brady: You don't even! -- You're glib!
It's true. I am glib.
And because I just got a job with Warner Brothers, I'm contractually obligated to stick up for good ol' Hollyweird.
That, and even if I wasn't, the scientologists would eat me.
Ann: I'm not sure the "you're glib" thing will catch on because of the sound of the word "glib." Kinda oddly smooshy, yes?
Brady: They say that if you find that most holy of Warners relics, the Fingerbone of Bogey, Jack Warner himself will appear in your dreams to give you invaluable career advice at the studio... But perhaps Bacall still has it, so tough cookies for you!
Pop into the Malpaso office with your boxing script...bet they never heard one of those pitches...and if you stroll into Fortis, give the future Mrs. Monster Garage my undying devotion.
Got all that? Okley dokely then!
See, I'd have a witty comeback, except when I interviewed for the job, I said my favorite movie was either "The Maltese Falcon" or "To Have or Have Not".
And I recently wrote a song about Lauren Bacall.
Dang. Guilty as charged.
But, in my defense, the only script I ever tried to pitch was "Tarzan vs. Dracula", and it didn't go over so well. But it would be totally awesome if it ever got produced.
Two words:
Vampire Apes.
brady: Almost, which only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, baby!
You must've been happily gnawing at your egg white and quinoa omelet at the Ivy too loudly because every shill in town was pitching Vampire Apes then. Singing Vampire Apes, however...Julia Roberts hair person was all behind that logline, so with JR in your camp , we're talkin' $80mil domesitic at least! Think of the action figures! (Moulin Joe Young Rouge good working title)
ah, well, the best planned lays...
brady: pardon the spelling errors...
The next day, Katie mumbled, "That was an odd use of the word 'glib.'" I agree. Since when is "glib" something you are? It's a way in which you say something. But I relate to Tom: I've sometimes ranted incoherently.
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