A NICE LITTLE CHAT WITH CRUISE

A NICE LITTLE CHAT WITH CRUISE


'I LOVE Paula Wagner, but she wants to produce elsewhere and in her own venue, and I don't intend to stand in her way. I'll say this of her leaving United Artists -
whatever Paula wants is what I want her to have! And I hope we'll continue working together on future projects."



'I LOVE Paula Wagner, but she wants to produce elsewhere and in her own venue, and I don't intend to stand in her way. I'll say this of her leaving United Artists - whatever Paula wants is what I want her to have! And I hope we'll continue working together on future projects."



So spoke Tom Cruise on the phone with me this week. He added, cryptically: "I don't run United Artists; I just own it."


IT'S ALWAYS fun to talk to Tom, who tells me that his now "controversial" film about the German resistance attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in World War II is coming out on Dec. 26. All those critics who have panned the project, "Valkyrie," in advance, should know that nothing can deter Tom from his belief in this story. He says, "It's original. It's suspenseful. The writers Chris McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander are just great, and I can't say enough good things about the director, Bryan Singer. I first met him at the 'Mission Impossible' premiere, and we've been hoping to work together ever since." (Singer is the man who did "X-Men" and "Superman Returns." He will direct the next "Superman" as well.)


WHEN I asked Tom why he felt so many people in the business have gone after the Valkyrie" project as if it's a bad idea or something historically obscene, he sighed: "It just doesn't make sense to me either. The moment I read the screenplay I knew it was an important story, and as it's a true tale of heroic resistance to one of the great villains of history, I can't imagine that people won't want to see it."


I ASKED Tom if he will continue doing comedies on the heels of his "charac ter" impersonation as a fat, horrid studio executive in Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder"? He laughed, "Well, I'm always looking for something new, and Ben's movie is hilarious. He and I are old friends, and he is a really good director, so originally I said I'd do it just for friendship. But it turned out great. I actually love comedy, and I did it in 'Risky Business,' so I'll do more if it presents itself. I'm also always looking for a good love story, and I think I have one in a coming international thriller called 'The Tourist.' I believe I will be doing that."


I told Tom I was looking forward to his wife's debut on Broadway in the revival of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons." He said, "Things are going really well for Katie, and we'll see you on opening night, Sept. 18th."


I congratulated moviedom's big star on his little baby girl. He began to burble: "Oh, yes, she's so charming; she's so beautiful; she's just great!" (That was Daddy talking, not the formidable icon who has made billions of dollars for Hollywood since 1983.)


AND THE Fox News Channel's "Lips & Ears" gossip show should be inter ested to hear that Tom Cruise watches it. I told Tom I'd done an on-air bit last week about "Valkyrie," asking why it can't be accepted in the same way World War II movies by Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood and Francis Ford Coppola are viewed.


Tom said, "Yes, I'm aware of what you said on air. I saw it, and I appreciate it." So, "Lips & Ears," you are being heard.


WHEN THE British-made period film "The Duchess" arrives here, starring Ralph Fiennes and Keira Knightly, you may think about the more modern Princess Diana, because this movie uses the familiar line, "There were three of us in this marriage."


"The Duchess" is actually a film about the Duchess of Devonshire, born Georgiana Cavendish. She died 200 years ago, having been famously painted by Gainsborough and infamous for her marriage to a much-older man. During her lifetime, she was trapped in a public ménage a trois. She sought escape in gambling, drink and drugs.


Though the facts of their lives are only superficially similar - Diana wasn't into any sort of substance abuse - there is a genuine link. The Duchess and the Princess of Wales were both born Spencers and came into this world at the same family home, Althorp.


I WAS having dinner on a gorgeous ter race overlooking Central Park. It be longs to the gifted comedienne Phyllis Newman. Phyl indicated the spikes atop the iron fence that separates her from her neighbors - Jerry Seinfeld on one side, Glenn Close on the other. "When Glenn wants to visit, she just climbs up over the spikes and drops down!" (We had a lovely dinner celebrating the umpteenth birthday of Joe Armstrong with Judith and Bill Moyers and Cynthia "Friends in Deed" O'Neal.)



Speaking of the actress Glenn Close, she and her husband, David E. Shaw, co-host the Jackson Laboratory Gala at the Pierre come Sept. 18. The lab, associated with more than 20 Nobel Prizes, does great work. James Taylor will perform.


And while still speaking of the "fatally attractive" Glenn Close, let's note that the star of TV's celebrated hit "Damages," on FX, will also be the honoree at the annual Princess Grace Foundation Awards in Cipriani 42nd Street. This happens Oct. 15, with Noelle and Dick Wolf chairing.