Tom Cruise wants $20 mil; doesn't realize he's not a star anymore

Tom Cruise constantly amazes me in his inability to realize just exactly what the rest of the world thinks of him. He redefines utterly clueless. It's not just the wacky Scientology, the barley juice, the robot wife, the jumping on couches or randomly accusing people of being glib. It's a combination of all those factors. The guy has utterly lost any charisma he ever had. Which is funny, because I always somehow thought charisma was a fairly permanent character trait.

Tom backed out of a movie deal because he couldn't get his required $20 million salary. Apparently he hasn't realized just how seriously he's been downgraded.

It looks like there's a snag in Tom Cruise's big career comeback film. According to sources, Cruise is probably not going to be playing the role of Edwin A. Salt, a fictional CIA officer who is outed as a spy.

'Edwin A. Salt,' which is set at Columbia Pictures, has had a rocky road. First Terry George was set to direct. He left and was replaced by Philip Noyce.

But now Cruise is out, and I'm told it's because of money. Apparently, Tom is unaware of the change in his status in the Hollywood community. Where once he was the top-paid star, Cruise now is in a position where a $20 million salary is not possible. I'm told an internal memo went around among the film's producers and top creators in which the Cruise situation was discussed and names were gathered for a replacement.

The reasons for Cruise's departure are not just his diminished popularity, negative public opinion and Scientology ' although those would be good enough. It's also just generational. Cruise is 45. His heyday as a box office star ' if he ever had one ' is over.

Meantime, Cruise remains at the center of the mystery concerning his kids Isabella and Connor's continued absence from their mother, Nicole Kidman. Th...

Read the full post at Celebitchy

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