Remember when Tom Cruise went off the rails in 2005? He jumped on Oprah's couch, flipped out on Matt Lauer, "knocked up" Katie Holmes and just generally acted kinda nuts. Since then, he's had a string of box-office disappointments and his popularity has taken a big hit. So Tom took his handlers' advice before promoting Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol this month and toned down the crazy, In Touch Weekly (via Celebitchy.com) is reporting.
"While promting Mission: Impossible, Tom was instructed to keep the focus on the film and not his personal life," an "insider" dishes to the mag . "He really alienated his fans with his bizarre behavior back then. This time, he was given guidelines on what is and isn't acceptable."
It's kind of sad that a man who's pushing 50 and has been in the entertainment industry for 30 years needs to be given "guidelines on what is and isn't acceptable" when promoting a movie. But he definitely followed them, sticking mostly to talking about his stunt work and not being overly effusive about his marriage and religion, so the public and media are focused on his, uh, "youthful appearance" and not his crazy antics.
But is there an ulterior motive for his newfound model behavior? In Touch's source claims, "He's well on his way to regaining his throne as the most popular star in the world!" Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, Xenu, but that time has probably passed. Just because MI4 is successful doesn't mean the public is suddenly clamoring for Tom Cruise movies again. Sure, he'll always have devoted fans, and if he chooses projects wisely, he could have some more hits. But for a lot of the public, he has become a joke since 2005, and his belief in Scientology is a turn-off for a lot of people. But that probably won't be a deterrent because, as In Touch reports, "he wants everyone to like him," so he'll probably continue to act really creepy and try-hard and desperate for a few more years while trying to convince the public to love him again.