Madge on a Mission for Malawi

The hostess with the mostest Madonna is joined by her daughter, Lourdes, and friends Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise, and Rosie O'Donnell at a star-studded, Gucci-sponsored event organized to benefit the United Nations Children's Fund.
photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com - February 6, 2008

Cute couple alert! We think Drew Barrymore has found herself a keeper in Justin Long.
photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Hip hop producer/performer Pharrell Williams and "Cashmere Mafia's" Lucy Liu cozy up over cocktails.
photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

The Kabbalah sisters unite!
photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon, cheers for Rihanna as the Grammy nominee entertains the audience.
photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com - February 6, 2008

Tom Cruise get a Ducati superbike

Tom Cruise arrives at the premiere of 'Mad Money' in Los Angeles, in this Jan. 9, 2008, file photo. Cruise is the first on the list to get Ducati's newest motorcycle, a $72,500 superbike bristling with titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber technology that can scoot up to 200 mph. Cruise is scheduled to take delivery of the Desmosedici RR at Beverly Hills Ducati this week. Only 1,500 of the red-and-white Moto GP racing replica motorcycles will be made and Cruise gets the first.

(AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Tom Cruise is the first on the list to get Ducati's newest motorcycle — a $72,500 superbike bristling with titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber technology that can scoot up to 200 mph.

Cruise is scheduled to take delivery of the Desmosedici RR at Beverly Hills Ducati this week. Only 1,500 of the red-and-white Moto GP racing replica motorcycles will be made and Cruise gets the first.

Michael Lock, chief of Cupertino-based Ducati North America, said the Desmosedici RR "is the impossible dream — made possible."

"We are delighted to be able to deliver the world's first production unit here in the USA to Tom Cruise, who is a well-known Ducati enthusiast," Lock said in a statement.

Tom Cruise ups star power at SAG Awards

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Tom Cruise is set to be a presenter at the Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony Sunday, joining a roster of A-listers appearing on the show.

Cruise, a three-time Oscar and SAG Awards nominee, will help hand out the coveted Actor trophies at the Shrine Auditorium. Cruise appeared as a presenter at the Academy Awards in 2007 but has never performed those duties at the SAG Awards.

The 45-year-old actor and movie mogul made news this month as the subject of an "unauthorized biography" and a four-year-old video that surfaced on the Internet in which he extols the virtues of Scientology.

Previously announced SAG Awards presenters include Steve Carell, Russell Crowe, Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Forest Whitaker and John Travolta.

The show is shaping up to be one of the most star-studded events of Hollywood's awards season, since the Writers Guild of America strike forced cancellation or scaling-down of other kudos ceremonies, including the Golden Globe Awards.

The SAG Awards will recognize performances in five film and eight television categories. Winners, chosen by nearly 100,000 members of the actors' union, often become front-runners for the Academy Awards.

#8 Tom Cruise

#8 Tom Cruise
06.14.07, 6:00 PM ET
© Matt Sayles/AP Photo

Power Rank 8 Pay $31 mil Category: Actors Pay Rank: 36 Web Rank: 8 Press Rank: 10 TV/Radio Rank: 7

After being dumped by Paramount last summer, Cruise, who topped last year's Celebrity 100, plotted his comeback (with longtime producing partner Paula Wagner) as head of United Artists, the moribund studio under MGM. UA's lineup: Lions for Lambs, directed by Robert Redford, for release this winter; Valkyrie, a World War II thriller, in production now. Cruise stars in both. Word is he'll join comedy kingpin Ben Stiller in Hardy Men, a send-up of the Hardy Boys series. On the personal front, Cruise enjoyed a decidedly quiet year with his wife, actress Katie Holmes, and their toddler Suri.

Cruise praises Scientology in video clip

Associated Press

NEW YORK - A biography and 4-year-old video of Tom Cruise are calling attention to the actor's belief in Scientology.

Andrew Morton, author of "Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography," published Tuesday by St. Martin's Press, alleges that the 45-year-old actor ranks second in command in the Church of Scientology.

"This is a fair, evenhanded treatment of Tom Cruise's life," Morton said Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show. "He's a man who deserves attention."

The church responded with a 15-page statement, calling the book "a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies" and saying Cruise "is a Scientology parishioner and holds no official or unofficial position in the Church hierarchy."

The public affairs office for the Church of Scientology didn't respond to a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Rogers & Cowan, the publicity firm that represents Cruise, issued a statement criticizing Morton for not interviewing "one person who has known or worked with Tom" in the past 25 years. The statement also derides Morton for writing "outlandish and malicious lies to sell books."

The book's publication comes as a 2004 video of Cruise extolling Scientology's virtues made its way to the Internet. The video was still on gossip Web site Gawker.com on Tuesday.

Cruise is shown speaking in great detail about the religion. He discusses his faith while the soundtrack to his "Mission: Impossible" films plays in the background.

"It's rough and tumble, and it's wild and woolly and it's a blast," he says. "It's a blast. It really is fun, because ... there is nothing better than ... going out there and fighting the fight and, suddenly you see, things are better."

"Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident, it's not like anyone else; as you drive past, you know you have to do something about it, because you know you're the only one that can really help."

The AP sent an e-mail seeking comment to Julie Polkes, one of Cruise's representatives.