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  • 21
    Apr
    2013
    12:35pm, EDT

    Tom Cruise's 'Oblivion' obliterates competition with $38 milllion box office

    By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter

    Tom Cruise's sci-fi pic "Oblivion" opened to $38.2 million at the domestic box office to come in No. 1 after a better-than-expected performance and despite a B- CinemaScore. Overseas, the Universal pic continued to please, grossing $33.7 million in its second weekend for an international cume of $112 million and worldwide total of $150.2 million.

    The movie marks the actor's best North American opening outside of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, not accounting for inflation.

    Directed by Joseph Kosinski ("Tron: Legacy"), "Oblivion" co-stars Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo. Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark produced. The pic cost Universal and Elliot Inc. at least $120 million to produce.

    Adult male moviegoers fueled "Oblivion," making up 57 percent of the audience.

    Cruise's track record domestically has been mixed. "Jack Reacher" debuted to $15.2 million in December on its way to earning a so-so $80 million in North America. Conversely, "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," opening to $29.6 million in December 2011, turned into a box-office monster, grossing nearly $700 million worldwide.

    PHOTOS: 30 groundbreaking sci-fi films

    Sci-fi is a familiar genre for Cruise, who starred in "War of the Worlds" and "Minority Report," both directed by Steven Spielberg.

    Set in 2077, 60 years after Earth has been destroyed by aliens, "Oblivion" follows one of the last humans stationed on the planet as he uncovers a troubling secret.

    Universal decided to get a jump on the beginning of the crowded summer box office by opening "Oblivion" now. The studio has gone aggressively after males by advertising during major sporting events including the NCAA's March Madness.

    Speaking of sports, Legendary and Warner Bros.' Jackie Robinson biopic "42" continued to score strong numbers in its second weekend, declining a slim 34 percent to come in No. 2 with $18 million. The baseball drama's 10-day domestic total is $54.1 million.

    Paramount's "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" jumped the $300 million mark in its fourth weekend, thanks to stellar $33 million opening in China. The sequel has grossed $111.2 million domestically and $211.7 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $322.9 million. In China, the pic outpaced the first film by a four-to-one margin.

    Expanding nationwide over the weekend, Derek Cianfrance's indie drama "The Place Beyond the Pines," starring Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, placed No. 6 in North America. The film, from Focus Features and Sidney Kimmel, took in $4.7 million for a total $11.4 million.


    Follow @ NBCNewsEnt

    PHOTOS: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman at "Oblivion" premiere

    Below are the top 10 estimates for the April 12-14 weekend at the domestic box office.

    Title, weeks in release/theater count, studio, three-day weekend total, cume.

    1. "Oblivion," 1/3,783, Universal, $38.2 million
    2. "42," 2/3,250, Warners/Legendary, $18 million, $54.1 million
    3. "The Croods," 5/3,435, Fox/DreamWorks Animation, $9.5, $154.9 million
    4. "Scary Movie 5," 2/3,402, The Weinstein Co., $6.3 million, $22.9 million
    5. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," 4/3,175, Paramount, $5.8 million, $111.2 million
    6. "The Place Beyond the Pines," 4/1,542, Focus/Sidney Kimmel, $4.7 million, $11.4 million
    7. "Evil Dead," 3/2,823, Sony/TriStar/FilmDistrict, $4.1 million, $48.5 million
    8. "Olympus Has Fallen," 5/2,638, FilmDistrict, $4.5 million, $88.1 million
    9. "Jurassic Park," 3/2,330, Universal, $4 million, $38.5 million
    10. "Oz The Great and Powerful," 7/2,504, Disney, $3 million, $223.8 million

    Related content:

    • Tom Cruise leaps into the future and 'Oblivion'
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  • 10
    Apr
    2013
    11:07am, EDT

    Matt Damon, Tom Cruise or Will Smith: Which sci-fi star will you rally behind?

    By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

    Three awkwardly titled movies about a devastated Earth, three big-name stars. How can a movie fan keep them straight? Here's a quick guide to the apocalyptic avalanche coming soon to a theater near you.

    TriStar, Universal, Columbia

    Three similar sci-fi movies are headed to theaters. Matt Damon, top, stars in "Elysium," Tom Cruise, lower left, in "Oblivion," and Will Smith, lower right, in "After Earth."

    'Elysium'
    Star: Matt Damon

    Opens: Aug. 9

    Plot:  The wealthy have left Earth and live on a space habitat called Elysium. Earth itself is now crime-ridden and impoverished, and people there are in desperate need of medical care. Matt Damon, who's beefed up to major hunk levels for the film, is a tough Earth bruiser who has a mission to get to Elysium and save the people of Earth. To do so, he must confront Jodie Foster, Elysium's mayor. The film is directed by Neill Blomkamp and also stars Sharlto Copley from "District 9," which also dealt with issues of wealth, poverty and the social separation they bring.

    Extras: Damon gets robotic armor attached to his body to help him invade Elysium. It looks creepy and painful -- a bone saw is somehow involved.

    'Oblivion'
    Star: Tom Cruise

    Opens: April 19

    Plot: Earth was attacked by aliens 60 years ago and has been pretty much abandoned. Tom Cruise is Jack Harper, a drone mechanic stationed in a tower floating near Earth and part of the mission that's scavenging final resources from the planet before abandoning it forever. But then a spaceship crashes, and Jack rescues a woman in it and is taken prisoner by a group led by Morgan Freeman. Turns out everything he thought he knew about Earth and the invasion that ravaged it just might be wrong.

    Extras: Don't miss the creepy post-apocalypse shots of a half-destroyed Pentagon, leaning Washington Monument, and buried Statue of Liberty. 

     

    'After Earth'
    Stars: Will and Jaden Smith

    Opens: June 7

    Plot: Guess what? Earth's trashed again! Society has rebuilt itself on another planet, but when Will and Jaden Smith leave there, they crash-land on Earth. Will's injured, so it's son Jaden (now 14, you remember him from "Karate Kid") who must make a perilous trek through the wasteland to try and save his dad.

    Extras: The animals on the planet have evolved into killing machines. It's like if Disney's Jungle Cruise was suddenly doused with The Incredible Hulk's gamma rays or something.

     

    Who's the best hero (or hero team?) Cast your vote below.

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    Explore related topics: movies, tom-cruise, will-smith, matt-damon, featured, a-e, oblivion, elysium
  • 24
    Jan
    2013
    10:14am, EST

    'Top Gun' returns to theaters for 3-D release

    By Courtney Hazlett, TODAY

    The movie that turned "Goose" and "Maverick" into household names in 1986 is returning to the big screen. Yes, "Top Gun" is set to get the 3-D treatment. Below, the trailer Paramount released -- no 3-D glasses required.

    Watch on YouTube

    "Top Gun 3D" will play in IMAX theaters only when it makes its limited six-day run beginning Feb. 8. You can buy it on Blu-ray (in either 3-D or 2-D versions) on Feb. 19.

    The use of 3-D has caught heat in recent years for not living up to the hype and driving movie ticket prices up into the $20 range in many markets. But "Top Gun," with all its high-flying stunts, seems like a natural fit.

    Next up on the remastering stage: "Jurassic Park 3D," which opens April 5 in celebration of the film's 20th anniversary.

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  • 11
    Dec
    2012
    1:58pm, EST

    Tom Cruise or Will Smith -- who's the best hero for a post-apocalypse Earth?

    By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

    Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice, wrote Robert Frost. But this week, two new movie teasers present their own takes on Earth's eventual demise. One says the world will end with Will Smith's son running though abandoned jungles, chased by monkeys, one says it will end with Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman hiding out under a devastated Earth's surface.

    Columbia Pictures, Universal


    Follow @ NBCNewsEnt

    Will Smith and his 14-year-old son Jaden star in "After Earth," due out June 7. Famed twistmaster M. Night Shyamalan directs. In the film, the Smiths crash-land on a hostile Earth 1000 years after humans have bailed on it.

    "Son, this is not training. This is a Class 1 quarantined planet," Will Smith's character, an injured general, warns his son. "Everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans."

    The Earth of "After Earth" looks a lot like ours now, only jungly and wild, and the Smiths have brought some kind of flying suits that allow them to dive off cliffs and soar like hanggliders.

    Watch on YouTube

    Apparently, the film follows Jaden Smith's character as he sets out to find the rescue beacon that could save his dying father. Sure, "Karate Kid" was one thing, but one wonders if fans of Will Smith will be satisfied if his teen son ends up dominating the movie.

    Still, as one YouTube viewer wrote, "If Will Smith is in it, then I'm watching it!

    Tom Cruise's "Oblivion," opening April 12, features a similar devastated Earth, but a different approach, based on director Joseph Kosinski's graphic novel.


    Cruise plays Jack Harper (not Jack Reacher, that one opens Dec. 21). Harper repairs the drone satellites that patrol an almost-empty Earth, hunting down the surviving aliens who attacked the planet decades before.

    "The last Super Bowl was played right here," he says, standing in a crumbled stadium that looks more like a volcanic crater than an arena. "Sixty years ago, Earth was attached. We won the war, but they destroyed half the planet. Everyone's been evacuated. Nothing human remains."

    Of course, we know that can't be true. Cruise meets up with Morgan Freeman, discovers there are surviving humans on the planet, and locks and loads.

    Both Smith and Cruise have dealt with the end of Earth before -- Cruise in "War of the Worlds" and Smith in "I Am Legend." Now, in 2013, moviegoers can compare the two stars' approaches.

    Tom Cruise or Will Smith -- which post-apocalyptic hero would you want on your side? Tell us on Facebook.

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  • 15
    Nov
    2012
    8:54am, EST

    Harrison Ford and fellow action stars do battle with age

    By Lauren Schutte, NBC News contributor

    How old can they go? Harrison Ford has expressed interest in reprising his gun-slinging intergalactic smuggler Han Solo for Disney’s planned “Star Wars” sequel. This would make the action star, who was 35 the year the first “Star Wars” film was released, 73 years old for the expected 2015 release date.

    Reuters, AP (2)

    Action stars Harrison Ford (73), left, Bruce Willis (57), center, and Tom Cruise (50) are still going strong.

    How long can a guy keep believably kicking butt on the big screen?

    Seemingly forever.

    Slideshow: Harrison Ford

    Ford, who also reprised his beloved Indiana Jones character nearly 20 years after staring in the one-time-trilogy’s third film, is in good company.

    Viewers turned out in droves to see Sylvester Stallone’s assembly of over-the-hill action stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren in “The Expendables” and The Expendables 2.”

    Slideshow: Tom Cruise

    With ages spanning from 72 to 52, the actors blew up jets, helicopters, cities and an uncountable number of cars while wielding guns, knives, bombs, planes and their own fists onscreen. Combined, the films have taken in over $500 million worldwide and they’ll be going for more. A third movie, which will potentially include 82-year-old “Dirty Harry” star Clint Eastwood, is in the works.

    Next year Willis, 57, will also bring back his “Die Hard” detective John McClane and play the original G.I. Joe, Joe Colton, in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” in which he keeps step with 32-year-old Channing Tatum.

    Even Tom Cruise, who celebrated his 50th birthday this year, continues to take on extremely physical roles. The “Top Gun” actor, who scaled the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, for 2011’s “Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol,” is playing a tough-as-nails former Army officer in “Jack Reacher,” out Dec. 21.

    The trailer shows a ripped Cruise, who notoriously loves doing his own stunt work, busting down doors, driving cars off the road and street-fighting five men on his own. Age is just a number

    So you tell us, does an action star lose his believability at a certain age? Take our poll and sound off on Facebook.

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  • 24
    Oct
    2012
    3:03pm, EDT

    Tom Cruise files $50 million lawsuit over claims he abandoned Suri

    By Jill Serjeant, Reuters

    Tom Cruise filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against magazines that claimed he had abandoned his daughter, Suri, following his divorce from actress Katie Holmes.

    The "Mission: Impossible" star filed the lawsuit in U.S. court in Los Angeles against the publishers of celebrity magazines In Touch and Life & Style, Cruise's attorney Bert Fields said in a statement.

    "Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri. She's a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has 'abandoned' her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible," Fields said in a statement.

    The lawsuit refers to two cover stories published by the magazines in July and September with the headlines "Abandoned by Daddy" and "Abandoned by her dad." The September story from In Touch claimed that 6-year-old Suri, the only child of Cruise and Holmes, had gone more 44 days without seeing him.

    The magazines, owned by privately held German publishing group Bauer Media, did not immediately return calls for comment.


    Follow @ TODAY_ent

    Holmes filed for divorce in June after six years of marriage, seeking sole custody of Suri, in a move that took Cruise by surprise when he was filming in Iceland. They swiftly agreed to a custody arrangement and settled other matters but details have been kept private.

    Fields said that despite repeated stories in celebrity media about Cruise and his personal life during his 30-year Hollywood career, the actor rarely resorted to litigation.

    "He's not a litigious guy. But when these sleazy peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he's going to sue," he added.

    Fields said Cruise was seeking damages of $50 million and would "undoubtedly give the money to charity" if he wins the case.

    Related content:

    • Slideshow of celebrity dads

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  • 17
    Sep
    2012
    7:25am, EDT

    Church of Scientology responds to 'hatchet-job' Vanity Fair article on Tom Cruise

    Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

    Tom Cruise.

    By The Hollywood Reporter

    The Church of Scientology has fired off an eight-page letter to Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter over its cover story about the organization, accusing the magazine of "shoddy journalism, religious bigotry and potential legal liability."

    Tom Cruise exposé in Vanity Fair: 7 shocking new revelations

    The magazine's October 2012 issue, with Scientologist Tom Cruise's ex-wife Katie Holmes on the cover, features an expose of the organization, written by Maureen Orth, that includes an allegation that the church held secret auditions to find a wife for Cruise following his divorce from Nicole Kidman.

    PHOTOS: Scientology's historic Hollywood holdings

    Among the shocking details: the women weren't told the real reason they were videotaping auditions; the chosen woman, a beautiful, Iranian-born honors graduate named Nazanin Boniadi, was cut off from her family and prompted to break off her engagement as part of her grooming period; she drew the ire of Cruise and Scientology leader David Miscavige over minor things perceived to be major acts of insubordination; Cruise would not break up with her directly and would not acknowledge her as she was forced to vacate his home; and Boniadi was banished to Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, Fla., where she was humiliated by being forced to clean toilets with toothbrushes and dig ditches in the dead of night, all the while forbidden to tell anyone what had just happened to her.

    Other allegations include: Kidman was determined by the church to be a Suppressive Person and therefore an enemy to all Scientologists; Cruise's ex-girlfriend Penelope Cruz was dismissed by Miscavige as being a "dilettante" because she refused to give up her Buddhist beliefs; Cruise "was reportedly unable to entice a number of beautiful, well-known actresses" to become his future wife, including Sofia Vergara and Scarlett Johansson; and Cruise underwent a rigorous course of auditing -- long interrogation sessions during which the subject is required to reveal painful and deeply personal information about themselves -- and Miscavige would then reveal the secrets on those tapes to entertain whomever he was with.

    On its website, the church posted a letter denying the allegations that was penned by Jeffrey K. Riffer of the law firm Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP and was addressed to Vanity Fair's Carter.

    "We are writing regarding your, your editor’s and reporter’s shoddy journalism, religious bigotry and potential legal liability arising out of Vanity Fair’s upcoming story about the Tom Cruise divorce," reads the letter, which has been turning up on the blogs of Scientology watchers for several days. "Significantly, while Maureen Orth was preparing her story, Vanity Fair ignored its staff and contributors who have firsthand knowledge of Mr. Cruise and of Mr. Miscavige and who would burden her story with the truth."

    Riffer also accuses Orth of failing to make a legitimate attempt at a request for an interview with Miscavige, calling it a "disingenuous sham."

    "... (S)he couldn’t possibly have thought that an 'Oh, by the way' phone call to the Church’s Public Affairs office requesting an interview with the ecclesiastical leader of the religion could possibly be accommodated," the letter reads. "If she were serious, she would have done at least a molecule of research in seeing that Mr. Miscavige travels across the country and around the world almost non-stop, unlike the anti-Scientologist apostate sources who form the basis of her already-written story and who are available on a moment’s notice at the press of 'send' on any anti-Scientology hate-site blog. Is it usual for you to take over the editorial direction of Vanity Fair articles or is that reserved for hatchet-jobs of minority religions and its members?"

    The letter goes on to address a list of 32 questions submitted to the church by Vanity Fair, including one seeking comment on the notion that Miscavige has been a "kind of 'third wheel' in Cruise's relationships and marriages."It cites Miscavige's extensive travels as proof that he is "not a 'third wheel' to anything or anyone."


    Follow @ TODAY_ent

    STORY: Is Harvey using Scientology to market 'Master'?

    The letter also attempts to discredit Orth's sources.

    "Ms. Orth appears to have only gleaned her information from fringe hate sites and their webmasters," it reads. "If she were writing a story about a Sikh religious leader, would she first latch onto the sites of white supremacists, then interview their most virulent and violent members and follow it up with mere 'fact check' questions to the Sikhs themselves? At the eleventh hour? And refuse to give the names of her white supremacist sources?

    "The scenario is no different here. Scientology is a new religion and its beliefs not as well known as those of more ancient history. That does not excuse you or Ms. Orth for being ignorant. Rather, it demands you be even more sensitive to finding out what the true beliefs are of Scientology -- which can only be told by the religion itself. Just because you don't think you are bigoted doesn't mean you aren't. Bigotry and ignorance go hand in hand and you are definitely and wilfully ignorant of the actual beliefs of Scientology and the activities of its Churches."

    The letter, which was written before the Vanity Fair issue hit newsstands, also threatens legal action.

    "The disgraceful allegations Vanity Fair apparently plan to publish about Mr. Miscavige are defamatory," it reads. "If Vanity Fair goes forward with publication of such defamatory allegations, now that it is on notice that the story is false, the stain on its reputation will lastlong after any reader even remembers the article. The sting of the jury verdict will last longer still; far longer than any pleasure from racing to publish a poorly researched and sourced story."

    STORY: Scientology held secret auditions to find Tom Cruise a wife (report)

    Cruise's longtime lawyer, Bert Fields, also has denied that Cruise and the church held auditions for a mate.

    In a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month, Fields wrote, "Vanity Fair’s story is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus 'sources.' It’s long, boring and false.”

    Cruise's most recent marriage ended after Holmes filed for divorce June 28 and the couple reached a settlement two weeks later.

    Fields has threatened legal action recently against the National Enquirer and other media outlets in the wake of the high-profile breakup.

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  • 12
    Sep
    2012
    2:12pm, EDT

    Fellow Scientologist Kirstie Alley defends Tom Cruise

    Getty Images file

    Kirstie Alley in January 2012.

    By Peter Gicas, E!Online

    Follow @ TODAY_ent
    Kirstie Alley clearly has Tom Cruise's back. The actress is coming to her fellow Scientologist's defense in the wake of the latest Vanity Fair cover story, which alleges, among other things, that the Church of Scientology auditioned a female member named Nazanin Boniadi to be the Hollywood top gun's girlfriend before he got together with Katie Holmes.
    "I think whenever you have articles written that are third and fourth parties' opinions, it's like the game Gossip and you don't get the truth," Alley tells Entertainment Tonight. "I think that a magazine of that caliber should have interviewed him, and then they would get the truth."

    Five more jaw-droppers from Vanity Fair's story

    The former "Cheers" star also spoke out regarding Scientology itself, saying, "I think that probably all religions sound bizarre to people who are not the practitioners of them."

    Read the Church of Scientology's response to the article

    She adds, "To me, it's so normal, and probably 90 percent of the crazy stuff I hear isn't true."

    See what Cruise has been up to following his split from Holmes 

    While Cruise himself has remained mum regarding the article's claim, his attorney, Bert Fields, told E! News exclusively last week that Vanity Fair's story "is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus 'sources.' It's long, boring and false."

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  • 3
    Sep
    2012
    9:23am, EDT

    Report claims Church of Scientology auditioned potential brides for Tom Cruise

    By Randee Dawn, TODAY contributor

    Hollywood is full of auditions, but back in 2004 a very unusual casting call was allegedly put out for young women: The Church of Scientology wanted to find a potential spouse for Tom Cruise.

    That's according to the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine, which features a cover story ("What Katie Didn't Know: Marriage, Scientology-Style") about the reported audition process. According to the article, a secret project was initiated within Scientology to get Cruise, perhaps Scientology's highest-profile member, a girlfriend and potential wife. Scientology members were brought in to audition for a training film, then asked what they knew about the "Top Gun" actor. 

    Finding the right Scientologist for Cruise was crucial, according to former head of Scientology's in-house studio Marc Headley, who said he watched several audition tapes. "You can't do anything to displease Scientology, because Tom Cruise will freak out," he told Vanity Fair. (For the record, Scientology reps deny there was a search, and Cruise declined an interview with the magazine.)

    "The allegations about the Church supposedly 'auditioning' prospective brides for Tom Cruise is a false piece of gossip that has been floating around the tabloids for several years sourced to a group of anti-Scientologists," a Scientology rep told NBCNews in a statement.

    According to Vanity Fair, Scientologists thought they found the right woman for Cruise in Nazanin Boniadi, an Iranian-born actress and then-Scientologist who has appeared on shows like "How I Met Your Mother." The two dated for several months, during which the article says she reported back to an official about every detail of their lives together, and signed multiple confidentiality agreements. But the two didn't mesh, and eventually she was asked to move out, told by a Scientology official, "Naz, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

    Reportedly, Boniadi confided in a Scientology friend about the relationship, and when officials found out she was punished with manual, menial labor such as digging ditches and cleaning toilets with a toothbrush. A Scientology spokesperson told Vanity Fair, "The Church does not punish people, especially in (that) manner."


    Follow @ TODAY_ent

    Boniadi has since left Scientology. Cruise wed actress Katie Holmes in 2006; the couple's divorce was finalized in August. 

    Related content:

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  • 10
    Jul
    2012
    12:57pm, EDT

    Confident Katie Holmes not a 'little girl' anymore

    Elle

    By Us Weekly

    Get ready for Katie Holmes 2.0. In mid-May, the "Kennedys" actress, 33, sat down with ELLE magazine for a revealing cover story interview for its August issue, which hits stands July 17. And, in new excerpts from the prescient sit-down -- exclusive to Us Weekly -- Holmes drops even more illuminating hints about her impending split from Tom Cruise and her planned reinvention.

    PHOTOS: Katie's transformation during her Cruise marriage

    (About a month and a half after Holmes chatted with ELLE, she filed for divorce from Cruise, 50, after nearly six years of marriage; the former couple settled their divorce on Monday, with Holmes getting primary custody of their daughter Suri, 6.)

    The former "Dawson's Creek" star admits to ELLE that, as a younger woman, she struggled with her sexual confidence: "I always felt like a little girl before ... I didn't even know what sexy was."

    PHOTOS: Tom and Katie's final days together

    The secret to feeling sexy? "Anytime you feel good about yourself, you embody sexiness," the soon-to-be-single Holmes advises. "It's almost like a power or a confidence or a secret."

    Just as tantalizingly, Holmes alludes to her ability to cope and address problems -- no matter how intimidating -- with adversaries.

    "If something's not OK, then I make it known," says the star. "I will deal with things ... the way my mom taught us girls how to be. She stressed listen, learn, always be strong and be true to yourself."

    VIDEO: Her first week of freedom

    In previously released quotes from the interview, Holmes snapped when asked about the stigma of being "Mrs. Tom Cruise."

    "He has been Tom Cruise for 30 years," she said of the "Rock of Ages" star. "I know who I am and where I am and where I want to go, so I want to focus on that."

    Indeed, a source told Us on Monday shortly after news of Cruise and Holmes' settlement: "She is ... very happy. She can move on and finally live her life."

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  • 9
    Jul
    2012
    1:10pm, EDT

    Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reach divorce agreement

    By Courtney Hazlett, TODAY

    Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are officially no longer husband and wife. Less than two weeks after Holmes filed for divorce, the couple have settled on a divorce agreement, according to a statement issued by Jonathan W. Wolfe, an attorney for Holmes.

    "The case has been settled and the agreement has been signed. We are thrilled for Katie and her family and are excited to watch as she embarks on the next chapter of her life. This result could not have been achieved without the hard work of my partner Gary Skoloff and our co-counsel Allan Mayefsky, Michael Mosberg and Larry Trachtenberg of Aronson Mayefsky and Sloan and Peter Walzer and Chris Melcher of Walzer & Melcher in California. We thank Tom’s counsel for their professionalism and diligence that helped bring about this speedy resolution."

    Holmes filed for divorce June 29, and the couple would have had to appear in court to July 17, had they not come to an agreement before then. 

    Cruise and Holmes, who were married five years, did not disclose any details about who would have custody of their daughter Suri, or what financial arrangements were reached. Just prior to announcing that a settlement was reached, reps for Holmes and Cruise issued a joint statement to E! saying they were moving forward with Suri's best interests in mind.


    Follow @ TODAY_ent

    "We are committed to working together as parents to accomplish what is in our daughter Suri's best interests," the couple told E! News. "We want to keep matters affecting our family private and express our respect for each other's commitment to each of our respective beliefs and support each other's roles as parents."

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  • 5
    Jul
    2012
    9:24am, EDT

    Katie Holmes before breakup: I'm starting a 'new phase'

    Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

    In a pre-split interview with ELLE magazine, Katie Holmes talked about coming into her own.

    By Us Weekly

    As for Katie Holmes' plans to go single this summer, the writing was on the wall -- or at least in the August issue of ELLE magazine.

    In a cover story interview conducted six weeks before the 33-year-old actress filed for divorce from Tom Cruise, Holmes dropped not-totally-subtle hints about a transitional period in her life.

    "I definitely feel much more comfortable in my own skin," the "Kennedys" star said of entering her 30s. "I feel sexier. I think in my 20s, it's like you're trying too hard to figure everything out."

    PHOTOS: How Katie transformed during her marriage to Tom Cruise

    Holmes was 27 -- and mother to newborn daughter Suri, now 6 -- when she wed Cruise, now 50, in November 2006.

    The actress and fashion designer added tellingly: "I'm starting to come into my own. It's like a new phase."

    Holmes (who next stars in a modern version of Anton Chekhov's play "The Seagull," and has shot the film "Molly," which she co-wrote) seemed to bristle when asked about the reality of being "Mrs. Tom Cruise."


    Follow @ TODAY_ent

    PHOTOS: Katie and Tom, the way they were

    "He has been Tom Cruise for 30 years," she said of the "Rock of Ages" star. "I know who I am and where I am and where I want to go, so I want to focus on that."

    She also shot down assumptions that marrying the superstar helped her acting career. "Things are not handed to anyone," she said, as excerpted in Page Six.

    "If anything, you work a little bit harder when you're in such visible circumstances."

    Page Six also reported that Holmes "didn't speak about Tom in a lovey-dovey way at all" during the interview. "She deflected the Tom questions and brought them around to herself."

    After filing for divorce last Thursday, Holmes has been seen out and about in NYC with Suri near the downtown, $12,500-a-month new apartment she secretly rented in her own name.

    PHOTOS: Tom Cruise's ageless face

    On July 4th -- the same day Holmes told the Daily News she was "alright" amidst the drama -- Holmes slammed a new report that she filed an "emergent action" to make her divorce and custody trial with Cruise public.

    "The reports are incorrect," Holmes' attorney Jonathan Wolfe told Us. "There is no such filing at this time. Other than her action for divorce, the only pending application filed by Ms. Holmes remains her request for an anonymous caption."

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