Tom Cruise
Well, I watched the infamous show on Oprah today by virtue of a ten-day grounding by a doctor after injuring my leg on an ATV last week. The good news is I still get paid; one of the benefits of being a federal employee. I worked with Cruise on Jerry Maguire in Tempe, AZ in 1996. I was only a sideline reporter/extra but I was in close proximity during the hot all night shoot. I remember making eye contact and the acknowledgement as one actor to another at three in the morning. Since Tom Cruise, aka Thomas Mopather, made millions to my 100's of dollars I paid attention to what he did.
He worked hard; intense and focused on the scenes. He exuded confidence and command of the scene. In short I was impressed with his professionalism. Years later I worked on Magnolia on one set while he filmed another in an adjacent room and a hotel in Santa Clarita, Calif. Same thing from what I could detect. The extras in LA all concluded with complete clarity and conviction that Cruise was gay. I scoffed at the time and still do. He's bonkers for the cute Katie Holmes and I can't imagine that is a ruse, anymore than Hollywood marriages are in general.
I think the Scientology thing is whacked but even smart people sign on to weird things. The bottomline is movie stars start out just like you and I. Their drive and possibly talent spur them to great success. There's nothing wrong with that. It's the America we know.
He worked hard; intense and focused on the scenes. He exuded confidence and command of the scene. In short I was impressed with his professionalism. Years later I worked on Magnolia on one set while he filmed another in an adjacent room and a hotel in Santa Clarita, Calif. Same thing from what I could detect. The extras in LA all concluded with complete clarity and conviction that Cruise was gay. I scoffed at the time and still do. He's bonkers for the cute Katie Holmes and I can't imagine that is a ruse, anymore than Hollywood marriages are in general.
I think the Scientology thing is whacked but even smart people sign on to weird things. The bottomline is movie stars start out just like you and I. Their drive and possibly talent spur them to great success. There's nothing wrong with that. It's the America we know.
posted by Mark at 7:45 PM
16 Comments:
I don't think the point is that Tom Cruise is gay, as much as he's probably bisexual like much of Hollywood's A-list.
I do have some difficulty in accepting the view that all of the rumors of Cruise's sexuality are totally unfounded. Experience shows me that in every controversy, there is 50% truth and 50% lie. The reality of the situation is usually a nice balance.
--Mitchell
Yeah Mitch so where's the guys? Most of hollywood is bisexual? I certainly don't know any such thing. Sounds fallacious on its face as a law student.
Links such as this http://www.afterellen.com/People/bicelebs.html are probably more socially accepted than more meretricious links like this. http://www.geocities.com/mnussitch/gossip.html .
Bisexuality is not a taboo or a "fallacy" in its own right. Here's a list of famous, that is, admitted bisexuals in the public eye.
http://www.bisandiego.org/famous.html
The point is, such a creatively thriving industry doesn't leave room for much scruples or monogamy. Movie stars can't come out and admit they are bisexual for the same reason they can't admit they're gay. They have temperemental fans and a very prudent kingdom to uphold.
Hollywood itself, being the king of all things liberal, is very coy about bisexuality. Moviestars get a kick out of playing "gay" characters if they are straight. Open lipped same-sex kisses on sitcoms are ratings-grabbers. Are we so naive as to believe the fun stops when the camera does?
Monogamous individuals in Hollywood are usually clearly recognizable. No one accuses Ron Howard of being gay. No one confuses Annette Bening or Tom Hanks with Drew Barrymore or Kevin Spacey. But hmm, there seems to be a lot of celebrities who are curiously unattached and seemingly asexual until a big tabloid story hits and we know they are officially get laid.
Rich creative people + a sex-craving entertainment industry = lots of interesting sexual encounters behind closed doors. It's a formula that seems likely but can't be confirmed or denied.
However, the court of public opinion doesn't require hards facts or sworn testimonials to accept or reject a case.
--Mitchell Warren
While some may be bi-sexual just as in the general population, it is difficult to determine whom is or isn't. The gay actors are acceted so this is no longer an issue like it was with Rock Hudson. It's a tough town run mostly by conservatives. That's the real scoop here. He doesn't seem like a gay man to me. And no men have been found that were credible, only one who wasn't.
In the end a weak argument sides with negative affirmation. Many go astray on that path.
Movie stars like Cruise tend to get where they are not because of talent but because they are willing to prostitute themselves shamelessly.
That's a pitiful equivocation. We all prostitute ourselves to get whatever paycheck we have. I'd rather have his.
Moses watch out. The Red sea is about to fall in on your head. We ger sick leave when hurt on the job under workman's comp. They probably don't have that in Utah.
A review of the credits on the IMDB.com database of "Magnolia" and "Jerry Maguire" did not yield a 'Mark York', a 'Mark A. York', or a 'Mark Andrew York'.
Did you work under a stage name?
I worked background on a slew of shows. That means no credit, only a paycheck and benefits for union members of which am one [SAG] in good standing. Even a solo on camera is still uncredited sans dialogue.
The average fan thinks you can go on in and get under fives all over the place, but it's next to impossible. It requires getting through a series of auditions, which I have done, but in the end the job went to some other actor. Extra work pays the bills.
Just in case you're making the case that I'm a fraud my statement in the post affirms the obvious: "I was only a sideline reporter/extra." This by definition is a noncredited part, hence no credits. Credit in film is a damn tough gig. Millionaires and their teams fight over them and contracts are derailed because of them.
I wasn't making a case for anything. I was merely asking.
Good bye.
Nothing wrong with that. It's just that my credentials are constantly under attack.
Mark:
Tom Cruise repeated the trampoline act he performed on Oprah's couch on Letterman, suggesting that it was a well-rehearsed routine for public consumption.
As for the whole issue of gay actors, no male or female movie star has ever publicly admitted to being gay or lesbian and still retained their star status. Ellen Degeneres doesn't count. She's a tv personality. The two movies she made bombed. When was the last time anyone saw Ann Heche in a film or tv show?
The rank and file of everyday workers in Hollywood may represent a political cross section of America, but I think that most writers and the leading figures in the industry, behind and in front of the camera are liberal. They don't care if their colleagues are gay. However, the moneymen know that there are millions of people in this country who detest homosexuals and will not patronize films with stars who are open about being gay or lesbian.
Rupert Everett is not hiding his gayness...and he works!
I don't see any actor hiding anything. TV doesn't count? Oh contraire.
Anonymous:
Rupert Everett is not a star, like Tom Cruise. He's a working actor in films, hardly a star. Ian McKellen, also admittedly gay, is a character actor.
Mark:
You say no star is hiding anything? If Tom Cruise or any other star successfully conceals their sexual identity from the public, of course we won't know if they're hiding unless a gay lover comes forward with a credible story. Until then, their concealment is effective. If they are concealing anything, of course.
Ellen has a tv talk show. She's not a major movie star, and it's irrelevant, because she outed herself.
No major star, male or female, has ever publicly admitted to being gay. They won't if they are indeed gay because they're afraid it will alienate a segment of their audience.
There have to be - past or present - some major stars who were or are gay, simply because a certain perentage of the population is gay.
I think you're narrowing the field to the point of nonexistence. Cruise has openly denied any such thing and the only one who came forward was a fraud. That doesn't add much to your ad ignoratiam doe it? The argument only works if you looka t decades gone by. It doesn't fly very well now.
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