HOLLYWOOD - Tom Cruise has been fired by Paramount Pictures, according to Sumner Redstone, head of Paramount's parent company Viacom, due to Cruise's bizarre personal behavior. In the past year, Cruise couch-hopped on Oprah Winfrey' talk show while proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes, criticized the use of antidepressants, claimed that postpartum depression doesn't exist, and became combative with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show while defending his opinions.Cruise's behavior reportedly has become even more bizarre ever since he was given the word last week that he's "out" at Paramount. Reliable sources who asked not to be idenitified say he's been holed up in his Pacific Palisades mansion writing a script called Salome based on the biblical character who danced for her step-father Herod Antipas in exchange for the head of John the Baptist. Cruise envisions himself playing Salome. Inside sources say the script is incomprehensible.
Cruise also frequently imagines he is being interviewed by the press and can be heard in his kitchen snapping at reporters who are not there: "I AM big; it's the pictures that got small." In addition: "We didn't need dialogue back then,we had faces." Cruise has told numerous sources that "Salome is the perfect vehicle for Cecil B. deMille," the director of biblical epics such as The Ten Commandments, despite the fact that deMille has been dead since 1959. Insiders claim that Cruise has lost touch with reality to the point that he imagines his mansion is, in fact, Paramount Pictures and that Mr. deMille is directing Salome on his staircase. A servant claims she heard Cruise exclaim to an empty chair: "Alright, Mr. deMille, I'm ready for my close-up."
