Cruise out of control

Finally the world comes to its senses. In the space of a week, the time it took me to get a tan on holiday, the tide has started to officially turn on crazy Tom Cruise. Dropped by film company Paramount, he's now at least $12m poorer a year and doesn't have a lucrative first look deal with the Hollywood giant any more. Cruise is worth about $750m so $12m is only going to seem losing some spare change down the back of the sofa but the act of being dropped should start to puncture his bubble of amazing self-delusion.

And who do we have to thank for Cruise finally getting his comeuppance? None other than a Hollywood trophy wife. Paula Fortunato (lucky by name, lucky by husband's platinum Amex), the wife of 83 year-old Paramount big cheese Sumner Redstone, told hubbie that Cruise's comments about Brooke Shields would turn away swathes of female film goers. Last year, Cruise famously badmouthed Brooke for taking anti-depressants for the baby blues. According to the man with the heel raises, the tablets are rubbish, psychiatry is even worse and only Scientology, vitamins and exercise can make you a happy person.

Fortunato, who clearly loves her husband for his personality and definitely not for his power or huge personal wealth, was right: Mission Impossible III didn't make the same money at the box office as its predecessor. People might want to see short crazed one act but they don't want his advice on gurning and spouting nonsense. The only question is: why did it take Hollywood so long to see that?