At the premiere of her new movie, My Sister’s Keeper, actress Cameron Diaz talked to Usmagazine.com about working with Tom Cruise again.  The pair have signed on for the upcoming film, Wichita, which is about “an undercover agent who meets a woman who’s had nothing but bad luck with men.”

“Well, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be doing it,” she said. “I’m very, very excited about doing it. It’s an action film, so I’m really excited to work him.”

If you remember, Cruise and Diaz worked together (along with Penelope Cruz) on the film Vanilla Sky.  I can’t even explain how much I hated that movie so I’m hoping this new project works out better that one did.

Diaz got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this past Monday and Tom Cruise, along with his wife, Katie Holmes, showed up to help celebrate the momentous occasion.  “I was really happy to see them,” Diaz said. “They were wonderful. It was fantastic. It was so lovely of them to come out and show support. My whole family was there and my friends were there. And I consider them that as well. So it was really wonderful to have them there.”

image: Zuma Press

Tom Cruise could be bringing agent Ethan Hunt back to the big screen. According to Variety, the star has been talking with J.J. Abrams about co-producing a Mission: Impossible sequel which could be released in 2011. The project is taking shape at Paramount Pictures where some other great sequels are already in planning (Star Trek 2 and a third Transformers, for example).

image: Paramount Pictures

I’m sure this development is surprising to many considering how nasty things got between Viacom chief, Sumner Redstone, and Cruise which led to a sudden deterioration of their 14-year relationship.  I was really appalled by it at the time and I’m glad to hear that Redstone has been trying to mend fences and considers Cruise “a great actore and a good friend.”

I think that a good action film could be the right vehicle for putting Tom Cruise’s career back on the right track.  I know that a lot of people disagree with his personal choices but I only care about whether his movies are any good.

Would you like to see a fourth installment of Mission: Impossible?” I know that I would.  While I think the first one was probably the best, the sequels co-starring, Thandie Newton and Michelle Monaghan were pretty good and, of course, the action and stunts were amazing.  Cruise will probably be 48 years old by the time this movie comes out so I wonder if making this movie will be tougher than the first three.  Either way, I’m interested in seeing what they come up with.

Tom Cruise is controversial enough on his own these days but his portrayal of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg definitely ruffled some feathers.  Based on a true story, Valkyrie follows Stauffenberg as he, along with a secret organization, attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler (the final attempt on his life) and regain control over Germany during World War II.

The plot is complicated to explain but relatively easy to follow as you watch the movie and it’s incredibly interesting, especially if you like historical films.  It’s filled with suspense (I was literally on the verge of yelling from frustration a couple times) and I think the acting is solid.  I also appreciated the balance between the intenseness of the actions of the members of the secret organization, the tenderness of the moments they shared with their loved ones and the resistance they faced from the public/Hitler’s loyal followers.  It wasn’t perfect but I did think this was a good movie.

My only real complaint is that there are too many accents in this film and it distracting at times since it’s unrealistic.  We hear Tom Cruise speak in German but then he’s got an American accent all-of-a-sudden and he’s talking to people who have British accents (but are portraying German officials).

You can pick up the single-disc edition, two-disc special edition + digital copy and Blu-ray copy of Valkyrie starting today!

images: Amazon

Variety is reporting that Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are in talks to star in the “untitled romantic comedy formerly known as Wichita and Trouble Man at 20th Century Fox.”  So far, the film is set in terms of production and writing but it still needs a little work and, of course, star power.Originally, Chris Tucker and Eva Mendes were tied to the project but, for whatever reason, things didn’t work out.

image: Amazon.com

The storyline sounds perfect for Diaz and Cruise – it “revolves around a woman who has terrible luck with men (isn’t that Diaz’s signature role?) but finds her path intertwined with that of a mysterious handsome man (before all the controversy, wasn’t Cruise the go-to handsome guy?) she meets on a blind date.”

Tom Cruise could really use a good movie to get his career back on track and I guess the same could be said about Cameron Diaz for different reasons.  I only see one problem with this pairing and it’s a pretty significant one – Vanilla Sky(2001).  I’m sorry but that was an absolutely horrible movie and they really did not work well in it at all.  Hopefully, it was just the awkwardness of having Penelope Cruz involved at the time and, without a third wheel, they can make this a good movie.  Nothing is official yet, but I think it could work.

Flair bartending is the epitome of bartending.

Image|Amy Tucker

Make a great drink and look damn good doing it.

It’s been showcased in the Tom Cruise classic [and generally campy] movie, Cocktail and if you’re lucky enough to find a bartender who can flip the glasses and bottles like a pro, then you’re in for a heck of a show.

Case in point:

Is this for real?

They’ve got to know it would be leaked on the Internet.

Hopefully they’re just using it as a funny motivational tool. Looks a little too clean and well produced to completely be a spoof.

Hopefully they’re just not taking themselves too seriously and intended it for what it is. A funny video. I mean it’s not like they’ve got Tom Cruise laughing in a Scientology video or jumping up and down on a couch.

From: Gizmodo who’s taking it a little too seriously.

Okay, I must be really out of touch or this stuff just isn’t hitting my radar screen as something that’s going to immediately impact my life. Have you heard of Microsoft’s PlayTable?

As usual Mary Jo Foley gets me the scoop on this bit of information.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates also provided a PlayTable-related technology demo during his Consumer Electronics Show (CES) keynote address in 2006, when he placed a cell phone containing digital photos on a tabletop device and all the pictures “flew out of it” and could be manipulated by touch and gestures. Microsoft has shown similar surface-computing-type demos at a handful of other conferences and events.

Okay, that sounds pretty cool, but someone explain to me the “flew out of it” part. Are we talking 3-D holograms here? It appears that’s somewhat of exactly what we’re talking about as well as it coming from the same folks who work on the Xbox and Zune. I’ve got to tell you, that makes me feel better because I have been pleased with those two devices.

“PlayTable” seems to have evolved from two other technologies that Microsoft has been working on called Touchlight and PlayAnywhere.

I’m imagining Touchlight as the technology behind what we appeared to have seen in Minority Report and other similar movies where data is being manipulated in a 3-D space on screen via a glove attached to the user. I’m guessing the PlayAnywhere is more like the little holographic game of chess that Chewbacca was playing on the Millenium Falcon in Star Wars.

PlayAnywhere is, according to Microsoft’s description, a “compact interactive tabletop projection-vision system.” Microsoft’s PlayAnywhere prototype includes a projector, camera with infrared pass filter and infred LED device. Microsoft showed off a PlayAnywhere-type demo during a keynote by Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Los Angeles in mid-May 2007.

But all of that brings us back to my original question, why haven’t I heard of this before? It could just be that I’m out of the loop on where these things were brought up or I was asleep at the wheel that day or just busy head down working in Microsoft Office or Visual Web Developer Express. It sounds good and all, but I don’t foresee me using any real-world application of this stuff for a number of years, and by then I’ll probably have to have my son explain it to me.

Photo Credit: Technovelgy - where science meets fiction

Can you believe it? Google is now capitalized and valued at more than half the value of Microsoft. On the one hand I can believe that the potential for Google to continue making serious cash is huge. If you ever doubt it, just think about what Google really makes money from, advertising. Okay, got that image in your head? Now think back to the movie “Minority Report” with Tom Cruise, remember all the advertising? It was everywhere. That folks is what the future of Google could end up becoming.

Right now Google’s just got internet advertising and starting to expand into some print and radio advertising options, plenty of room to expand into the mainstream advertising areas we’re already familiar with around us.

Source: Google worth more than half a Microsoft on Scobleizer