the buzz log
Cruise in Control
"Tropic Thunder" may have done more than re-establish Ben Stiller as a scribe and Robert Downey Jr. as the man of a 1,000 accents. The 127-minute inside-joke-a-minute satire may have restored, at least for the moment, the glory of Tom Cruise.
Good luck catching a glimpse of Cruise's prolonged cameo as a despicable movie executive (if that's not too redundant). Paramount wisely bought the advance critical hype and clamped down on publicity photos. His stint as lunatic backstabber Les Grossman has sent people searching for "tom cruise tropic thunder" (+919%), "tom cruise fat tropic thunder" (infinity spike), and certain moves that will remain non-spoiled (and must be seen to be believed anyway).
The performance prompted Esquire to run a headline, "Welcome Back, Tom Cruise." Meanwhile, searches have soared for "tom cruise movies" and "tom cruise imdb." Cruise's comic turn taps into the manic reservoir that got him a Best Supporting Actor nomination as a sexist self-help guru in "Magnolia" and the ridicule after the Oprah's incident. (Or, as searchers describe it in Olympian terms, "tom cruise couch jumping.")
For the moment, fans can emerge from deep hiding and enjoy the boy wonder without shame. With the stars and searches coming into alignment for Cruise, the only thing he has to watch out for is himself... and maybe Angelina Jolie replacing him on the comeback trail.
Filed under: Movies, Tom Cruise
The Need... the Need for a Sequel
Brace yourselves—Maverick may be returning to the Top Gun academy. According to sources who aren’t named (always a red flag), Tom Cruise is considering a sequel to the action flick that co-starred Tom “Viper” Skerritt, Anthony “Goose” Edwards, Val “Ice Man” Kilmer, and lots of other alpha-males with cryptic call signs like Merlin, Hollywood, Slider, and Jester.
Several articles picked up on the rumors and ran with ‘em. Philly.com breaks down the possible reasons why Mr. Cruise may want to revisit the film that started the “Tom Cruise formula movie” phenomenon. One theory: he wants to show the world he’s still buff. Another: He’s tired of being in his wife’s shadow. And, perhaps most obvious: He’s in need of a hit movie ("Lions for Lambs," anyone?).
The New York Post reveals some details on the rumored plot. Apparently, Cruise will reprise his role as Maverick, who is now an instructor at the Top Gun academy. This time, he’ll have to coach and control a reckless and cocky female pilot (call sign TBD). Like most sequels, the script pretty much writes itself.
According to the Boston Globe, the film’s possibilities are riding with Mr. Cruise. If he agrees to come back, it’ll get made. If not, insiders doubt anyone else would dare to don the leather jacket and aviator glasses. So, will Maverick agree to buzz the tower one more time? We could tell you, but we’d have to kill you.
Filed under: Movies, Tom Cruise
Jerry O'Connell: Suddenly Funny
"Tomcats." "Body Shots." "Kangaroo Jack." Jerry O'Connell doesn't often star in movies worth watching. So we were understandably surprised to stumble across a clip that made us re-think our "stay away" stance.
The viral video, not coming to a theater near you, features the c-lister doing a dead-on impression of Tom Cruise's recent Scientology video. It's an impressive performance full of subtle grins and terrifying guffaws worthy of the Top Gun himself.
Searches on Jerry surged into the thousands and related queries on "jerry o'connell tom cruise spoof" and "jerry o'connell parody" also posted gains. Additionally, interest in FunnyOrDie.com, the site that hosts the clip, jumped 25%. The attention is good news for O'Connell, but we doubt Cruise will be inviting his former co-star back for "Jerry Maguire 2" any time soon.
Filed under: Viral, Celebrities, Tom Cruise
Just Cruising Along
Five years ago, Tom Cruise was about as controversial as a romantic comedy. Not anymore. His outspoken support for the Church of Scientology has led to increasing amounts of buzz. Now, thanks to a Scientology-sponsored video that's leaked onto the Web, searches on the toothy actor are approaching an all-time high.
The nine-minute clip, which has been pulled from YouTube and other sites, features Mr. Cruise waxing about his religious beliefs while the theme to "Mission Impossible" plays in the background. In it, Cruise explains that Scientologists are the "authorities on the mind" and can bring peace and unite cultures. The comments sparked huge interest in "tom cruise scientologist video," "tom cruise scientology," and "tom cruise beliefs." They also led to increased lookups for "what is scientology" and "l. ron hubbard," the church's late founder.
Clearly, this is a tough time to be Tom. The video, coupled with a recently released unauthorized biography, have placed the star's private life under a microscope. There's no question that Cruise is passionate about his beliefs. Interest in the video indicates that most fans are still struggling to understand why.
Filed under: Religion, Tom Cruise
Church Bells Ring for TomKat
As expected, the nuptial merger of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes overwhelmed the Buzz. Star-struck searchers turned to the Web for more on the castle that housed the event, the town that surrounded it, the opera singer who serenaded it, and the designer who dressed both the bride and the baby.
Attending the affair practically assured a slice of Search action. Celebri-guests Richard Gere, Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith all spiked in Buzz. Victoria and David Beckham got buzz, even though he wasn't allowed to go (boo, nasty soccer coaches). So did Brooke Shields, even though she once tussled publicly with the groom (hooray, forgiveness between the A and B-lists).
A few individuals who didn't attend the ceremony also spiked in Search. Maverick may have lost that lovin' feelin', but both of his ex-wives got some online affection. Searches for Katie Holmes' one-time beau Chris Klein also rose. Perhaps most importantly, though, one couch-owning pal of the Top Gun wasn't invited?! Oh, Oprah, wherefore art thou?
Life goes on, though, and it's happy ever after for TomKat, right? To wrap up this lustrous affair, we'll leave you with some related search spikes that took us by surprise...
Filed under: Actors, Weddings, Celebrities, Tom Cruise
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
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