One possible explanation for the sudden amicability of the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman divorce settlement: Tom's desire to work toward a kinder, gentler world in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
"I'm more determined than ever to help in any way that I can," Cruise told Biography magazine in one of his first post-9/11 interviews. "I've been telling people, 'random acts of kindness.' That's what's important. Be there for each other. Reach out. We'll get through this. We will. I know it. We'll be okay. We are at a crossroads, and we have to do whatever we can to make the world better. That's how I feel about it."
And he doesn't just feel strongly about it, he says, "I feel very, very strongly about it."
Strong enough to be civil to his ex-wife even.
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Tell it to the jury
"It's a fictional story, really. This is not a Simpson book."
-- O.J. Simpson bodyguard Tom Gleason on his new novel, "Closer to the Truth," which is about a former football star who is accused of killing his wife and her friend, in the New York Post.
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Another broken marriage explained
It's only been three months since she split with her husband, Jim Threapleton, but Kate Winslet apparently has a brand-new boyfriend: "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes.
"Yes, we are having a relationship," Mendes confirmed to the London Daily Mail. "It's early days and we're very happy. It happened and it's happening. I am delighted to express my happiness at being with Kate."
But Mendes would like to make it crystal clear to us all that there was no -- n-o -- hanky-panky before Winslet and her hubby headed to splitsville.
True, he did meet the actress some time ago, when they got together to discuss a project.
However, he says, "We didn't acknowledge what we were feeling about each other until sometime in September. It was absolutely appropriate, as I was not in a relationship and neither was Kate. I was very careful to ensure that I was not endangering her marriage. Indeed, it was already over, and I came along well after."
Well, after. I mean, like, at least a week or so ...
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Repeat offender?
"It'd be my pleasure. But I doubt very seriously it'd be his intention to have me over."
-- Willie Nelson on whether he'd sneak up onto the roof of the White House to light up a joint (as he was rumored to have done as a guest of President Carter) if President George W. Bush invited him over, in Maxim.
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Mick's no Willie
What a drag it is growing old.
Now that he's a ripe 58, Mick Jagger says his tastes have changed a bit. For instance, he tells the German magazine Prisma, he'd sooner drink a cup of tea with honey than a good stiff drink, and he's completely off marijuana. Smoking, he'll have you know, can damage the voice.
Even his musical inclinations have changed somewhat. "I cant listen to anything other than classical music before about midday," he says.
And then, I'm guessing, it's polka all night long.
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