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Bruce Willis’ John McClane in Die Hard was a role that proved to be crucial to the industry. Before his role as one of the best action heroes in Hollywood, Willis had only starred in the fan-favorite TV series Moonlighting. However, his salary at the time for 1988’s Die Hard was revolutionary for a first-time movie star in the industry.

Bruce Willis in a still from Die Hard 2 | Credits: 20th Century Studios

Willis shared that he did not get the deserved appreciation. He was probably referring to the media questioning his exorbitantly high salary at the time. However, The Sixth Sense actor was only scratching the surface of his career achievements in the industry when he received his first Die Hard salary.

Bruce Willis did not get the deserved appreciation for changing the Hollywood pay structure Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard | Credits: 20th Century Studios

Bruce Willis was a TV star,...

Money may very well equal power, but so does information — especially the dirty kind. Hollywood understands this. From The Sweet Smell of Success to L.A. Confidential, the movies are laden with bullying blackmailers and influence-peddlers using muscle and corruption to scrub the tainted and gain an upper hand. The dynamic, of course, is quite real, and the gripping new two-part documentary Sin Eater: The Crimes of Anthony Pellicano provides a fine if troubling look at how it works in contemporary showbiz.

The latest production from FX’s The New York Times Presents series,...

Updated with video: After a 2022 that saw the biggest movie of his career at the box office and the top-grossing movie of the year with Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise accepted the David O. Selznick honor tonight at the PGA awards.

After a glowing introduction by former Paramount Pictures boss Sherry Lansing, Cruise teared up as the exec said, “Quite simply every day is better because of you.”

Related Story PGA Awards: ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ Takes Best Picture; ‘The White Lotus’, ‘The Bear’, ‘The Dropout’ Top TV Heap – Complete Winners List Related Story 'Till' Honored With Stanley Kramer Award At PGA; Danielle Deadwyler Says "We Need More Stories That Showcase Diversity" Related Story Warner Bros Bosses Michael De Luca & Pamela Abdy Accept PGA Milestone Award: Execs Will "Go To The Mat For The Story And The Artists They Believe In," Ron Howard Says

Paramount/Skydance...

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In 2022, Hollywood said goodbye to many actors, singers, performers, creatives, executives and all-around industry icons who had a great impact on the entertainment world during their lifetimes.

The Hollywood Reporter is highlighting some of the most well-known names who died in 2022.

Below are this year’s most notable deaths in Hollywood.

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Alley, the Emmy-winning comic actress known for her turns on Cheers, Veronica’s Closet and the three Look Who’s Talking films, died in December. She was 71. Full obituary.

Louie Anderson

Louie Anderson, the big-hearted everyman who rose to fame as a stand-up comic, then channeled the spirit of his late mother for his Emmy-winning turn as Christine Baskets on the FX series Baskets, died on Jan. 21. He was 68. Read his obituary.

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich

Peter Bogdanovich, the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Last Picture Show whose career, which...

It’s hard to recognize the entertainment industry of 2022 from the business that it was 20 years ago – which was when I began covering Hollywood.

Back then, the DVD industry floated billions of dollars in free cash to the major studios. Tech companies were recovering from a burst bubble and geeky Silicon Valley was not yet cool. International box office had overtaken domestic box office by a lot – and this little video-by-mail distributor Netflix was five years old. We all stared at it with curiosity.

Fast-forward to now: Netflix rose and rose, and now it has stalled, even though everyone copied what it created. Streaming is the new model, but everyone is nervous that it won’t last — at least with as many players as have dived into the fray. Tech companies from Amazon to Apple have overtaken Hollywood, even as some of them are being overtaken by younger upstarts like TikTok.

Francis Ford Coppola has rounded out the cast for his magnum opus and decades-long passion project of a next film, “Megalopolis,” adding Dustin Hoffman to join a cast that features Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker and Nathalie Emmanuel as the three leads.

Newly joining the cast alongside Hoffman are current “SNL” cast member Chloe Fineman, Isabelle Kusman of “Licorice Pizza,” D.B. Sweeney and newcomer Bailey Ives. They join the previously announced Talia Shire, Shia Labeouf, Jason Schwartzmann, Grace Vanderwaal, Kathryn Hunter, James Remar, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza and Laurence Fishburne.

While specific details for “Megalopolis” are being kept under wraps, the official logline reads: “The fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems in this epic story of political ambition, genius, and Dangerous love.”

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How ‘Tootsie’ Director Sydney Pollack Tricked Dustin Hoffman Into Behaving on the Famously Fraught Set (Exclusive Book Excerpt)

The “Godfather” filmmaker is writing,...

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Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman and Jeffrey Katzenberg were among the Hollywood luminaries who paid tribute to Bert Fields, the power lawyer who died in August at age 93, at a memorial service held Sunday at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Fields’ client Cruise, who appeared via video, shared how he met the lawyer — whom he referred to as the most interesting man in the world — at a dinner in 1989 with his Rain Man co-star Dustin Hoffman, another Fields client.

At the time, Cruise said, he didn’t know who Fields was, but when he found out Fields was Hoffman’s lawyer, he knew he wanted to hire the attorney.

Hoffman also was on hand at the service, where he spoke about Fields’ attributes, including his sense of humor as well as his loyalty.

Katzenberg also spoke, relaying how they often ate at The Grill on the Alley,...

Hollywood gathered Sunday to pay tribute to Bert Fields, the legendary lawyer who was in the middle of high profile battles spanning several decades. Fields died in August at the age of 93.

Among those paying their respects were Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dustin Hoffman and Michael Ovitz, who each recalled him as a loyal friend. Elaine May and Tom Cruise also recorded video tributes that were played for the audience at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Cruise, a longtime client of Fields, remembered him as “a person who I knew I could always count on.”

“I think we all know how valuable that is in this world — when someone says they’re going to do something and they actually do it,” Cruise said. “I’m just very grateful to him.”

With a courtly manner and a roster of high-powered clients, Fields developed a reputation as the most fearsome lawyer in Hollywood.

Hollywood powerbrokers past and present officially said goodbye to one of their own Sunday.

Bert Fields, who died August 8 at the age of 93, was celebrated today by clients, family and colleagues at a memorial service in Santa Monica. Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Estrich and Michael Ovitz paid tribute to the Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger Llp partner and industry consigliere in front of a well-heeled crowd that included Fields’ widow Barbara Guggenheim, Leslie Moonves and Julie Chen Moonves, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and David Geffen among many others.

Individually, Katzenberg, Hoffman and Ovitz remembered a man who was clearly as much their friend as he was their lawyer.

Related Story Bert Fields Dies: Powerhouse Showbiz Lawyer For Tom Cruise, Weinsteins, George Lucas, Michael Jackson, Beatles & Many Others Was 93 Related Story Vertical Entertainment Pre-Buys Family Dramedy 'Sam & Kate' Starring Dustin Hoffman And Sissy Spacek Related Story...

Hollywood actors, writers and executives gathered at a memorial on Sunday in Santa Monica to remember power attorney Bert Fields with a string of stories about his legal prowess and sometimes unorthodox way of helping clients.

The larger-than-life litigator — with clients that included The Beatles, Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Edward G. Robinson and Michael Jackson — knew a lot of the secrets behind Hollywood scandals that happened throughout his six-decade-long career. Not to mention, he was yanked into a federal wiretapping and conspiracy probe into notorious private investigator Anthony Pellicano in the early 2000s.

The video that played to kick off the tribute addressed the controversies head-on — putting up a fake tabloid cover with the word “escandalo.” It also included a 1967 clip of his appearance on “Dragnet” (Jack Webb was a client) and a tribute from Tom Cruise.

“He’s a very unique adventure, someone I knew we could always count on.

Exclusive: Barbara Broccoli, one of the teams of producers behind the powerhouse film Till — about the extraordinary efforts of Mamie Till Mobley to find justice after the lynching of her 14-year-old son Emmett Louis Till, for whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman, by white supremacists in Mississippi in 1955 — told Deadline, that audiences must seek out the movie: ”This is not a time for us to look away.”

Broccoli said Emmett, who was visiting his cousins, was lynched and murdered for whistling at Bryant, keeping shop at Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market in Money, Mississippi. A few days later a group of men dragged the boy from his uncle’s home. Days later his mutilated body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi.

Citing fellow producers Keith Beauchamp, Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Levine, Michael Reilly and Fred Zollo, Broccoli added, ”This is an important film to me, to all of us.

In July 2012, I showed up at the office of legendary Hollywood litigator Bert Fields along with Variety freelancer Bob Verini. We were doing a Q&a with the legendary Hollywood lawyer, a partner at Greenberg Glusker, in one of those nondescript Century City steel-and-glass skyscrapers. But once ushered into Fields’ inner sanctum, we stepped into a bespoke space of dim lighting, hushed tones, wood paneling and tomes of case law lining the walls.

“Hold all my calls,” Fields told his assistant, “unless it’s Tom Cruise.”

By then, Fields had long held a top position in the pantheon of entertainment attorneys. In addition to Cruise, clients included Michael Jackson, Warren Beatty, James Cameron, Madonna, the Beatles – not to mention Spielberg, Lucas, Ovitz and Katzenberg.

On the darker side of the business, Fields became embroiled in some of the shenanigans of shadowy showbiz detective Anthony Pellicano, whose services he often retained.

Ryan Fellows, a driver in the Discovery series “Street Outlaws: Fastest In America,” died in a fiery car crash outside of Las Vegas after losing control of his car.

Onlookers were unable to pull Fellows, 41, from his car after it rolled over and caught fire, TMZ reports. The race was being filmed for that night’s episode.

“The Street Outlaws family is heartbroken by the accident that led to the tragic death of Ryan Fellows,” a Discovery spokesperson said in a statement that was also shared to Twitter. “We extend our deepest sympathy to Ryan’s loved ones as they process this sudden and devastating loss.”

The Street Outlaws family is heartbroken by the accident that led to the tragic death of Ryan Fellows. We extend our deepest sympathy to Ryan's loved ones as they process this sudden and devastating loss.

— Street Outlaws (@StreetOutlaws) August 8, 2022

A GoFundMe account created on...

Bert Fields, a highly respected entertainment lawyer who throughout his career represented Hollywood heavyweights including Tom Cruise, The Beatles, Edward G. Robinson, Jeffrey Katzenberg and more, has died. He was 93.

The Harvard-educated lawyer with his firm Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger died Sunday night at his home in Malibu with his wife Barbara Guggenheim by his side, a family friend and a representative for his firm told TheWrap.

Guggenheim told TheWrap that Fields had been working up until about three weeks ago, but ultimately succumbed to the long-term effects of Covid, which he contracted in March 2020. Fields, she said, had Bell’s Palsy as an aftereffect of the virus, which led to gradual paralysis of his body, starting from his larynx downward.

“Bert led 10 lives,” she told TheWrap. “All interesting.”

A “who’s who” of an entertainment lawyer, some of Fields’ other clients included Mel Brooks, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty and many more.

Bertram “Bert” Fields, the larger-than-life entertainment lawyer whose roster of star clients and studios spoke to a penchant for doling out legal threats with a rhetorical flourish, along with a capacity for winning lucrative settlements, has died at his Malibu home, his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 93.

Fields thrived on the notion that he never lost a trial, and even if the Perry Mason-like reputation wasn’t exactly true, he was a relentless litigator who defined some of the industry’s most heralded cases of the 1980s and ’90s, with clients that included Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, the Beatles, Edward G. Robinson, Michael Jackson, Rupert Murdoch and, at one time or another, just about all of the major studios.

Cruise said in a statement, “Bert Fields was a gentleman; an extraordinary human being. He had a powerful intellect, a keen wit, and charm that made one enjoy every minute of his company.

Bert Fields, the relentlessly loyal powerhouse entertainment lawyer who repped clients including Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Tom Cruise, George Lucas, the Beatles, Michael Jackson and many others in myriad headline-making cases in Hollywood, has died. He was 93.

His rep told Deadline that Fields died Sunday at his home in Malibu with his longtime wife Barbara Guggenheim by his side.

A partner at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger Llp, Fields tried many of the landmark cases in the entertainment and communications industries during the past several decades. He represented most major Hollywood studios and talent agencies during his singular career and such other bold-faced names as Jeffrey Katzenberg, David Geffen, James Cameron, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Mike Nichols, Jerry Bruckheimer, Joel Silver, Madonna and writers Mario Puzo, James Clavell, Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler.

Bert Fields Q&a: Disney Ban, George Lucas, James Cameron, Harvey Weinstein, Napoleon & The Next Big Thing

Harvey Weinstein,...

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Bert Fields, the renowned entertainment litigator whose clients included Edward G. Robinson, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tom Cruise, Warren Beatty, The Beatles and a host of other luminaries, studios and talent agencies, has died. He was 93.

Fields died peacefully late Sunday night at his Malibu home, a spokesperson for his law firm, Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger Llp., announced.

“For forty years, we were graced with Bert’s brilliance, decency and charm,” said Bob Baradaran, managing partner of Greenberg Glusker. “Bert was a beloved colleague, friend and mentor who trained a generation of outstanding lawyers. We were blessed to know and work with such a truly remarkable lawyer and human being.”

A longtime partner at Greenberg Glusker and mainstay on THR‘s annual Power Lawyer list, Fields during his six-decade career also represented the likes of David Geffen, James Cameron, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson, Mike Nichols,...

At 92, Bert Fields is known around town as a legend in the legal profession thanks to decades as a lawyer spent representing iconic artists like The Beatles, Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Madonna and even Donald Trump (whom he fired).

But even his A-list clients may not know the indefatigable Fields (who continued to work from Greenberg Glusker’s Century City offices during the Covid-19 pandemic) has been singing “as long as I can remember.” And now they can hear his talents. Fields has officially launched a singing career by debuting a rendition of the Gene Autry ...

At 92, Bert Fields is known around town as a legend in the legal profession thanks to decades as a lawyer spent representing iconic artists like The Beatles, Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Madonna and even Donald Trump (whom he fired).

But even his A-list clients may not know the indefatigable Fields (who continued to work from Greenberg Glusker’s Century City offices during the Covid-19 pandemic) has been singing “as long as I can remember.” And now they can hear his talents. Fields has officially launched a singing career by debuting a rendition of the Gene Autry ...

Work from home? Not Bert Fields. The iconic legal eagle has bucked the remote work trend that set in throughout the industry once the Covid-19 pandemic put a stranglehold on offices in March.

Fields, at 91, remains committed to going into Greenberg Glusker’s Century City offices, where he apparently has been the only one. Fields confirmed by email to THR, writing simply: “It’s true. I can be more efficient in the office.” Asked in a follow-up whether he received the vaccine, he says: “Not yet. I’m awaiting my turn on principle.”

Fields’ tireless work ethic ...

Work from home? Not Bert Fields. The iconic legal eagle has bucked the remote work trend that set in throughout the industry once the Covid-19 pandemic put a stranglehold on offices in March.

Fields, at 91, remains committed to going into Greenberg Glusker’s Century City offices, where he apparently has been the only one. Fields confirmed by email to THR, writing simply: “It’s true. I can be more efficient in the office.” Asked in a follow-up whether he received the vaccine, he says: “Not yet. I’m awaiting my turn on principle.”

Fields’ tireless work ethic ...

Anthony Pellicano, the former private eye who spent 16 years in federal prison, is back in business as a Hollywood fixer.

Pellicano confirmed to Variety that he is working for Joel Silver, the “Die Hard” and “Lethal Weapon” producer who exited his company in 2019. Silver has since been engaged in an arbitration case with Daryl Katz, his former financier, and Pellicano said he has been hired to help resolve it.

Pellicano is on supervised release for one more year, and is barred from working as a private investigator, as his state license has been revoked. But Pellicano has set up a website for a company called Pellicano Negotiations, which advertises his services in crisis communications as, “trouble resolution” and “due diligence.”

In an interview, Pellicano said he is not working as a private investigator.

“I have no interest in that at all,” he said. “If I was back in the P.

Arnon Milchan and Warren Beatty have settled their two-year legal battle over the disastrous release of “Rules Don’t Apply,” Beatty’s period drama about Howard Hughes.

Milchan’s attorneys have filed a notice with the court dismissing his suit against Beatty. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Milchan’s company, New Regency, sued Beatty and other investors in December 2017, alleging that they had failed to pay $18 million in distribution costs. Milchan alleged that Beatty and his investors ignored poor test screening results and insisted on a wide release for the film, rejecting advice from New Regency to do a more limited release. When the film flopped — grossing just $3.9 million — Milchan alleged that he was left holding the bag.

Beatty and his investors — including Steve Bing, Brett Ratner and Ron Burkle — countered that Milchan had failed to properly market the film. They alleged in a countersuit that Milchan had...

Exclusive: When Anthony Pellicano walks out of a California prison tomorrow, the once notorious Hollywood P.I. will be welcomed by some of the biggest names in Hollywood with dual gifts of deep appreciation and cold hard cash.

Ending a 15-year sentence behind bars on his 75th birthday, the soon-to-be former inmate of Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution is the recipient of a flush fund set up by Tinseltown power players, I’ve learned.

Intended to help Pellicano get solidly back on his feet as he steps back into freedom, the fund is in the six-figure category, one insider confirmed. The fund has seen donations from top executives and former clients of the fixer.

While more than some would think appropriate and less than others feel Pellicano deserves, the rich and famous are writing fat checks in no small part because the former sleuth kept his mouth shut to the...

The big table at one of Hollywood’s biggest law firms just got a little bigger with Greenberg Glusker promoting Sally James and Mark Muir to partners.

“We are pleased to elevate these four attorneys and welcome them to the firm’s partnership,” said Greenberg’s Managing Partner Bob Baradaran said in a statement on the advancement of the Entertainment Group’s James and Muir, along with estate planning lawyer Brian D. Berman and business lawyer Lori L. Werderitch. “Each one exemplifies the qualities of character and the commitment to client service that are the hallmark of our firm’s brand.”

The realm of superlawyers Bert Fields, Bonnie Eskenazi, Schuyler “Sky” Moore and Matt Galsor, Gg’s Hollywood division has had a piece in most of the biggest deals and financing arrangements in town over the decades. The Galsor headed Entertainment Group also directly represents the likes of Tom Cruise,...

Another prominent law firm is parting ways with The Weinstein Co., but this time it isn't related to the sexual harassment and assault allegations plaguing ousted co-founder Harvey Weinstein.

Greenberg Glusker, lead by veteran Bert Fields, is asking the court for permission to leave a rights dispute because it hasn't been paid — and, in doing so, the firm underscores that it is not involved in the ongoing sexual scandals.

Donald Borchers sued in August, asking the court for a declaration that he holds film rights to projects based on Stephen King's Children of the Corn. Borchers claims he...

Updated with response from Segel’s lawyer: The Mist executive producer/showrunner Amanda Segel says the Weinstein Company co-founder Bob Weinstein sexually harassed her during production of the Spike TV series. Segel’s allegations, reported by our sister publication Variety and later denied by Weinstein’s lawyer Bert Fields, said the alleged harassment began in summer 2016 and continued on and off for about three months until Segel’s lawyer told TWC executives that she would leave the show if it didn’t stop.

Fields says his client is not guilty of sexual harassment.

“Variety’s story about Bob Weinstein is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Ms. Segel and we have the emails to prove it, but even if you believe what she says it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching or even any request for such touching,” the attorney said. “There is no way in the...

Bert Fields said he might do it and the Hollywood superlawyer has now hit Warner Bros with an $18 million and more breach of contract and fraud complaint over the classic Martin Scorsese directed film. Literally 25-years to the day that Goodfellas was released, Fields filed paperwork in L.A. Superior Court yesterday for producer Irwin Winkler over a home video royalties shell game scheme that seems worthy of the Mob and is called “studio accounting on steroids.” “Warner's…...

This story first appeared in the May 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. What type of birthday gift does Tom Cruise give? If you're his loyal lawyer, the answer is a thoughtful one. Bert Fields turned 86 on March 31, and Cruise gifted the Greenberg Glusker partner with a "fabulous cake with numerous decorations depicting various aspects of my life," Fields tells THR. "He also gave me an extremely rare edition of Holinshed's history of England. He knows I write about English history, and this is a fantastic prize."

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Tom Cruise's lawyer has slammed a TV doctor for suggesting that the actor is mentally ill. Attorney Bert Fields described Dr. Drew Pinsky, who regularly appears on Us reality show Celebrity Rehab, as "unprofessional" following an article he wrote about Cruise for Playboy. Pinsky had questioned the star's mental health because of his involvement with the controversial Scientology movement, writing: "Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology? To me, that's a function of a very deep emptiness (more)...

Recently, iconic actor Tom Cruise was thrown into a verbal war with Celebrity Rehab star, Dr. Drew Pinsky, who questioned the latter's belief in Scientology. Cruise, who is openly a Scientologist since 1990, claims that the study helped him overcome dyslexia. He is a very outspoken advocate of the study, which he has promoted to be fully recognized as a religion in Europe. Dr. Drew, on the other hand, has a very different point of view when it comes to Cruise's passion for Scientology, saying that it is pointless.

"Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology?" Dr. Drew said in an interview with Playboy. "To me, that's a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood – maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect."

In fact, the doctor adds that Cruise is just one of the many celebrities who have exuded odd behavior on screen,...

Latest: A Hollywood doctor who questioned Tom Cruise's mental health has offered his apologies for upsetting the actor.

Dr. Drew Pinsky came under fire from Cruise's attorney Bert Fields after suggesting the movie star might be mentally ill in a Playboy editorial.

The medic, who fronts hard-hitting U.S. TV show Celebrity Rehab, speculated that Cruise's Scientology beliefs could be a result of childhood "neglect."

Fields has since blasted Pinsky, calling him "unprofessional" and "unqualified".

In a statement released on Thursday a spokesman for the doctor said, "Dr. Drew meant no harm to Mr. Cruise and apologises if his comments were hurtful."

Defiant Pinsky has now taken aim at Fields for his comments after the lawyer called the doctor a "posturing flake" who "pretends to diagnose people he's never met."

Pinsky's rep adds, "Although Mr. Fields intent is clearly to slander and discredit Dr. Drew, under no circumstances is Dr. Drew making a blanket diagnosis about Scientology nor Mr. Cruise, whom he does not know.

"Dr. Drew was simply using Mr. Cruise as an example of someone who is recognisable to help the public understand."...

Tom Cruise's lawyer has hit back at a TV doctor who questioned the star's mental heath - calling Celebrity Rehab's Dr. Drew Pinsky "unprofessional" and "unqualified".

Pinsky, who is a regular on the U.S. reality show, has written an article for Playboy magazine suggesting Cruise might be mentally ill for getting involved with the Church of Scientology. The medical expert also claims the Top Gun star may have suffered some kind of childhood trauma.

He writes: "Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology? To me, that's a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood - maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect."

But Cruise's attorney, Bert Fields, has slammed the article - insisting Pinsky's analysis is absurd.

He tells the New York Post's gossip column PageSix, "This unqualified television performer who is obviously just looking for notoriety is so grotesquely unprofessional as to pretend to diagnose Tom and others without ever meeting them.

"He seems to be spewing the absurdity that all Scientologists are mentally ill. The last time we heard garbage like this was from (Nazi propaganda chief) Joseph Goebbels."...

Dr. Drew Pinsky issued a tempered apology to Tom Cruise on Thursday after the therapist raised questions about the actor's mental health. "Dr. Drew meant no harm to Mr. Cruise and apologizes if his comments were hurtful," Pinsky's rep said in a statement. But Pinsky, the host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, continued the war of words with Cruise's attorney, Bert Fields, who sharply criticized Pinsky for his comments in Playboy. Pinsky speculated in the magazine that Cruise's Scientology beliefs could be a result of childhood "neglect," prompting Fields to call Pinsky a "posturing flake" who "pretends...

Tom Cruise is at odds with Dr. Drew Pinsky after the therapist raised questions about the actor's mental health. Pinsky, the host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, speculates in an interview with Playboy that Cruise's Scientology beliefs could be a result of childlhood "neglect." "A lot of people in the public eye who behave strangely have mental illness we can learn from, and much of it is based on childhood trauma, without a doubt," says Pinsky. "Take a guy like Tom Cruise. Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology? To me,...

"Mission: Impossible 4" could be coming -- just not any time soon.

A well-placed source has confirmed an initial conversation over the prospect of attaching Tom Cruise to a third "M:I" sequel. Paramount execs are considering the possibility, but there is no script or project green light.

Longtime Cruise attorney Bert Fields stressed that there are no active talks on the matter. The Associated Press, in noting conciliatory comments by Viacom topper Sumner Redstone, who had been a Cruise critic, had reported that the actor "is in talks with Paramount."

In any event, both parties involved in the Cruise-Redstone imbroglio two years ago seem to have buried the hatchet.

Redstone ended Paramount Studios' long-running production relationship with Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner in August 2006, with Cruise and Wagner resurfacing soon after as the new executive team running MGM's United Artists. Then, in a much-noted sign of the parties' rapprochement, Redstone dined with Cruise in March at a Beverly Hills restaurant.

Veteran entertainment attorney Bert Fields will not take the stand as a witness in the government's wiretapping and racketeering case against Anthony Pellicano and four others.

On Thursday, a spokesman for Fields said the attorney for co-defendant Mark Arneson decided not to call him after all. No explanation was given.

Arneson, a former LAPD sergeant, planned to call the attorney. Fields showed up to court twice this week to take the stand but was never called.

Retired FBI special agent Stanley Ornellas will resume his testimony Friday. Ornellas was the lead investigator in the case. The government claims Pellicano, Arneson and three others ran a criminal racket that included illegally wiretapping and running records searches on police computers for adversaries of clients.

Bert Fields sat for most of Wednesday in the cafeteria of the downtown federal courts building, waiting to be called as a witness in the government's wiretapping and racketeering case against Anthony Pellicano.

For the second day in a row, the veteran entertainment attorney was never called as a witness for Pellicano co-defendant Mark Arneson, a retired Los Angeles Police sergeant. Fields was supposed to testify Tuesday, but the trial was delayed and the jury sent home after Arneson's attorney made an emergency motion for mistrial, which was denied. Fields' name has been brought up several times during the trial because he often used Pellicano to assist on cases.

But Fields wasn't called again Wednesday, this time because Asst. U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders spent most of the day in an aggressive cross-examination of Arneson, pushing to get the former cop to admit he changed his story many times to match the government's evidence.

Foul-mouthed taped audio conversations more reminiscent of HBO's The Sopranos than a courtroom were played Tuesday for the jury in the federal wiretapping and racketeering case against former celebrity sleuth Anthony Pellicano.

The recordings, made by Pellicano at his Sunset Boulevard office, were of talks between the private eye and his client Adam Sender, a New York hedge fund manager.

Pellicano and four others are on trial on charges of wiretapping and racketeering.

Sender had hired Pellicano to investigate the late producer Aaron Russo (Trading Places). Sender testified that he had loaned $1.1 million to Russo in 1999 to start up two joint ventures, a film production company and a dot-com to sell holistic medicine.

But Russo, who died last year of cancer, never delivered on the investment, Sender said, and so he filed suit against the producer to recover the money. Sender brought in Pellicano on the advice of his attorney, Bert Fields, after Russo managed to elude being served with court papers for a year. Sender testified that it became evident that Pellicano was wiretapping his adversary.

"I want to make this guy's life as miserable as possible," Sender told Pellicano in one profanity-laced conversation.

Paramount studio head Brad Grey walked purposefully into a federal courtroom Thursday and testified that he was unaware of any illegal investigative techniques done by former private eye Anthony Pellicano.

Grey's long-awaited testimony was poised and polished and lasted less than an hour. He was called by the prosecution as a witness in the wiretapping and racketeering case against Pellicano and four others, including a software engineer, a former Los Angeles Police detective, a former telephone company employee and a former client of the investigator.

Asked to identify Pellicano, Grey pointed to his left where the former investigator sat, saying, "He's over there". Pellicano, wearing a prison-issued green windbreaker, smiled and raised his hand. Pellicano, who is serving as his own attorney, elected to not cross-examine Grey.

The Paramount chairman and CEO said he twice hired the celebrity sleuth on the advice of his lawyer, Greenberg Glusker partner Bert Fields, for cases in which he and his Brillstein-Grey management company were a defendant. Grey said it was "a matter of course" for Fields to hire Pellicano, describing the veteran entertainment lawyer as one of the "great legal minds and best litigators in the country." Pellicano was retained each time for $25,000, which initially was paid by Greenberg Glusker and then billed to Brillstein-Grey's finance department as part of the legal costs to defend the cases.

When asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lally if he was assured by Fields that no wrongdoing was involved with Pellicano, Grey responded: "My understanding was that Mr. Fields was very confident in Mr. Pellicano as a private investigator. I don't think we ever had a conversation about illegal acts."...

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise has been dragged into the trial of a celebrity private investigator accused of illegal practice.

Anthony Pellicano and former Los Angeles cop Mark Arneson are charged with running an illegal wiretapping and information-gathering network.

Famous names Steven Seagal, Farrah Fawcett, Gary Shandling and Warren Beatty have already been linked with the case.

Now it has emerged Cruise once hired Pellicano - on the advice of his longtime lawyer Bert Fields - to find out the identity of people following him, according to court testimony.

The P.I.'s assistant Lily LeMasters claimed she overheard her boss and Arneson discussing Cruise's case, reports New York gossip column PageSix.com.

A controversial new nm0000129 autoTom Cruise[/link] biography alleges the actor was an insatiable womaniser during high school.

The actor has been hounded throughout his career by rumours he is gay - but nm0607921 autoAndrew Morton[/link]'s unauthorised book suggests he has pursued women relentlessly all through his life, and one former girlfriend claims he was homophobic.

Morton interviewed Cruise's actress ex nm0001271 autoMelissa Gilbert[/link], who said, "I can honestly say he's a very sexual person. There was a lot of making out on the couch in my mom's living room." The pair dated when he was 19, until he ditched her for nm0000181 autoHeather Locklear[/link].

On the gay rumours, one date who accompanied Cruise to a production of La Cage Aux Folles, tells Morton, "Men dressed as women, he couldn't handle it. We had to leave before the intermission. It really bothered him. He was definitely homophobic."

Cruise's lawyer nm2034903 autoBert Fields[/link] has described the contents of nm0000129 autoTom Cruise[/link]: An Unauthorized Biography as "lies".

Tom Cruise[/link]Tom Cruise is furious a new unauthorised biography of him suggests his daughter Suri was fathered by late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Andrew Morton[/link]Andrew Morton's book Tom Cruise[/link]Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography makes a number of controversial claims about the actor's personal life and his relationship with the Church of Scientology.

He alleges Scientology bosses urged him to end his marriage to Nicole Kidman[/link]Nicole Kidman; and one chapter includes the passage, "Some sect members believed that Katie Holmes[/link]Katie Holmes was carrying the baby who would be the vessel for L. Ron Hubbard's spirit when he returned around the galaxy."

Cruise's lawyer Bert Fields[/link]Bert Fields says, "He's very angry. It's so bizarre and grotesque to imply that Suri is fathered by the frozen sperm of L. Ron Hubbard. You just look at Suri, and you see Tom and Katie."...

A Los Angeles judge has rejected "Sahara" author Clive Cussler's claims that Crusader Entertainment owes him at least $8.5 million in damages for second-picture rights to another Dirk Pitt novel.

Cussler and Crusader went to trial last year in a long-running feud where both sides claimed breach of contract in the making of films based on the author's popular character.

In May, a jury ordered Cussler to pay Crusader $5 million in damages for making false representations about international sales of his Dirk Pitt book series and knowing that those representations were false.

Among the questions answered by the jury was that Crusader was obligated to pay for a second book deal if there was a second movie, which never happened. Based on that finding, Cussler's attorney, Bert Fields, said his client was owed $8.5 million for the second book, which minus the jury's verdict totaled $3.5 million in damages payable to Cussler.

But in a one-page order issued Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Shook wrote that the question answered by the jury regarding the second book deal was "advisory in nature."

"(Cussler) cannot now contend that the jury's response to Question 60 is tantamount to a judgment for $8,517,429," the court order states.

A new biography of Tom Cruise claims he was encouraged to end his marriage to Nicole Kidman by Scientology bosses. Andrew Morton's controversial new book alleges the church soured towards Kidman after she gave an interview in 1998 describing herself as "a catholic girl," and steered Cruise into ending their union. Morton alleges that in 1999 Cruise took a course that would identify "those in his life who create problems and difficulties." Kidman was identified as such. The author writes, "Shortly after Kidman's Newsweek interview, senior Scientology leaders discussed their strategy to keep Tom in the fold. The fear was that a lukewarm Nicole could fatally compromise Tom's commitment to his faith." Morton also claims when the marriage ended in January 2001, Kidman was informed through a lawyer's letter. Morton writes, "She was told she would never make another movie." He claims Kidman discovered she was pregnant shortly after the split. When she suffered a miscarriage, Cruise sent flowers but never visited, the book alleges. The actor's lawyer Bert Fields has dismissed the biography as "a bunch of lies."...

A new biography of nm0000129 autoTom Cruise[/link] claims he was encouraged to end his marriage to nm0000173 autoNicole Kidman[/link] by Scientology bosses.

nm0607921 autoAndrew Morton[/link]'s controversial new book alleges the church soured towards Kidman after she gave an interview in 1998 describing herself as "a catholic girl", and steered Cruise into ending their union.

Morton alleges that in 1999 Cruise took a course that would identify "those in his life who create problems and difficulties". Kidman was identified as such.

The author writes, "Shortly after Kidman's Newsweek interview, senior Scientology leaders discussed their strategy to keep Tom in the fold. The fear was that a lukewarm Nicole could fatally compromise Tom's commitment to his faith."

Morton also claims when the marriage ended in January 2001, Kidman was informed through a lawyer's letter. Morton writes, "She was told she would never make another movie."

He claims Kidman discovered she was pregnant shortly after the split. When she suffered a miscarriage, Cruise sent flowers but never visited, the book alleges.

The actor's lawyer nm2034903 autoBert Fields[/link] has dismissed the biography as "a bunch of lies".

Tom Cruise has become the Church Of Scientology's second-in-command, according to a new biography. British writer Andrew Morton, best known for his books about the late Diana, Princess Of Wales and David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, claims the 45-year-old Hollywood superstar's life has been taken over by the controversial religion. In Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, Morton alleges the Scientology religion, founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, relies so heavily on Cruise's celebrity to recruit followers, the actor is now considered second only to leader David Miscavige. Morton's book claims Cruise's movie career is built around the Church Of Scientology's needs and that he carefully selected his wife Katie Holmes based on what is best for the religion. However, Cruise's lawyer Bert Fields insists the biography is full of errors as a result of Morton's poor research. He tells British newspaper the Mail On Sunday: "(Tom) has been told about it and naturally he knows there are a bunch of lies about him. It's a boring, poorly researched book by a man who never talked to anyone involved in Tom Cruise's life or anyone close to him." Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography is due for release in the U.S. on January 15.

Tom Cruise[/link]Tom Cruise has become the Church Of Scientology's second-in-command, according to a new biography.

British writer Andrew Morton[/link]Andrew Morton, best known for his books about the late Diana, Princess Of Wales and David and Victoria Beckham[/link]Victoria Beckham, claims the 45-year-old Hollywood superstar's life has been taken over by the controversial religion.

In Tom Cruise[/link]Tom Cruise: An Unauthorised Biography, Morton alleges the 'church', founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, relies so heavily on Cruise's celebrity to recruit followers, the actor is now considered second only to leader David Miscavige[/link]David Miscavige.

Morton's book claims Cruise's movie career is built around the Church Of Scientology's needs and that he carefully selected his wife Katie Holmes[/link]Katie Holmes based on what is best for the religion.

However, Cruise's lawyer Bert Fields[/link]Bert Fields insists the biography is full of errors as a result of Morton's poor research.

He tells British newspaper the Mail On Sunday: "(Tom) has been told about it and naturally he knows there are a bunch of lies about him.

"It's a boring, poorly researched book by a man who never talked to anyone involved in Tom Cruise[/link]Tom Cruise's life or anyone close to him."

Tom Cruise[/link]Tom Cruise: An Unauthorised Biography is due for release in the U.S. on 15 January.

Pop superstar Madonna has sold her Maverick Records label, 12 years after she founded it. The Material Girl owned 60 percent of Maverick with her partners Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashev, while Warner Music Group owned the remaining 40 percent. Madonna has now agreed to let Warner Music executives buy her out of her contract - just months after Maverick took legal action against the firm and its former parent company, Time Warner, alleging breach of contract and mismanagement. Warner Music responded by filing its own lawsuit against Maverick. However, according to Maverick lawyer Bert Fields, the 49-year-old will continue to record for Warner Music. He says, "It was an effective way of settling the lawsuit. It's clean and equitable, and it doesn't have anything to do with her record contract." Maverick artists include Alanis Morrisette, Erasure and The Prodigy.

Author Clive Cussler failed to deal fairly with Phillip Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment over the production of Sahara, a Los Angeles jury ruled Tuesday in ordering Cussler to pay $5 million in damages.

But the verdict was mixed, with jurors finding that Crusader was obligated to pay Cussler what could end up being $8.5 million for second-picture rights to another Dirk Pitt novel he sold to Anschutz's company. A later determination of the value of those rights could erase Anschutz's win.

After eight days of deliberations in the highly publicized trial, the jury unanimously awarded Crusader $2.5 million for past economic damages and $2.5 million for future economic damages. The jury found that Crusader honored its deal with Cussler but that Cussler "unfairly" interfered with the contract and harmed the film's boxoffice performance.

Outside the courtroom, lawyers for both sides spun the verdict in their clients' favor.

"This is a huge victory for Crusader," Crusader counsel Marvin Putnam of O'Melveny & Myers said of the verdict.

Factoring in the $5 million jury award to Crusader, Cussler's lead attorney Bert Fields said his client would walk away with about $3.5 million.

It was a "no harm, no foul" verdict, Fields said.