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HOLLYWOOD -- Perennial Hollywood Foreign Press Association fave Sarah Jessica Parker may have been shut out of the Golden Globe nominations this year (for the Sex and the City movie), as were surprise best picture omissions Milk and The Dark Knight, but one thing's quite clear.
The HFPA loves them some Tom Cruise.
Cruise received his seventh Golden Globe nomination last week (he brought home the gold for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia) but it wasn't for his portrayal of a high-ranking German soldier in Valkyrie.
Instead the recognition came for his brief cameo in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, in which he was virtually unrecognizable as a balding, fat suit-wearing, foul-mouthed studio executive.
While some contend he was actually funnier as Valkyrie's eye-patch-sporting Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the HFPA's 95-odd members begged to differ.
In contrast to those seven Golden Globe nominations, Cruise has received a career total of three Oscar nods (no wins), with the last one coming eight years ago.
Then again, it's unlikely Cruise and the much larger Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are part of a similarly close-knit, longtime mutual admiration society.
Big-hearted Tom has often shown his appreciation for all those Golden Globes nominations at Christmas time, sending voters thoughtful gifts, like a lovely picture frame with a note informing them a donation has been made to the Church of Scientology in their honour.
Now that's class.
Christmas Stalkings
What is it about the holiday season that seems to bring out all the nutbar celebrity stalkers?
Over the past several weeks the courts have had their hands full issuing restraining orders against over-zealous fans who have been posing as a continual threat to their particular objects of affection.
This past weekend a Santa Barbara judge issued such an order against a 28-year-old Iraq War vet, to ensure he stays away from Tom Cruise after he tried for the second time this month to deliver a letter to the actor's Beverly Hills home.
He had also been spotted brandishing a gun from a freeway overpass.
Earlier this month, Alyssa Milano showed who's the boss, filing a temporary restraining order against a 54-year-old man who allegedly broke into her home.
Last month, Kirsten Dunst sought a restraining order against a man who showed up at her Hollywood home several times, while Jennifer Garner, pregnant with her second child, obtained a court order against a man whom the actress claims has been obsessed with her since 2002.
The individual, who writes a blog called Satanic Panic, once informed Garner that God sent him a vision of the actress being persecuted in some manner that may result in her death.
He's currently spending some quality time in a mental institution.
Not to be outdone, Sandra Bullock's obsessive fan has on several occasions left gifts on her property, like pieces of animal fur, and, oh yeah, she tried to run over hubby Jesse James. Twice.
She was placed on three years' probation on misdemeanour stalking charges.
It's no wonder Reese Witherspoon showed up at a recent charity event at the Beverly Hills Hotel closely accompanied by a big, scary bodyguard. A girl can't be too careful these days.