By BRUCE KIRKLAND --
NEW YORK -- Kiss and run. Tom Cruise blitzed New York City last weekend for two world premieres, one for his own romantic comedy Jerry Maguire and the other for his wife Nicole Kidman's drama Portrait Of A Lady.
In between, he managed to appear on Rosie O'Donnell's talk show to promote Maguire and thrill his self-appointed biggest fan -- O'Donnell. And then he flew hellbent back to London, England, where he is now shooting Eyes Wide Shut with legendary director Stanley Kubrick.
What he didn't do was manage to talk to press assembled in New York for interviews about Jerry Maguire, which opens across North America on Friday and promises to generate some of the best personal reviews Cruise has received in years. No time, no energy, no words.
But nary a negative could be heard about the man here. The interviews were a lovefest for one of Hollywood's biggest stars.
"He is a great guy!" enthuses co-star Bonnie Hunt. "He is just so normal it's ridiculous, even with those good looks. Can you imagine? I would be a total jerk!" She giggles.
Hunt met Cruise when she did her first movie more than a decade ago. It was Rain Man, and Hunt had four lines.
"I was still working in a hospital as a nurse at the time and I got three days off to do the movie and I was so thrilled. I thought: 'At least I'll have this tape to watch when I'm in a nursing home.' I thought this would be the only thing I'd ever get.
"Tom Cruise was a very kind and sweet and very generous person then. My mother came to visit the set and he sat with her and my sisters and took pictures and I met his mom and his sisters. He is just a regular, nice, wonderful man and I'll tell you, the star really sets the tone on a film."
For Cuba Gooding Jr., who plays the football player who ends up as agent Jerry Maguire's only client after a powerplay in his agency, Cruise was impressive to watch in action. "When he spoke, his opinion meant something!"
Gooding figures Cruise was torn up not being able to support Jerry Maguire with extensive interviews. But the lure of Eyes Wide Shut was too much, "because Tom is star-struck with the opportunity to work with Stanley Kubrick!"
Renee Zellweger, Cruise's romantic interest in Jerry Maguire, is awed by the experience of being in the movie, but not because Cruise is a big star.
"It's a myth," she says of megafame. "It doesn't exist. It's all fabricated. People make it up and why not make it up about this gorgeous and wildly talented and wonderful person?"
She was not intimidated, despite her own inexperience. "It's because I love film, not personalities. So I have respect for him and what he has accomplished in his work.
"I didn't want to do a bad job. Here's Tom Cruise and he's so good at what he does, just the ultimate professional. He's so committed. He's wonderful as a human being. And I'd really like NOT to suck in this film!"
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