While wife Katie Holmes was busy at work on a film in Australia, Tom Cruise enjoyed dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Steakhouse Restaurant Cut in Beverly Hills, CA. The actor was also spotted at the Beyonce concert at L.A.’s Staples Center.

Now we know why Katie Holmes has been spending so much time at dance studios—she’s set to do a big production number on network TV!

A source present at FOX Studios for the Monday rehearsals for “So You Think You Can Dance” revealed these details to Usmagazine.com. Holmes will channel screen legend Judy Garland, lip-synching and dancing to the song “Get Happy,” from the 1950 musical “Summer Stock.” Holmes will wear a body-hugging all-black costume, topped by a black velvet fedora, while eight male dancers accompany her. No date has been confirmed for the appearance.

But why is the third Mrs. Tom Cruise making an appearance on a cheesy summer talent contest in the first place? Is she trying to revive what’s left of the promising career she had pre-marriage? If that was the case, why wouldn’t Tommyboy just buy her a good script and pay to produce it? Or is she looking for a way to get away from his iron grasp once and for all? Maybe grab Suri and head back to Broadway?

Nearly three years of being married to the easygoing Keith Urban seems to have made Nicole Kidman realize what a control freak her ex Tom Cruise was.

Nicole told Easy Living (via Marie Claire), “I felt I became a star only by association. We would go to the Oscars and I would think, ‘I’m here to support him.’ I felt it was my job to put on a beautiful dress and be seen and not heard.”

Meow! If that wasn’t enough of a diss on Cruise, she called Keith Urban her “greater love.” It looks like getting dumped by the power-mad actor was the best thing that ever happened to Nicole.

Three-year-old Suri Cruise is American royalty, and she’s loving it!

Mom Katie Holmes told US Weekly why she and Suri’s dad Tom Cruise decided to give her a princess-themed birthday party earlier this month. “We had a great time [at Disney] — she loved it. It was her first time, and she loves the princesses. Actually, she loves being a princess.”

Katie added that she and Suri share an interest. “She loves Sleeping Beauty and all the Disney movies, and that’s great because I get to revisit them all again.”

Hey, there’s nothing like having kids to let you live a second childhood!

Tom and Katie’s little princess Suri Cruise had her third birthday yesterday, and she celebrated with a bash fit for royalty.

People reports Suri marked the occasion with a small group of family and friends at a princess-themed party, complete with a cake inspired by Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.” A source told People, “They just wanted to keep it small and make it fun for Suri and her friends.”

Since Katie was seen earlier this week visiting a West L.A. fertility clinic, could Suri be getting a little brother or sister in time for her next birthday?

Katie Holmes was spotted at California Fertility Partners in West L.A. on Tuesday. Are she and Tom planning a little sister or brother for Suri?

A heavily PhotoShopped version of Katie Holmes appears on the 70^th anniversary edition of Glamour magazine. Too bad they couldn’t touch up her interview answers because they’re pretty predictable and scripted. Especially this one about she and her puppetmaster Tom Cruise fell in love at first sight.

“From an early age I knew that I wanted to be in this business. So I did everything I could to get here, and when I met Tom, I knew in an instant that we were going to be together, that we were going to get married. He does have a very big life. And you know, we just do it. And, as a woman, you make that transition from being single to [being] a partner. I have a teammate, and it’s like, we’re going to make this work.”

Translation: A big movie star offered me a contract and he was supposed to make me an A-list actress, so I took it. Now I have to make this work because my film career is tanking and Iwant to make sure I collect my money when the gig is up.

Tom Cruise was obviously the man of the hour at CAA’s pre-Globes party at the Buffalo Club in Santa Monica. The Friday night bash was in his honor and there were too many famous faces to count in the crowd. Cruise was gracious as he greeted fans on his arrival. Where was wife Katie? Back in NYC appearing on Broadway!

Tom Cruise fought back tears as he discussed his feelings about the death of Jett Travolta during a taping of “The View” set to air tomorrow. The father of three is a longtime close friend of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, all of whom are adherents of Scientology. E! News reports that Cruise said:

“It’s horrific. Both of them doting parents, just wonderful people…it’s just…I remember Jett when he was born. I saw him when he was a few months old and John just adored him. It’s something I don’t have the words…”

When “View” host Barbara Walters queried Cruise on the rumors that Scientology had played a part in the Travolta boy’s death by banning parents from giving medication to their sick children, he was adamant.

“Not true. It’s actually the opposite,” Cruise stated, insisting that Scientologists are encouraged to have regular physicals and consult doctors if they are ill. 

 No word yet on whether Cruise would be at today’s private service for Jett Travolta in Ocala, FL.

While some folks are currently questioning whether real estate is a good investment, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes seem determined to expand their holdings. The New York Post reports that the famous pair have gone on a multi-million-dollar buying spree in hip Union Square. Tom’s owned a flat on East 13th St. since 1985 (or two wives ago) and now he’s snapped up three more lofts in the same building for a cool $14.4 million.

Will the proximity to such a celebrated family draw more buyers to the area? Real estate maven Barbara Corcoran doesn’t think so. “There’s that sense that he’s a bit odd. I don’t think you’re going to see a ton of people clamoring to move next door.”

Tom Cruise is quoted by Spanish magazine XL Semanal  as saying the teachings of Scientology enabled him to overcome the learning disability dyslexia. Yahoo News reports that the actor told the magazine “he was functionally illiterate when he graduated from school in 1980, but learned to read perfectly as an adult through Scientology technology.”

Too bad they can’t cure him of blabbing about  Scientology all the time.

I don’t think this is what Katie Holmes wanted for Christmas. Tom Cruise told the UK Sun,  ”I want ten children. I love kids. I feel really fortunate to have the teenagers and a two and a half-year-old. It’s a great dynamic.

“I’m a great parent. I want to be with my kids, and they get to do all the stuff that I wanted to do when I was growing up. My own father wasn’t there much for me and I want to be a different dad to my kids. My family is the most important thing in my life.”

Uh, Tom—just because you want to give Brad Pitt a run for father of the year doesn’t mean your wife wants to give birth to a litter.

Tom Cruise was out promoting his new film “Valkyrie” and missed wife Katie’s 30th birthday yesterday but he did send her a surprise—a five-tiered birthday cake presented to her by John Lithgow. As the curtain fell last night, the cake that Cruise had specially ordered was wheeled out onstage. Cruise told People:

“I planned it so that when she comes out for the standing ovation, John [would] get the whole audience to wish her a happy birthday.”

Cruise added that although he couldn’t be there on her big day, they had already had a private celebration the night before that he called “the big one.”

Tom Cruise’s 13-year-old son Connor (seen here in 2006) is getting into the family business. His first film “Seven Pounds” debuts on Friday, six days ahead of his dad’s “Valkyrie.” The younger Cruise, whose mom is actress Nicole Kidman, plays star Will Smith’s character when he was young. How does his dad feel about having another actor in the family?

“Who knows what he’s going to do? He’s grown up on (acting). I’ve always had my kids there, in hair and makeup, just always around the sets. They’ve worked on sets.”

Wonder how the elder Cruise will react if his son’s film is a bigger hit than his?

It was bad enough when American audiences were laughing at the dramatic scenes at screenings of the new Tom Cruise film “Valkyrie” but now the German critics are chiming in with their own slams. The film critic for Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel stated:

“The only thing that can definitely be said about this cinema adventure is that Tom Cruise, who has been damaged by his bizarre talk show behaviour, may well continue storming the heights of the Scientology hierarchy as a Thetan, but his image as an actor has been finally ruined by ‘Valkyrie.’”

Ouch! Will audiences give Cruise any love when this film debuts Christmas Day? Probably not—Nazis and holiday fun just don’t mix.

What do you buy Hollywood’s most powerful kid for Christmas? Suri’s daddy Tom Cruise told E!’s Marc Malkin:

“You know, she likes to color. She likes dolls, stuffed animals. She’s really easy about stuff like that.”

What about teens Bella and Connor?

“A cool pair of sneakers, different books that they like. They’re kind of like, ‘Look, it’s been a busy year and we’re just looking forward to some quiet time, just hangin’ out.’”

C’mon, Tom. You know those teens really want new cars and big-screen TVs for their rooms.

Tom Cruise has been getting visits from an uninvited guest—and his security chief has gone to court to stop them. TMZ reports that Edward Van Tassel was arrested in early November after waving a gun and an American flag on a Santa Barbara freeway. He has spent the last month in a Veterans’ hospital pending a court hearing.

 At yesterday’s bail hearing, the judge was told that Van Tassel considered Cruise to be sympathetic to vets and had left the VA hospital three times to travel to the actor’s Beverly Hills home. Sounds like someone took “Born on the Fourth of July” a bit too seriously.

The judge has ordered Van Tassel not to attempt further contact with Cruise.

Hollywood power couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes get his-n-hers covers on this weekend’s T Magazine in the Sunday New York Times. Katie does the usual babbling about how much she loves Tom and how much money they spend on Suri (she has her own home gym) but also tells how she stays sane in a crazy business.

“I don’t go online. I don’t read about myself. I can’t. I know that if something really horrible happens, someone will tell me about it. I would get too upset and overwhelmed if I read or looked at what’s out there. And I have too much to do. I’m a mom and an actress with a play to do every night. I can’t pay attention to all that noise.” 

Well, that’s one way to avoid the lousy reviews for Tom’s new movie. 

Tom Cruise has had high hopes his holiday turkey “Valkyrie” would bring him the Oscar he’s been seeking for so long but it looks like the only awards it will be winning are Razzies for the worst film of the year. The film was an early Razzie pick before anyone had even seen it but with preview audiences laughing at scenes that are supposed to be high drama, “Valkyrie” is looking like the most razzed film of the year. You have to figure that it takes a lot to make people laugh at Nazis.

The good news is Tom Cruise made the cover of the Power Issue of mens’ style mag Details. The bad news is he’s only #7. He’ll be lucky to make #40 after that “Valkyrie” movie bombs big time next month. So of course, the article’s all about pimping the film. Tom says of the film that will likely put the last nail in the coffin of his career:

“It’s about doing the right thing, but also about finding out what the right thing is. You know what I mean? I do feel that this movie was the right thing to do … I love movies. Yeah, man, I love movies!”

Too bad he doesn’t love the right movies—for him.