Posted Dec. 10, 2008

Suri is pooped after a long, hard day posing for the paparazzi. (©Retna Ltd.)

Missing: One BlackBerry with a wallpaper image of L. Ron Hubbard, David Beckham's number on speed-dial and text messages to Katie Holmes suggesting yet another Suri photo op and imploring her to slouch more. The New York Post says Tom Cruise, who's on a publicity bender for his we-totally-gotta-kill-Hitler flick "Valkyrie," lost his phone while making the PR rounds in Toronto. Seems the device was lost after a sit-down with the Canadian edition of "Entertainment Tonight." The actor's rep, however, downplays that it was just a temporary disappearance and he got it back.

(©People)

Perhaps Tom's BlackBerry just needed some alone-time to get over the mortification it suffered after tagging along on his head-scratching appearance Monday on the decidedly Z-list, "The Hills: The After-Show." During the chat, Tom got a crash course in fellow publicity hounds Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, who remain not quite legally wed following their Us Weekly-topping Mexican elopement. When asked to weigh in on whether Spencer should have supported Heidi's dream of an extravagant ceremony, Cruise intensely opined, "If the girl wants the wedding, you gotta do the wedding. ... She's gonna remember it forever. You gotta make it a special occasion. Spencer, dude, you'll realize this later." Tom speaks from experience: He's been down the aisle three times, most recently in November 2006, when he vowed to stick with Katie Holmes until death during their hugely hyped, over-the-top Italian I dos. Never one to miss a chance for some extra attention, Pratt was quick to respond to the advice, telling Us, "You all know how I feel about big weddings, but if Tom Cruise says so, it must be true. If Tom's the best man, we'll have a big wedding!" Spencer can also pick up a few more tips from Cruise in this week's People, which features him on the cover as he reveals "the truth about my family." It's another effort to burnish his image after his couch-stomping, Scientology-is-awesome-and-Matt-Lauer-is-glib meltdown. "I think I could have handled things better," he admits to the mag with a laugh. "All I want is to help people. I could have communicated it in a way that was better, no question."

(©Harper's Bazaar)

"No, I'm single. I'm totally single." That unattached emphasis is from Kate Hudson, who tells the January issue of Harper's Bazaar UK that she's still figuring out how to date in the spotlight. "I was never single in the industry -- when the movies came out and I started getting more jobs, I was always married," explains the former Mrs. Chris Robinson, who this year hooked up and broke up with both Owen Wilson -- for the second time -- and Lance Armstrong. "So the whole thing is very new to me, and it hits you very fast because the publications jump on you. You're dating everybody you walk around with -- you can't have any male friends. It's weird." Another thing Kate finds weird is the intense scrutiny her tiny figure is under from the paparazzi and the tabloids. "They've said maybe four times recently that I'm pregnant. Because I'm leaning over in the picture! You think about it, and you're like, 'What are you doing?'" she rants. "It's all bulls---. Excuse my language, but it is. Women's bodies change -- they change all the time."

Taylor Swift belts out a number at the Grammy Nominations Concert Live in Los Angeles on Dec. 3. (©AP)

Taylor Swift's 27-second phone dumping by Joe Jonas has apparently made her wise beyond her 19 years, because she's eager to share the lessons she's learned about love. "You can't stress about what you can't change," she self-affirms to TheBoot.com. "You have to live your life and be happy in spite of whatever doubts you might have or whatever might have happened." And her vast experience on the dating scene has helped the chart-topper come up with some dating dos and don'ts. "If you're like, 'I need to talk to you' all the time, [or] 'Why didn't you call me back?' ... If you're that girl, then nobody's going to want to date you," advises Swift. "I have this rule: I don't call a guy first. And you can't ever send two text messages in a row." But if she does ever make the fatal mistake of back-to-back texting and suddenly finds herself flying solo, she won't be bothered. "I'm not typically the girl who dates a lot of guys or is in relationships a lot," says Taylor. "Most of my life, I've been single. If I meet somebody who's great, I'll make an exception. But I'm really happy being alone ... I don't feel a sense of emptiness if I don't have a boyfriend."

Sam and Lindsay hit a club in London last month. (©Retna Ltd.)

So, you know how Lindsay Lohan supposedly "nuzzled" with Sean Penn at a New York shindig a few days ago? It was apparently business, not pleasure. At least that's the tale being spun by the New York Post, which says the underemployed starlet and her squeeze, Samantha Ronson, were recently spotted with the ornery actor and director-cum-"Entourage" plotline Gus Van Sant at New York hot spot Beatrice Inn. "Lindsay and Sean were talking about possibly doing a film together," a big-eared spy purports to the paper. "Lindsay seemed like she was really into the idea."

Next: Pitt Gushes Over Jolie: Love, Honor, Respect -- and No Fighting