Cruise hires new publicist; drops sister

Cruise hires new publicist; drops sister

Renowned publicist Paul Bloch of the PR firm Rogers and Cowan, who has John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and the Beckhams among his esteemed list of clients, will now handle the PR activities of leading Hollywood star Tom Cruise too.

Bloch replaces the actor's own sister Lee Anne DeVette who took charge of the post in March 2004. "I'm so pleased they brought us on," was Bloch's expectedly pleasing reaction to the appointment.

The decision shouldn't come as a surprise with Cruise's public image having taken a severe beating during DeVette's tenure. Hollywood's leading star has had to face harsh criticism for speaking out against psychiatry and antidepressant drugs. His couch-jumping act on the Oprah Winfrey show to confess his love for Katie Holmes openly also drew in a lot of flak. And not least of all, his fondness for Scientology, which many consider a hazardous option, only contributed to the actor's falling public image.

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The 'Hate Cruise' campaign was evident when the mega star was humiliated in public during the London premiere of War of the Worlds in June as a water pistol was splashed over his face.

Cruise, 43, said that his sister had done an excellent job and now she would be in charge of only his charitable endeavours.

Revealing that DeVette always had an intense interest in supervising his philanthropic deeds, Cruise felt this was an opportune moment as Paul Bloch takes over the responsibility of handling his and his company's publicity.

DeVette was totally in sync with her brother saying, "I know how important Tom's charitable goals are to him” and also promised making an endeavor to elevate her brother's profile regarding his charitable actions like dealing with kids' health concerns, social reforms etc.

Interestingly, DeVette had no expertise in PR but came into the fray after Cruise sacked his longtime PR agent, Pat Kingsley.

Despite a lot of negative publicity against him, Cruise's recent release "War of the Worlds" turned out to be a blockbuster hit raking in over half a billion dollars worldwide.

However, Allan Mayer, managing director at Sitrick and Company, a public relations firm, stresses on the significance of stars needing good PR in the current scenario. "The entertainment media is changing," said Allan Mayer who believes toady's audiences don't have as much loyalties towards stars as seen in earlier generations.

Cruise will be seen in Paramount Picture's big-budget sequel "Mission: Impossible 3," which is already under production.