Mapping a new career plan for Mrs. Cruise; 'Mad Money' in future but not 'Dark Knight (WSJ)

By Nancy Vialatte

After a long hiatus from the movies, Katie Holmes is trying to get back in the game. The Wall Street Journal reports that CAA representatives have recently been mapping out a new career plan for the actress.

There are signs that it won't be easy, partly because studios may be gun-shy of her new status as a tabloid fixture, and partly because her expectations may be raised as the new Mrs. Cruise. She recently was unable to make a deal with Warner Bros. to land what appeared to be a good opportunity: a reprisal of her role as assistant district attorney Rachel Dawes in the sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins," scheduled for summer 2008 and titled "The Dark Knight."

In Hollywood, a break can become a permanent vacation, says the WSJ citing actresses like Meg Ryan and Demi Moore who have had a hard time rebuilding momentum.

But Holmes has gone those actresses one better by hooking up with Tom Cruise and becoming serious tabloid fodder. The negative publicity could make studios wary of taking a chance on her. Cruise himself, the WSJ reminds us, has been the focus of much negative publicity in the past year and �is regarded in some quarters as a box-office liability.�

Unlike, say, Russell Crowe, who garnered a ream of bad publicity from throwing a malfunctioning phone at a New York hotel employee, Ms. Holmes's trouble stems simply from getting involved with a fellow actor who himself has generated controversy -- certainly no crime. But the impact on her job prospects could be similar; Mr. Crowe's career appears to have veered off track since his eruption.

According to research figures from Marketing Evaluations, Inc., Holmes� likability rating has nose-dived. But the folks at CAA, led by Hylda Queally, are working hard to get Holmes back in the right kind of spotlight. However, Holmes recently turned down the �Batman Begins� sequel. "We never got to the negotiating stage" for "Dark Knight," Julie Polkes, a spokeswoman for Holmes, tells the Journal. "Katie was offered ["Dark Knight"] but was unable to accept the role because of scheduling conflicts. She was in the process of negotiating for another project. In addition, when she returns to work, she would like to tackle a new character."

Holmes is reportedly mulling a role in "Mad Money" alongside Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton and under the direction of Callie Khouri. But Holmes would have to cut her usual fee to about $250,000 given the film�s low-ish budget.

Ms. Holmes's name still comes up in discussions for some big roles. Warner Bros. executives talked at one point about casting her in the lead role in the studio's "Wonder Woman" superhero movie, being developed by producer Joel Silver. But since the script hasn't been completed, people involved with the project say any casting decisions are on the back burner for now.

To some talent representatives and studio executives, an ensemble role in a quality picture seems like the right way for Ms. Holmes to go. "If she finds the right material and directors, I am sure she will do very well with her continued career," says Chris McGurk, who was a senior studio executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when it distributed "Pieces of April," considered to be one of Ms. Holmes's best films. Playing a black-sheep grown daughter sharing Thanksgiving dinner with her troubled family, "she turned in a great performance in a very tough role in the middle of a very strong cast," Mr. McGurk says.

No matter what, though, she's likely to face scrutiny over whether the Mrs. Cruise factor will overshadow her acting talent. During the summer of 2005, Warner Bros. marketers were frustrated over the "Batman" campaign, say people there at the time, when Ms. Holmes's budding romance with Mr. Cruise distracted attention from the movie -- creating paparazzi frenzies on the red carpet and prompting her to use coveted late-night television air time partly to promote her then-boyfriend's movie, "War of the Worlds."

More recently, the actress was largely absent from the promotional effort behind "Thank You for Smoking," a film based on the popular satirical novel of the same name that was released by the Fox Searchlight label last March, a month before the birth of her daughter. (Ms. Polkes, her publicist, says, "we have not heard any concerns" about her publicity efforts.) The actress's representatives even asked that her name not be featured on the back of the "Smoking" DVDs that were distributed to Oscar voters, say people involved in those discussions. Ms. Holmes didn't want to draw undue attention to herself in a film she regarded as an ensemble effort, says Ms. Polkes. Fox obliged.

Mapping a new career plan for Mrs. Cruise; 'Mad Money' in future but not 'Dark Knight (WSJ)

By Nancy Vialatte

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