Tom Cruise poses with his son Conor Antony before
heading to a screening at the Magic Johnson Theater in the Harlem section of New
York to promote his new film 'Mission Impossible III', May 3, 2006.
REUTERS/Albert Ferreira- Paramount Pictures/HANDOUT
Tom Cruise hopscotched through Manhattan on Wednesday during a
fast-paced promotional tour for the premiere of "Mission: Impossible III."
Cruise traversed the city ¡ª catching rides on a fire truck, helicopter,
motorcycle, speed boat, sports car and subway train ¡ª to hit three screenings of
the movie and make two publicity stops.
Hundreds packed Times Square to greet the 43-year-old film star, who appeared
on MTV's "Total Request Live" for the first leg of the tour.
"You're a wonder of the world," host Vanessa Minnillo told Cruise, who
channeled "Mission" alter ego Ethan Hunt in a sleek black leather jacket, black
turtleneck and dark shades.
Meanwhile, a fire truck arrived to give Cruise a lift to his next
destination: a heliport, where a helicopter waited to whisk him to a premiere
downtown.
"These are my buddies," Cruise said of the firefighters. "These are my
heroes."
Less than an hour later, he pulled up on a motorcycle to the first opening of
the movie at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center as hundreds of fans whooped and
hollered, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hollywood royalty.
Cruise next walked the red carpet at a VIP screening in Harlem held by BET's
106 & Park and Paramount Films. He then hopped on a rented D subway train
with costar Laurence Fishburne to get to Ziegfeld Theater for the official
premiere of "M:i:III."
"Mission: Impossible III" is directed by "Lost" co-creator J.J. Abrams who is
a first-time filmmaker. It also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy
Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q and
Fishburne.
The plot has Cruise's character returning to action when another agent (Keri
Russell) is kidnapped by a baddy, played by Hoffman, a recent Oscar winner. It
opens in theaters May 5.