A 'superstar' gets the boot

Viacom (VIA) has dumped movie star Tom Cruise over his off-screen behavior. Cruise has made a string of blockbusters in 14 years with Viacom's Paramount Pictures, and is still one of Hollywood's most powerful stars. But his antics -- which included promoting Scientology and bouncing on talk-show host Oprah Winfrey's couch to celebrate his love for actress Katie Holmes -- have turned off fans. "His recent conduct has been unacceptable," Viacom chief Sumner Redstone told The Wall Street Journal. (New York Post, free registration required) Cruise's representatives said he quit after lining up financing to make his own movies. (The New York Times, free registration required)