Also, Pam Shriver of all people being married to James Bond (even if he is 70 and only was Bond for one mediocre movie) is really bizarre. If you're reading and have no idea who she is, just Google her. I'll wait.
Weird, right?
Tom Cruise... the first thing I thought about him when the topic came up in your post was "wow, he's crazy." And then I wondered how we got to this point with him, because there wasn't really a big CRAZY moment. He didn't bite a guy's ear like Tyson. He didn't shave his head like Britney (or marry her friend in Vegas like Britney. Or marry Kevin Federline. Or date a paparazzo. Britney's done a lot of crazy shit.). He had that interview on Today where he was jumping on the couch, but I think that just re-enforced was people already thought of him. I guess he always seemed sort of secretive and odd, and maybe that morphed into crazy over time. I recall people in the late 90s swearing up and down that Cruise was gay and that Nicole Kidman was a beard.
And I think that's the impact of our culture's increasing speed that you discuss - little things can build up over time. There wasn't a big story about Cruise, but there were lots of little ones. The country might have decided Paul Newman was crazy - but he would have needed to do one big crazy thing in the 60s to get the necessary avalanche of press. Cruise gets an avalanche of press if he just takes a walk.
I also think there's something about the way the paparazzi work that makes us feel that celebrities are hiding something, particularly if they shy away from the paparazzi (which, of course, is the more natural thing to do - the people who embrace it are the weird ones. See any of the Kardashians.). This goes both ways - it seems like, from the stories of Bill Simmons and Neil Strauss, that Tom Cruise is hiding that he's actually really funny and friendly. I would not have assumed he was hiding a hilarious side if not for firsthand testimonials.
I'm also not sure I agree about Cruise really being able to slip into roles. I think he's one of the last movie stars who's basically playing some version of Tom Cruise, Movie Star on screen. He needs a full makeover, like in Tropic Thunder, to disappear. I actually like this about him - who cares if he's "believable" as a specific character? Movie stars are meant to glide between disparate roles and remain who they are. If they lose too much of themselves in a role, its disorienting.
My biggest problem with Cruise is what's become of poor Katie Holmes. Remember when she was the hottest chick ever to smart guys? Remember when she was attractive? She lost a certain luster when she started dating Cruise for some reason, and then she started wearing weird clothes and doing weird things to her hair. Its sad. Even if we've all moved on to Mandy Moore and Christina Hendricks.
Segueing to a sports celebrity - Bill Simmons has a really interesting column on LeBron James. Every time I convince myself LeBron's not coming to the Knicks next summer, that its a pipe dream, something reminds me of how awesome it would be, and the idea sucks me right back in. Would I enjoy Wade? Yeah. Would Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire make it more fun to be a Knicks fan? Yeah. But no one's LeBron. He would change everything. I would get season tickets for sure. I couldn't NOT get season tickets.
I still can't figure out whether he's more or less likely to stay in Cleveland if he wins the title this year - does the title allow him to go off having given his city the title it wants? Or does it prove he can win and be the Global Icon there, so it lets him stay? - so I can't figure out if I'm cheering for them this year. But I'll be watching. Hard to turn away when LeBron's on TV.
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