href="http://londonist.com/2008/02/air_bound.php"> remove one man from Gatwick.

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Londonist prepares a Happy Birthday bath for Buddah this week and then things get all cliched. A madman goes on a rampage while axe-wiedling and London's mayor warns an American diplomat to avoid the kitchen if the heat bothers him so much. more ›

The Shanghai Evening Post tells us that Mission: Impossible III (or M : I : III, as the cool kids are calling it) will make its world premier in Shanghai. Yes, Shanghai! The red carpet event is slated for April 22 at the Shanghai Grand Theater. But leave your camcorders at home: more ›

It didn't seem like Tom Cruise was in China all that long, considering 40 percent of the film is reportedly supposed to take place here (but apparently not all Shanghainese will be sad to see him go). Cruise and Mission: Impossible 3 director J.J. Abrams talked with journalists yesterday atop Bund 18. They must not have said much because we only found one quote in the two stories we read about the "press conference." Cruise said of Shanghai: "It's spectacular. It's unbelievable. It's going to look extraordinary on film." He said he plans on coming back to China as a tourist some day. There was also reportedly a moment during the rooftop gathering that involved Cruise singling out a Chinese journalist who started talking on his mobile phone -- Cruise insisted that he talk to the person on the other end ... and he even said Ni hao and Xie xie! He is SO DREAMY! (Good thing it wasn't a squirt phone.) more ›

She's got some guy with her, too. Can't tell who it is because of the sunglasses. But who cares? Katie Holmes is in Shanghai! The mystery man with Holmes must be kind of well known, however. It's been reported that he is trying to keep a low profile -- not easy when you have a 20-person entourage and your own six-car fleet. The man, who looks to be quite a bit older than Holmes, is said to have a taste for gay men Sichuan food, so much that he spent 5,000 yuan at a Sichuan place on Yan'an Lu (is that even possible?). Holmes and her beau are staying at the Four Seasons and have visited Yu Yuan and 3 on the Bund. Tomorrow night they are expected to hit the Shanghai Grand Stage for the 2005 MTV Style Gala. After Shanghai, Holmes will head to Xitang, an old water town in Zhejiang, which has been shut down for the filming of some movie. Reportedly, Xitang will receive 100 million yuan for its trouble. We're sure much of that will trickle down to the people who need it most. more ›

Tom Cruise is crazy about China -- scrap that, he's just plain crazy -- and it seems China is crazy for him, too. Xitang, an ancient water town in Zhejiang, will "close from tomorrow" (which we think means today) for the filming of Mission: Impossible III. That's right, they are closing an entire town (or so the story makes it seem ... no other details were given). more ›

If you're like Shanghaiist and waited to see War of the Worlds on the big screen, please don't sit next to us at the Xintiandi theater next Tuesday -- unless you promise to stay quiet and turn your mobile phone off. The latest Cruise/Spielberg collaboration opens Thursday at a theater near you. War of the Worlds has gotten generally favorable reviews and has somehow managed to rake in more than $230 million in the US and around $600 million globally despite being readily available on the streets of Shanghai in pirated form. You can view the trailer over at Apple's site. And if all this ain't enough WOW for you, you can check out the musical stage version (we're not making this up) -- it's coming to China in 2007. Sounds crazy, right? But not as crazy as Tom Cruise -- he's planning an extravagant "Arabian Knights"-style wedding with "millions of flowers" in Mexico later this year. And then there's that whole cult thing. more ›

Get your squirt guns ready, folks. Everyone's favorite crazy man Tom Cruise will bring his freak show to Shanghai this November to film the "climactic final scenes" of Mission: Impossible III, according to Variety.com: more ›

Batman Begins has already begun for most of the world -- including Hong Kong and Taiwan -- and, actually, it's already arrived in Shanghai, too (thanks to some guy with a camcorder). But you may want to hold off on watching your pirated DVD just yet, because the movie of the summer is actually going to open in Mainland China this summer. In just six days to be exact. Batman Begins opens in Shanghai on June 29. Yes, it's a full two weeks later than most of our friends beyond our borders -- but it is two weeks earlier than much of Scandanavia and Eastern Europe. Ha! Take that Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. And poor Ukraine has to wait until August 4. more ›