Time was, Tom Cruise was the epitome of cool. Mainstream America ignored that his publicized relationships were smokescreens to keep his career from going down the tubes and he even made that movie "Legs Wide Open," or whatever it was called.

Then came Scientology, and damned if L.Ron Hubbard didn't succeed in turning the coolest man on earth into a total and utter dork. Tom jumped on Oprah's couch, he demeaned Brooke Shields and the entire discipline of psychiatry and additionally, he failed to get any taller.

Not that it matters to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. That august body is going to award Tom Cruise a Britannia on November 10 in Hollywood for his work in film. Elizabeth Taylor too will be honored with a Britannia for excellence. No word yet on whether Prince Harry will win a prize for having dressed in a nazi outfit. (By Scott Rose)