Tattle: There was a method to Cruise's MTV-award madness

MAYBE it's a coincidence, but in the same week that Sean Combs gets great reviews for playing an over-the-top record-label head in "Get Him to the Greek," Paramount Pictures and MTV Films say they're developing a film around the foul-mouthed over-the-top Hollywood producer a hairy Tom Cruise played in 2008's "Tropic Thunder" and at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards - officially the earliest commercial ever for a movie.

Cruise and Ben Stiller are among the producers of the film. Paramount said Cruise is in talks to star as Les Grossman.

In talks? Without Cruise there's no movie. Even with Cruise there may not be a movie.

Tattbits

* The mayor of Paris honored Jane Fonda yesterday, bestowing upon her the Great Medal of the City of Paris.

Fonda, who was sporting a navy pantsuit for the occasion, said she loves being in France and considers the country "like a second home."

The ceremony took place during a news conference about the Paris Cinema festival, which will also count Philadelphia director M. Night Shyamalan and French heartthrob Louis Garrel among its guest stars.

The festival runs from July 3-13.

* Research for Great Britain's communications watchdog Ofcom shows British viewers are increasingly willing to accept strong language in the right context.

The study published earlier this f---in' week (that might be the wrong context) found that mild profanities such as "damn" were generally considered acceptable at any time, while some potentially discriminatory words - including "loony" and "mental" - were widely considered inoffensive.

What about "bugger" and "bollocks"?

Few objected to stronger swear words after 9 p.m., but opinion was divided on the F-word.

Could you imagine the outcry here if someone on American TV started dropping F-bombs at 9 p.m.?

* Little Brown's Young Readers division has announced that five authorized books based on the hit Fox TV series "Glee" will be coming out, starting in August with the prequel novel, "The Beginning."

The "Glee" releases will be a collaboration between Little Brown and the creative team behind the dramatic comedy about a high-school glee club.

Personally, we can't wait for "Sue Sylvester and the Sorceror's Stone."

* Celebrity chef Cat Cora and fashion expert Carson Kressley are creating makeover/personal transformation shows for Oprah Winfrey's upcoming cable network, OWN.

That proves it - even Oprah's run out of ideas.

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

E-mail gensleh@phillynews.com.