Germans Give Tom Cruise Coveted Golden Bambi In Recognition Of His Moviemaking Courage

In a possible sign that onetime international superstar Tom Cruise’s unnervingly sunny smile might finally be thawing the frosty hearts of a Scientology-suspicious German society that has callously refused his generous offer to build a 50-foot-tall statue of L. Ron Hubbard in the centre of Berlin, the actor was today presented with a prestigious Bambi “Courage” award, a recognition our cursory internet research reveals may be one the highest honors handed out by Teutonic publishing concern Hubert Burda Media. The impetus for granting the Bambi was, according to a jury panel, The Valkyrie star and producer’s efforts to make “an international public familiar with a story that has never before been the theme of a major Hollywood production: the German resistance against the Third Reich,” a noble mission from which the brave Cruise did not allow himself to be deterred, even when faced with the opposition of permit-withholding government functionaries, a terrifying gas attack by a wily saboteur, and the undermining influence of double-agents within the production’s hair and wardrobe departments bent on breaking his will by making him look ridiculous both on and off the set.

[Photo: Getty Images]

• Tom Cruise wins German film award for courage [Reuters]