In the wake of Knight and Day's disappointing box-office opening, the marketing vice-president at 20th Century Fox seems to be eagerly falling on his sword:

In a rare interview Monday morning, Sella, who is painfully media shy but a delightful raconteur when he's far away from a tape recorder, took full responsibility for the film's poor showing. He was especially vocal — and unusually candid — when it came to the issue of the Cruise Factor. "Blame me, don't blame Tom Cruise," he said. "We did lots of focus groups for this film, and no one ever said there was a star problem. Never. Tom Cruise was not the issue. I take full responsibility." He laughed. "And if the movie ends up going to $100 million, I want full responsibility too."

Why don't we blame Tom Cruise, though? Why is Tom Cruise immediately taken off the table as the culprit for the movie's depressing box office take? Could it be that people are sick of Tom Cruise's creepy vibe, his weird religion, his calculating air? Why does Hollywood not want to acknowledge that when the moviegoing public sees a Tom Cruise trailer, we roll our eyes and gag a little bit? (Sorry, Lindy, but deep down you know it's true.) Please, Hollywood, give up on Tom Cruise. Preferably before this atrocity gets made. Or this one.