Cruise's river ride

If you happened to be in Rome Tuesday, you might have caught a glimpse of Tom Cruise zooming down the river Tiber in a speedboat, as a result barring all traffic from the historic waterway for the day.

The star of films such as Jerry Maguire, Top Gun, and Vanilla Sky is now filming the third installment to the popular "Mission: Impossible" series. The movie, set for release May 5, 2006 will be directed by J.J. Abrams, who helped create ABC's "Lost" and "Alias." According to imdb.com, Abrams claims he got the job directing Mission: Impossible III after Tom Cruise watched early episodes of "Alias" on DVD and loved them. The two started hanging out together and Cruise offered him the job.

Besides starring in it, Cruise will also co-produce the film. Last month, Cruise and Paramount Pictures finalized their cost agreements, taking over a week to come to a decision.

Before shooting the river speedboat scene, Cruise was sure to kiss and hug his recent fiancee, actress Katie Holmes.