Aberdeen awaits superstar arrival of Tom Cruise

ABERDEEN — Depending on the size of his jet and his entourage, Tom Cruise will fly into either Bowerman Field in Hoquiam or one of several airports near Olympia on Tuesday for a visit to Aberdeen that will focus on the fans, the press and contest winner Kevin McCoy, a Paramount Pictures spokeswoman said.

The Paramount spokeswoman, who asked that The Aberdeen Daily World not publish her name to protect her sanity, quashed rumors that Cruise would fly to Aberdeen in a chopper and shimmy down a rope to his adoring fans.

He's tentatively scheduled to arrive at SouthShore Mall in South Aberdeen around 6 p.m. He'll probably spend about 45 minutes on a red carpet leading to the theater entrance, schmoozing with fans.

"He's here to greet the fans and meet Kevin," the spokeswoman said. "It's all about the fans. We encourage everyone to come down. This is your chance to meet Tom Cruise."

A few weeks ago, McCoy entered an e-mail contest sponsored by Paramount Pictures and Yahoo! He was randomly selected after answering five questions about Cruise.

McCoy and about 150 friends and family members also will walk down the red carpet on their way to enjoy a private screening of "Mission: Impossible III." The show is tentatively scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The theater will be closed to everyone but McCoy's guests and, of course, Cruise. It's unclear if the actor will actually go in the theater or stay for the movie, which he has watched at least five times in the past few weeks during premieres.

"He probably needs to get home to his brand new child and girlfriend," said mall general manager Nina Morean.

She is hoping thousands of fans fill the parking lot. Radio stations from Seattle and Portland are busing people in.

"We have certainly never planned for welcoming a world-famous person to our property; so that will be a first," she said.

"There aren't many people in this world that trump an appearance by Tom Cruise."