Cruise 'Pitches' Movie In Japan

Actor Tom Cruise cemented his ties to Japan Wednesday as he became the first foreign actor to have his hand print molded on a downtown Tokyo square honoring celebrities.

Cruise, in Tokyo to promote his film "Collateral," also threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Game 3 of the Japan Series.

It was nearly 3 feet wide of the strike zone.

He did better with the handprint. Pressing his right hand into a mold of gray clay, the American actor flashed a thumbs up to a horde of media and fans gathered in the rain to watch him.

His handprint will be transferred by the end of the month onto Tokyo's "Nemu no Hiroba," which features metal plaques with the prints and signatures of famous actors much like Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

In "Collateral," the 42-year-old Cruise essays his first role as a villain, a contract killer who hijacks a cab driver and forces him to drive from hit to hit.

His hits are better than his pitches, he admits.

"That was a terrible pitch, but I love being here in Japan," Cruise said.

Game 4 of the Japan Series, by the way, was postponed Wednesday because of a typhoon approaching the Tokyo area.