I like Tom Cruise. I’m not an apologist, but I can differentiate between what happens offscreen and on and I still believe he’s one of the greatest movie stars of all time and a rather amazing actor above and beyond that. Plus, we’re both short and share a birthday, so there’s that.
That said, I have heard some delightful behind the scenes stories that are hard to dispute the oddness and hilarity of.
It’s gotten tougher and tougher to have conversations with people who I consider the "general public" because their perception of the man is so slanted because of Oprah and South Park and whatever other stuff bandied about in People Magazine. I’ve given up even though I felt that Mission: Impossible III was one of the better experiences of this past summer.
News like today’s reminds me why I shouldn’t worry about ol’ Tom. He’s got more rebound than Charles Barkley in his prime.
How much rebound? How does running a movie studio sound?
From The Hollywood Reporter:
"In a bold move to bolster the status of the newly configured MGM,
chairman and CEO Harry Sloan announced today that he has pacted with
star Tom Cruise and his Cruise Wagner Productions partner Paula Wagner,
who recently left their production deal at Paramount Pictures, to take
over the dormant film label United Artists."
A studio to run, even a ‘dormant’ one? I’d say that Mr. Cruise will enjoy his retaliation against Sumner Redstone just fine, and there’s little to dispute in the savvy of Paula Wagner and her ability to get shit done.
In a world of corporately owned movie studios I can’t say I hate the idea of artists running the show. It’s why Dreamworks SKG was so exciting in the early years. It may be a car crash but it’ll be a fun one to watch.