All Things Considered, August 23, 2006 · Paramount Studios has severed its 14-year relationship with superstar actor Tom Cruise -- and Sumner Redstone, chairman of the studio's parent company Viacom, says Cruise's recent public behavior is one of the reasons.
Cruise reportedly has earned Paramount upwards of $1 billion over the course of their relationship, but lately his box-office returns are down. His last blockbuster-to-be, Mission Impossible III, earned about $133 million at the domestic box office -- an amount far below expectations.
Some Hollywood pundits have blamed his devotion to the religion of Scientology and his strident opposition to psychiatry and the use of psychiatric drugs.
Cruise's Star Power
Below is a list of the star's top 10 highest-grossing films, in millions of dollars:
War of the Worlds: $234.3
Mission: Impossible II: $215.4
Mission: Impossible: $181.0
Top Gun: $176.8
Rain Man: $172.8
The Firm: $158.3
Jerry Maguire: $154.0
A Few Good Men: $141.3
Mission: Impossible III: $133.4
Minority Report: $132.0
Note: Reflects U.S. domestic grosses only
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Everyone will be making jokes about whether it's "risky business" to do another Tom Cruise movie. In fact, the end of the 14-year Paramount/Tom Cruise relationship is by no stretch the end of Cruise's movie career. Nor is it a case where a star's off-screen conduct is the central issue, according to Gregg Kilday, film editor at The Hollywood Reporter. He spoke with NPR about the story:
What does Hollywood make of the story?
The popular press is looking at this as another story about Tom Cruise's goofy behavior. But within Hollywood, it's being viewed very much as a negotiation that wasn't successful -- a deal gone sour between Tom Cruise and his camp and Paramount. While it's unusual for a company chairman like Sumner Redstone to come forward and say, "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount," no one is really buying that as central reason that the two sides couldn't make a deal. There may have been some annoyance with Cruise about his conduct, but I think if they could have got him at the price they wanted, they would have lived with that annoyance.
How is the Cruise camp characterizing the breakdown of negotiations?
Cruise's contention is he was developing other sources of financing and decided to step away from the deal. And this comes within the context of a lot of studios, particularly Paramount, not wanting to pay as much for stars.
Did Cruise hurt himself by speaking about Scientology's anti-psychiatry stand, for example?
He certainly has a right to [speak about Scientology]. Whether it's a smart move when you're out promoting a movie to talk about something as potentially divisive as religion and politics is something that can be argued. A lot of people would say it isn't: The focus should be on the movie and being as appealing to as many people as possible. At same time, you had a star like Jane Fonda who in the 1970s was one of the most divisive figures in America and at the same time, was one of the biggest movie stars. A lot of people who said they never would see her movies because of her politics would never have seen them anyway.
Redstone's comment about Cruise was harsh. Is that out of the ordinary?
It's certainly unusual. Even when people are parting ways and haven't been able to reach a deal, the standard Hollywood protocol is to acknowledge the success they've had in the past together and to wish each other well.
Is there a precedent for Redstone's comments?
There's always a precedent for something. In the studio era, when stars were under contract to the studios, there were many cases where studios very publicly disciplined stars like Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland. It's less common in the modern era, where stars are much more free agents.
What were stars disciplined for back in the day?
Usually stars were assigned to a given movie. If they objected to a movie or refused to show up, they were put on suspension. Olivia de Havilland's case became famous because she sued Warner Brothers and got her suspension overthrown. At the time, Warner Brothers would extend a traditional seven-year contract by the amount of time a star was suspended.
Is there a feeling that Cruise has lost his appeal?
In the case of Tom Cruise, there's an anecdotal sense he's lost some of his fan base. But how much that affected Mission Impossible III is impossible to say -- there's one school of thought that the movie itself, rather than bringing something new to the franchise, just repeated the action tropes of the first two movies. Even if Cruise had not gotten any criticism for any extraneous behavior, the movie might have run out of steam anyway, and it still did make nearly $400 million worldwide.
So is his career faltering?
It's a complicated equation with lot of moving parts. The fact is, he is getting older. Most male stars, particularly folks who've had big successes in action movies, as they get older have to figure out ways to transition into other kinds of parts. In some of the dramatic things Cruise has taken on -- Born on the Fourth of July, Magnolia -- he's shown he is capable of doing that. On the other hand, it is hard to generalize about anybody's fan base, particularly when you attract such a large audience. In the past Tom Cruise fans who would show up to see him in one of his broad-based movies didn't automatically go see artier film like Magnolia. A lot of what happens depends on what parts he chooses.
Can he indeed go into the business of making movies for himself?
Cruise says he's identified two equity funds willing to invest in his company. That reflects another trend in Hollywood --- a lot of private equity money is coming into town, investing in both studio and independent films. That's something Cruise might decide to take advantage of.
But not with Paramount?
His camp is saying they don't rule out making movies with Paramount. There are a lot of things in development. Some could shift to another studio. But at same time, if they are movies that Paramount wants to make and Cruise and Paramount agree on a deal, he could make them at Paramount.
What are Cruise's plans now?
At the moment Cruise himself is not committed to a movie that has a start date within the next couple months. He has a lot in development. Whatever impact all of this has is affected by what movies he chooses to do.
Would one wrong move sink him?
For a star of his magnitude, their fate and career are not determined by individual films. You'd have to have a serious downturn in a number of films or the industry stop wanting to do business with you. Tom Cruise has to be considered one of the major stars in Hollywood. But no stars in Hollywood have absolute carte blanche unless they're willing to finance their films 100 percent.
I believe the public should truly be the ones to applaud regarding Paramount's relinquishing its' relationship with Tom Cruise. It goes without saying that its the public that ultimately has the last word on an actor's career. We are the ones who buy the tickets. I say the public should be applauded for not buying into an argument just because a celebrity speaks vehemently about it. We all have minds of our own, and good for us for showing Tom Cruise that he is not our brain, regardless of his social status. His low box office performance on MI 3 proves the point that people didn't want to see it because it was a bad movie, they didn't see it is because Tom Cruise was a turn off. Good for the public!
I still dig Tom Cruise's movies. His off-screen antics don't really affect me one way or the other. I don't listen to celebrity gossip so none of it ways on me whether I see their movies or not.
That being said, I don't blame Paramount at all for ending their deal. If he wants to act a fool publically then he should not it could hurt professionally. It finally has. Perception is reality and whether he is a lunatic or not, that's what the people see in the supermarket rags.
I'm on the wall with the Brook and Tom argument. I mean, I've never had Part-hardsum desperation or whatever, but I mean... people are drugging themselves for all kinds of crap now, and I don't think it's cool. Try something natural first, says the great Gaboman, then fill yourself with dope if all else fails.
"I'm for it so we can put Nuclear power plants up there, and then beam the power back to earth on a laser beam." ~ Whidden
I hear you. I just don't want to hear Cruise act like he's an authority on anything, especially female medical conditions. I don't know what kind of clairvoyance L. Ron Hubbard gave him, but I don't think it was to do with birthin' babies and the after effects thereof.
I usually dodge celeb interviews because aside from not caring about their personal life in the first place, it's more fluff and fake crap. What you see, what you read... it's all fake. All of it. It's scripted and pre-determined by someone, somewhere. Even Cruise's wacky behavior, someone thought it would be a good idea to do that beforehand.
I heard that he still has Paramount movies in the works..so they havent quite "dropped" him per se. At least thats what Ive heard.
Doesnt matter for me anyhow...I never liked Tom Cruise enough to flock to the theaters to see his movies. He always disgusted me...his recent antics just confirmed everything I ever felt for him to begin with anyhow.
Of course thats just my opinion....I could be wrong. (Dennis Miller)
"You might be the toughest little whacker. . .but in my world, you're about as worrisome as a cloudy day." (Dutch Dooley)
HECK! said this in post #9 : I hear you. I just don't want to hear Cruise act like he's an authority on anything, especially female medical conditions.
Oh, ain't that the truth, man. I saw him arguing with that one dude about the history of psychology, and he was going on about "I've read about the history of psychology, have you? Have you?" I'd be all like "Tom, dude...." *slap*
"I'm for it so we can put Nuclear power plants up there, and then beam the power back to earth on a laser beam." ~ Whidden
I guess old Tom just doesn't measure up to the lofty expectations of our little hen house. He's made some entertaining flicks and that should be all that matters. Scientology is the only religion that openly sells rank to its members so naturally rich people become leaders. ha ha ha yes...Tom is rich...rich beyond all our combined imaginations. And beyond our petty observations.
08-24-2006 12:25 AM
Good move, Paramount! 
