RISKY BUSINESS PARAMOUNT CUTS TOM CRUISE LOOSE, CALLING STAR'S RECENT BEHAVIOR BIZARRE.Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ Staff Writer Blaming the actor's bizarre off-screen antics, Paramount Pictures will end its 14-year relationship with Tom Cruise after the disappointing performance of his latest film, ``Mission: Impossible III.'' ``As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal,'' Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein on May 27 1923 in Boston, Massachusetts) is majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements theater chain. Through National Amusements, he is majority owner of Midway Games, Viacom and CBS Corporation. , chairman of Paramount's parent company, Viacom Inc., told The Wall Street Journal in an interview Tuesday. ``His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount,'' Redstone said. The move comes after a number of highly criticized public appearances by Cruise, including a combative ``Today Show'' interview during which he criticized actress Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Camille Shields[1] (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and supermodel. Biography Career Shields' career as a model began in the late 1960s as an infant, and she continued as a successful child model throughout the 1970s. for taking antidepressants Antidepressants Medications prescribed to relieve major depression. Classes of antidepressants include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (fluoxetine/Prozac, sertraline/Zoloft), tricyclics (amitriptyline/ Elavil), MAOIs (phenelzine/Nardil), and heterocyclics to treat postpartum depression Postpartum Depression Definition Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that begins after childbirth and usually lasts beyond six weeks. Description as well as a couch-jumping romp on ``The Oprah Winfrey “Oprah” redirects here. For the show, see The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is the American multiple-Emmy Award winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated talk show in television history. Show'' to proclaim his love for actress Katie Holmes Katherine Noelle "Katie" Holmes [1] [2] (born December 18 1978) is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. , who recently gave birth to their baby daughter. In the past 18 months, Cruise has also stumped more zealously for the Church of Scientology Church of Scientology: see Scientology, Church of. , a controversial, self-help belief system that he has followed for most of his career. Even as ``MI3'' performed below expectations in the U.S., Paramount had steadfastly stood by its 44-year-old star publicly. The first real sign of discord came late last month when it was learned that Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, had been offered just $2 million annually -- down from a previous $8 million deal -- to run their offices on the Paramount lot. A Viacom source said Tuesday that ``their contract was up and we're not renewing his deal with Paramount. He's free to go wherever he wants. We wish him well.'' Cruise could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But Wagner played down the end of the business arrangement with Paramount and told the Journal that she and Cruise will set up an independent production operation financed by two top hedge funds she declined to name. ``This is a dream of Tom and mine,'' she said. Still, Wagner told The Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. that she was surprised by Redstone's announcement. She said agents for Cruise/Wagner Productions stopped negotiating with Paramount more than a week ago and have since secured independent financing, effectively taking any contract-renewal deal off the table. ``It's not really the most businesslike busi·ness·like adj. 1. Showing or having characteristics advantageous to or of use in business; methodical and systematic. 2. Purposeful; earnest. 3. approach,'' she said. ``We've had virtually no dealings with Mr. Redstone.'' Cruise has long been one of the movie industry's biggest stars since bursting onto the scene in ``Risky Business'' in 1983. He has not only made a successful string of commercial hits, but also received Oscar nominations for his performances in ``Born on the Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. ,'' ``Jerry Maguire'' and ``Magnolia.'' It was 20 summers ago that Cruise had his first $100 million-grossing hit for Paramount with ``Top Gun.'' Since then, 13 more movies headlined by the actor have reached that milestone domestically, including the past seven in a row. Last summer, Cruise headlined Steven Spielberg's ``War of the Worlds.'' Even though the movie was released amid a flurry of negative news about Cruise's quickie courtship of, and engagement to, Holmes, it took in $234.3 million in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , making it his highest-grossing film. But with his good-guy image taking a battering during the 12 months leading up to the May 6 premiere of ``MI3,'' critics wondered whether Cruise could retain his box office supremacy, especially among female fans. ``MI3'' kicked off the summer season with less impact than expected with an opening weekend gross of $47.7 million, well below estimates, before stalling at $133.4 domestically. The previous installment in the series, ``Mission: Impossible II,'' grossed $215.4 million domestically in 2000, while the 1996 movie, ``Mission: Impossible,'' grossed $180.9 million. ``Any time a sequel has a significant drop-off from its predecessors, the perception of disappointment rings in the air,'' box office analyst Brandon Gray said Tuesday. ``But it was essentially a sequel the fans weren't clamoring clam·or n. 1. A loud outcry; a hubbub. 2. A vehement expression of discontent or protest: a clamor in the press for pollution control. 3. A loud sustained noise. for.'' But Gray, president of Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic way. Brandon Gray started the site in August 1998 and claims to now receive over one million monthly visitors. , pointed out that Cruise remains a huge international star, with ``MI3'' grossing $237.4 million in foreign markets for a worldwide total of nearly $390 million. ``The whole Tom Cruise bashing thing is a little unwarranted because Cruise is still one of the biggest box office stars in the world today,'' he said. ``It's difficult to knock a guy who has had so many $100 million movies. I think his next picture will confirm his stature. We'll get a better sense of where he is with the public.'' greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3758 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Tom Cruise's ``recent conduct has not been acceptable ...,'' said Sumner Redstone. Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images (2) Actor Tom Cruise, smiling on the red carpet at a fan screening of ``Mission: Impossible III,'' has been dumped by Paramount Pictures after a recent falling out with the studio. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion