Thursday
14Aug2008
More Cruise News: 'Valkyrie' Moved to December, Paula Wagner Leaves UA
Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 12:28AM 
For a guy whose career has been more notable for its
instability than its steady stream of success over the past three years, there
still aren't many stars who can grab a headline like
Tom Cruise. Earlier this week, it was revealed
that the spy movie he had long been linked to, Edwin A. Salt, was moving on
without him. In his place:
Angelina Jolie. Hard to knock that choice.
After all, she is taller.
WENN reports what we presumed about all of
this, specifically that Cruise is not a guaranteed box office draw anymore.
Truthfully, he hasn't been a sure thing in nearly a decade. His only substantial
hit since Jerry Maguire is War of the Worlds. By substantial, we
mean something that unquestionably made a lot of money here in the U.S. So
that's two movies in 12 years. We'll be generous and throw M:I 2 in that
group, even though it was very, very expensive and didn't come close to the
profit margin of the first one.
Not surprisingly, a 46-year-old action star who hasn't
performed like Will Smith and who has been a public relations nightmare might
have problems keeping the momentum going.
That includes a potential Mission: Impossible 4,
which Cruise wants, but which Paramount, according to a source, would rather
place in the hands of a younger, more affordable guy. At a recent meeting about
the project, recounted in the New York Post, Cruise "had a tantrum and
ran out of the meeting."
Whether that last detail is true or not, the spirit of
the story is hard to argue. Action movies these days, with few exceptions, don't
need to be star-driven. At least not megastar-driven. And if he's not dropping
his asking price, it's a tough scenario for any studio to buy into.
But there's more bad news for Cruise: His longtime
producing partner Paula Wagner is leaving her position as CEO of United Artists.
Wagner and Cruise have been in charge of the studio for a little over a year,
with very few positive results.
Variety reports that Wagner will still
retain her ownership stake in the studio, but it remains unclear what will
happen to a half-billion dollars in financing for future films that UA has not
really exercised. The article insists that Wagner constantly had differences of
opinions with MGM, the other co-owner of the studio. MGM executives allege that
Wagner could've made any movie she wanted to but "wasn’t developing aggressively
enough."
Said Wagner of her decision, "I’ve truly relished
working with my longtime partner Tom Cruise to revitalize United Artists, and I
am proud of all that we’ve accomplished in the past two years, reinvigorating
the brand and developing such a strong slate of films."
That slate of films is only five titles long, and
certainly, Lions For Lambs limits Wagner's statement of strength. Really,
the most interesting film in their upcoming catalog is an adaptation of Jack
Kerouac's On the Road, directed by Motorcycle Diaries helmer
Walter Salles. (I'm not counting the grandfathered deal to make the Bond
movies.)
What this means to Cruise is very likely more time at the office. According to Variety, his involvement with the studio was pivotal in convincing Merrill Lynch to fork over $500 million in the first place. Because Merrill Lynch doesn't just want that money to sit around, and there are few results if any to show for the investment, UA has to start cranking out movies. So what a perfect time for production VP Jeff Kleeman to jump ship, as he did Monday.
Elsewhere, his slapped-around WWII movie, Valkyrie, which marks his second film as a studio head, has been bumped up from its February 13th release date to December 26th. Is that somehow related to all of this? It's hard to see how it couldn't be, especially since the reason given for the move by MGM is that they strongly believe that Christmas is a better time to release a Nazi movie. Again, according to Variety, "Sources close to events said the move was made for purely commercial reasons, after a screening of the film went well. The studio sees it as a holiday pic and award consideration was not a factor." Good luck with that holiday sales pitch.
Reader Comments