I think everyone was taken aback by Tom Cruise‘s recent whacked out behavior, whether it was dancing on couches on “Oprah” or his Church of Scientology speeches condemning Brooke Shields, but while I still maintain this whole Katie Holmes thing cannot be simply a publicity stunt it seems Paramount Pictures isn’t exactly enamored with Cruise’s recent public outbursts.
Thanks to an email I received from ‘Devon’ I was pointed over to an article at MovieTab.com in which they bring up news that Paramount is not exactly 100 percent ready to back Cruise’s next venture as they quote a NY Times article stating in which a Paramount executive was quoted saying, “No definitive decision has been made; it’s a discussion,” in relation to the production status of Mission: Impossible 3.
Surprised? Yeah, I was too. Now Cruise may be a little off his rocker as of late but he is still one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood and a third film in the Mission franchise is sure to make some dough for the studio, especially considering Paramount hasn’t exactly had stellar box-office numbers as of late.
Paramount is currently in full publicity mode for Cruise’s latest venture War of the Worlds, but while all this is going on apparently concern over Mission 3 has a lot to do with the fact that the production budget has climbed to well over $150 million according to yet another anonymous Par exec.
Regular listeners of the Howard Stern Show are sure to have heard several clips of Cruise bantering on and on about his obsession for Scientology and how he helped a girl get off prescription drugs and she ended up sprouting up 7 inches in a couple of months (yeah he said it), but apparently we may not be hearing much more than sound bites out of the star as interviews with Cruise for War of the Worlds are being limited to a pre-selected group of interviewers, and not the normal press junket fare associated with movies of this stature.
Apparently the biggest concern remains the Scientology aspect of Cruise’s behavior, and while the sudden infatuation with Katie Holmes does seem a bit odd, especially since I saw the front page of a tabloid at the grocery store touting the two were getting engaged, the fact remains his ties to his religion seem to be making some Hollywood types a bit skittish.
The NY Times writes:
And Mr. Cruise’s insistence on having a Scientology tent on the set of “War of the Worlds” created a conflict at Universal, where the movie was being shot, two executives involved said. The executives, who asked not to be identified to protect industry relationships, said that Mr. Cruise, his agent Kevin Huvane and Mr. Spielberg all had to appeal personally to the president of Universal Studios, Ron Meyer, for the tent to be permitted on the studio lot, where no solicitation is allowed.
Don’t you love that writing? Check out the rest of the article here.
So all that is a bit weird, and as for Brooke Shields, she isn’t exactly taking Cruise’s comments with a grain of salt as People Magazine is carrying a biting response from the actress in which she says, “Tom should stick to saving the world from aliens and let women who are experiencing postpartum depression decide what treatment options are best for them.”
Anyhow, as for the status of Mission: Impossible 3, I have to believe it will still happen, but the fact that the New York Times is reporting on this leads me to believe that it may be a bigger issue than I originally thought.
Thanks to ‘Devon’ for the heads up.
