Paramount cuts ties with Tom Cruise
Chairman says Cruises recent conduct has not been acceptable
NEW YORK - Its Tom Cruise vs. Sumner Redstone in a case of youre fired-I quit at Hollywoods highest level.
On one side is the chairman of Viacom, Inc., which owns Paramount Pictures.
On the other is the industrys biggest and most bankable star, whose last seven films have each generated over $100 million.
Redstone said Tuesday that Paramount would sever its long and profitable relationship with Cruise/Wagner Productions, Cruises company with producing partner Paula Wagner. Redstone told the Wall Street Journal that Cruises recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.
But Wagner told The Associated Press that agents for Cruise/Wagner Productions stopped negotiating with Paramount over a week ago and since secured independent financing, effectively taking any contract-renewal deal off the table.
For some reason, Paramount has chosen to negotiate in the press, Wagner said, calling Redstones announcement surprising.
Its not really the most businesslike approach, she said. Weve had virtually no dealings with Mr. Redstone.
Paramount referred all calls on the matter to Viacom. Viacom spokesman Carl Folta had no comment late Tuesday.
As much as we like him personally, Redstone is quoted as saying, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. He then cited Cruises recent conduct as the reason.
In the past year or so, Cruise couch-hopped on Oprah Winfreys talk show while proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes, criticized the use of antidepressants and claimed that postpartum depression doesnt exist. He also got into an angry exchange with Matt Lauer on the Today show while defending his opinions.
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Cruise/Wagner Productions has been based on the Paramount lot since 1992.
We viewed ourselves as partners with Paramount, Wagner said, adding that the collaboration has produced $2.5 billion worth of business.
With War of the Worlds and Mission: Impossible 3, Cruise helped earn nearly $1 billion for Paramount this year alone, Wagner said. Cruise/Wagner Productions brought M:I3 director J.J. Abrams to the studio, she said, which recently inked a five-year arrangement with Abrams.
She and Cruise had been considering independent financing for their company for a long time, she said.
For us, this is a very new and exciting direction. We look forward to working with all the studios.
Key facts about actor Tom Cruise
In June 2006 Cruise took the No.1 spot on Forbes magazines annual list of the worlds 100 most powerful stars. In the last 10 years all but one of his movies have grossed more than $200 million worldwide. His top-grossing movie was War of the Worlds (2005), which topped $590 million around the world.
In May 2006, a USA/Today poll showed his public approval rating had slipped to 35 percent. Many of those polled cited his blunt criticism of actress Brooke Shields treatment for depression and of psychiatry in general.
In 2005, he became the butt of jokes for a manic, couch-hopping TV appearance declaring his love for girlfriend Katie Holmes on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Hollywoods highest accolade an Oscar has eluded Cruise, despite three acting nominations for his roles in Magnolia, Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July.
As a teenager, Cruise planned on becoming a Roman Catholic priest. In 1990 he converted to the controversial Church of Scientology, becoming one of its most high profile advocates, and credited it with helping him overcome dyslexia and finding inner peace.
Twice married to actresses Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman Cruise is currently engaged to actress Katie Holmes, with whom he had his first biological child, Suri, in April 2006.
Source: Reuters