Tom Cruise may have been unceremoniously removed from Paramount two years ago after the flop of “Mission
Impossible 3” but Viacom mogul Sumner Redstone says he is not opposed to having
Cruise in the next installment of the franchise.
Sumner Redstone, executive chairman and controlling
shareholder of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp., while at a conference in Seoul, South
Korea, made the very interesting statement
of not objecting to Tom Cruise’s starring in the upcoming “Mission Impossible
4.”
His embracing of a collaboration with Cruise comes as a
surprise considering the unfortunate turn their 14-year professional
relationship took in 2006, when the entertainment mogul and the Hollywood star parted ways.
Cruise and longtime producing partner Paula Wagner packed up
their stuff and moved over to the revived United Artists, where they are still
striving to make a definitive mark.
Despite the bad blood of the past, Cruise may now be talks
to star in a fourth “Mission: Impossible” film
for Viacom-owned Paramount,
according to media reports.
The 45-year-old movie star, who has been struggling over the
past couple of years with an unflattering public image, and Redstone were seen
dining in Beverly Hills
in March, fuelling speculation that they were rekindling their professional
collaboration.
“I consider Tom Cruise a great actor and a good friend,”
Redstone said Tuesday, as quoted by the Associated Press. “And if Paramount decides, and they
will make the decision, to move ahead with him, I will not object.”
What has changed for Redstone to reconsider working with
Cruise? The “recent conduct” he cited in November 2006 as a reason for cutting
the relationship with Cruise referred to the latter’s well known affiliation to
Scientology and a series of public appearances that sparked controversy at the
time.
Among these were his mad jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch
during her show or criticizing actress Brooke Shields for taking
antidepressants for her post-partum depression or getting into a heated
argument with “Today” show host Matt Lauer on the same subject of medication
and psychiatry.
It’s not like controversy has avoided Cruise over the past
two years. It was only four months ago that a certain video was mysteriously
leaked on the Internet, leading to public mocking of Cruise. In the 9-minute
video, an enthusiastic Cruise extols the brilliance of Scientology, as he
asserts that the cult’s leader David Miscavige is the Scientology equivalent of
the Pope and refers to Scientologists as people especially endowed to help
others.
Cruise’s box office performance has not been stellar either,
for Paramount
to rely on his crowd-drawing ability.
“Lions for Lambs,” an ambitious first project he undertook
for the UA, did not have the successful fate he and Wagner had hoped for. Despite
direction from Robert Redford, who also starred alongside Meryl Streep and
Cruise, the political drama only raised $15 million domestically and failed to
impress film critics.
Under the current arrangement, Cruise produces and stars in
films for United Artists, while Wagner serves as chief executive.
Cruise’s next project is “Valkyrie,” a World War II thriller
based on a true story: the July 20 Plot of German army officers to assassinate
Adolf Hitler. Cruise portrays the eye patch-wearing leader of the plot, Colonel
Claus von Stauffenberg. The cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Christian Berkel,
Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson.
The film’s release has been postponed to a Feb. 13, 2009
release, in order to benefit from an unexpectedly cleared Presidents Day
weekend.
It remains to be seen whether Cruise will portray smooth secret
agent Ethan Hunt for a fourth time. Redstone would only say Tuesday that he did
not know if Cruise would be chosen for the film. “That’s up to Brad Gray, who
runs Paramount,”
Redstone said. “He will make the decision.”
