Cruise gets new backer

AnswerManAug 29th, 2006 - 17:17:02

Many years ago, a newspaper that shall remain nameless received word that the great writer and columnist, Mark Twain, had passed away. And dutifully, they published a glowing obituary of his life and work. Many readers wrote the newspaper to share their condolences. However, one reader did not. He wrote:

'The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated,' signed, Mark Twain.

Twain was not dead. He'd merely become more reclusive in his later years - but still kept up on his reading. And, in regards to Tom Cruise, I think we're seeing a bit of this scenario being played out today.

I do not really like Tom Cruise. I've only seen a handful of his films, some I liked, some I didn't. And I don't much care for his religion or his private life excesses. But, when he's good as an actor, he's really good.

I've read more than a few articles about Mr. Cruise's declining popularity at the box office. But to be honest, the box office itself is declining in popularity. We saw this evidenced quite recently, too. After its first weekend, the Samuel L. Jackson film, SNAKES ON A PLANE, only earned a dismal $15.6 million dollars. But guess what ... during that same weekend, SNAKES ON A PLANE was the highest grossing film of all films shown.

The bottom line is that I think it's far too early to eulogize the acting death of Tom Cruise. What IS fair is to worry about the state of the motion picture industry itself - a star-driven behemoth that popular actors use to extort greater and greater fees for their services ... at the expense of moviegoers who are feeling the pinch of higher gasoline prices and an eroding income against inflation.

I think that in the future, this will be a boon to new and struggling actors willing to work cheaply ... and who might turn out to be the stars of the future. Tom Cruise and other high-dollar actors will have to either adapt to this new world or perish. But the same can be said for studio moguls at Paramount, Sony, Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., and other film powerhouses who find themselves being out-flanked by indy studios that can turn out a high quality product more cheaply.

Clearly, while big-name actors and big-name studios are grappling with the issue of extracting more dollars from film audiences, audiences have put their foot down saying, 'This far and no further.' I hope that actors and studios are listening. If not, our future will be one filled with different actors and different studios.

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