The Hollywood Power Move That Sidelined Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise’s headline-grabbing behaviour once led to a rare Hollywood sacking, sparking a public spat with Paramount before the star eventually returned to the studio.
There aren’t many names in the film industry as untouchable as Tom Cruise. For decades, he’s been a fixture at the top, churning out box office hits and rarely putting a foot wrong when it comes to his career. But even the biggest stars can find themselves on the outer, as one bold studio boss proved when he decided enough was enough.
When a Superstar Crosses the Line
Being one of the highest-earning actors around, Cruise had every reason to feel secure. He’d been the face of Paramount for years, raking in billions and becoming the studio’s go-to bloke for a guaranteed hit. But things took a turn after a string of eyebrow-raising public moments, including that infamous couch-jumping episode on Oprah and a series of interviews heavy on Scientology talk. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened: Paramount’s chief, Sumner Redstone, gave Cruise the boot.
It wasn’t a quiet exit, either. Redstone made it official, declaring Cruise was no longer welcome at the studio. Cruise’s camp tried to spin it, insisting he’d left on his own terms, but Redstone wasn’t having a bar of it.
“As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal,”
he said.
“His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.”
Public Spat and Studio Fallout
The whole thing quickly turned into a public mud-slinging match. Redstone didn’t mince words, calling Cruise
“the world’s biggest turn-off.”
Cruise’s long-time producing partner, Paula Wagner, shot back, refusing to dignify what she called a
“stupid statement”
from the studio. Meanwhile, Redstone’s spokesperson, Carl Folta, doubled down:
“It’s a business decision, and it’s based on his behaviour.”
With the relationship in tatters, Cruise and Wagner decided to go their own way, reviving United Artists in hopes of proving they didn’t need Paramount. But their first two big projects, Lions for Lambs and Valkyrie, didn’t exactly set the world on fire, either with critics or punters. The feud even inspired a bit of Hollywood satire, with Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder taking the mickey out of the whole saga.
Back in the Fold
Despite all the drama, money talks in this business. After a few years, the fences were mended. Cruise was welcomed back, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol got the green light. In a twist, the very bloke who’d shown him the door was now calling him
“one of my best friends.”
by 2012. In Hollywood, it seems, there’s always room for a comeback—especially if you can still pull a crowd.