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Tom Cruise has been a lucrative one for the two. However, Paramount isn’t a huge studio, at least not the size of some of its competitors, and Tom Cruise is one of its last remaining loyal worldwide names. That loyalty evidently has to work both ways and comes at a cost when a massive star has enormous demands he can hold over their heads.
A recent example is “Mission: Impossible 7” production costs ballooning to $290 million more than $100 million more than “Fallout,” thanks to COVID protocols and the studio kowtowing to his demands. It looks like his pull extends to the streaming side of the company as well
The working relationship between Paramount and Tom Cruise has been a lucrative one for the two. However, Paramount isn’t a huge studio, at least not the size of some of its competitors, and Tom Cruise is one of its last remaining loyal worldwide names. That loyalty evidently has to work both ways and comes at a cost when a massive star has enormous demands he can hold over their heads. A recent example is “Mission: Impossible 7” production costs ballooning to $290 million more than $100 million more than “Fallout,” thanks to COVID protocols and the studio kowtowing to his demands. It looks like his pull extends to the streaming side of the company as well.
According to a lengthy The Hollywood Reporter report that discusses how Cruise has Paramount over a barrel and costs them millions, the studio also attempted to convince Cruise to allow them to develop Paramount+ series based on some of his past projects, and guess what, he said no.
Paramount tried to set up a series based on the Tony Scott-directed racing action flick, “Days of Thunder,” which Cruise led in 1990. That project is said to be “strangled in its cradle,” which basically means they tried, and he wouldn’t budge. Cruise also apparently stomped on the idea of developing a “Mission: Impossible” series, which makes sense, given the film franchise is based on the 1960s television series that aired on CBS.
Paramount+ has been doing well mining the “Star Trek” franchise and will launch the first season of “Halo” soon, but it doesn’t have the volume of content as high-profile streaming services. Trying to get some of that Tom Crusie IP working on Paramount+, whether he stars in it or not, seems like a bright idea, but his nixing of the projects really demonstrates the sway and power he has over the studio.
The report doesn’t detail why Cruise didn’t support the idea, but an argument could be made that Cruise likely doesn’t want to close the door for another “Days of Thunder” film. After all, he recently reprised an old character with “Top Gun: Maverick,” a sequel to the hit film Cruise made with Scott in the 1980s.
“Days of Thunder” was released in 1990, the same year he married co-star Nicole Kidman. Here’s a synopsis in case you never saw it, but suffice to say it was an action-drama set in the world of NASCAR.
In the fast-paced world of NASCAR, a rivalry brews between rookie hotshot Cole Trickle and veteran racer Rowdy Burns. When both of them are seriously injured in competition, the former bitter rivals become close friends. With Cole’s spirits restored by a romance with neurosurgeon Dr. Claire Lewicki, and Rowdy still sidelined by injuries, Cole decides to race Rowdy’s car in the Daytona 500 against an underhanded newcomer Russ Wheeler.
Paramount almost cut ties with Tom Cruise in the late 2000s after this Jump The Couch Oprah incident when his optics were at their worst (though quaint by today’s standards). The idea, back then (2005 was the year of the stunt that backfired in the eyes of the public), was that after “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” Cruise would be written out of the series, and it would be handed over to then-rising star Jeremy Renner.
This was circa 2008, Cruise’s star had fallen somewhat, and Paramount was looking for a successor. However, by the time ‘Ghost Protocol’ came out (2011), that plan had been totally scrapped, and Cruise was back on board. It’s crazy to think of Paramount even daring to speak the idea out loud right now, but it shows how times change. Don’t be surprised if more updates surface after THR’s lengthy Cruise expose. As it stands, “MI:7” will need to make a killing just to break even
The Real Mission Impossible
How the franchise superstar lawyered-up and out-gunned Paramount execs over costs, COVID and a last-minute submarine. Investors who heard Tom Cruise speak via video at Paramount’s Feb. 15 investors’ event must have come away thinking his relationship with the company was all harmony. Calling Shari Redstone his “dear friend,” he lavished praise on the studio and noted his “over 37-year relationship with Paramount that I’m very proud of and very grateful for.”
The audience would never suspect that the infuriated star had lawyered up a year earlier when the studio notified him that Mission: Impossible 7 would have a 45-day theatrical window — far shorter than his usual three-month run — before streaming on Paramount+. It’s a fight that remains unresolved as the parties agreed to postpone the battle until the film is finished, which it isn’t. Cruise has balked at getting it done until he’s put a great deal of M:I 8 in the can.
Paramount flailed for material to pump up its fledgling streaming service, would Cruise allow his longtime studio home to develop a Days of Thunder series for the streamer? That idea was strangled in its cradle. The idea of developing a Mission: Impossible series was no-go, too, even though the property had begun life in the 1960s as a CBS show. Encanto streaming ita
M:I 7‘s release date has been pushed four times; it’s now set for July 2023. By holding on to the film as a work in progress while working on the eighth, Cruise and his writer-director, Christopher McQuarrie, ensure that Paramount won’t have much luck imposing budget restrictions on what is allegedly the final installment in the franchise. It also gives Cruise — who has creative control — flexibility with respect to the cliffhanger ending of M:I 7. Morbius streaming ita
