The following article assumes thatTom Cruise He is one of the greatest players of our generation. If you agree – you have come to the right place. If not here’s a new product just for you!
Either way, the Cannes Film Festival certainly agrees. Cruz arrived last night (Wednesday) on the Riviera to present the world premiere of “Love in the Sky: Maverick,” the much-anticipated pledge of one of his greatest hits (a full review will be posted here on Friday). Before that, he received another honor from the festival: a special tribute event, attended by a thousand attendees including us.
The audience was greeted by Thierry Fermo, the festival’s legendary artistic director, who is also known as Netflix’s sworn rival, and vehemently refuses to allow them to screen his films with him. “Tom Cruise has never made a movie for the streaming service,” the French official declared, thus also providing an explanation as to why he was so passionate about saluting the Hollywood star.
Beyond this cynical reason, there is also a purer reasoning – “Cruz is a player with a rare record, both because of the quality and because of the consistency” Fermo declared, and it is hard not to agree with him. From “Dangerous Business” to “Jerry Maguire”, from “Love in the Sky” to “Mission Impossible”, from “Born on the Fourth of July” to “The End of Tomorrow”, from “The Rain Man” and “Good Guys” to ” Eyes wide open, “one of the best films of all time, the Hollywood star does not have an Oscar but also does not have many professional failures, and on the other hand he has a simply amazing body of work. There is no other word.
At the center of the event was a conversation with Cruz, moderated by French-Jewish journalist Didier Alush. Unfortunately, as usual in Hollywood, it turned out that the actor is far less interesting than his films. Still, here are some jugs from the encounter.
Cruz, as is well known, grew up in a poor family. “I started working at a young age. I worked at every possible job – I mowed grass, sold from door to door. Some of the money I gave to the family, and some I used to go to the movies,” he said in a conversation. “I never studied film, but I saw a lot of films. At the age of 18, I did my first significant role, in ‘Turning Off Lights,’ and I knew most of those who worked with me by name, because I had already gained a lot of knowledge.”
“I always wanted to know more, and in every film I participated in, I took the trouble to talk to each and every department, and understand what everyone in the film does. I’m having a dialogue with the audience and I think over time I learned to understand what movies he wants to see.
“The sequel to ‘Love in the Sky’ comes out almost thirty years after the original, but the studios pressed to produce the pledge already in real time. I refused. I said it had to mature. Sometimes, things take time. We worked on ‘Jerry Maguire’ for a whole year and he “It kept evolving and changing. When I worked with Nick (Nicole Kidman) and Stanley Kubrick on ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ we would write and film the same scene dozens of times.”
Cruz was also asked about his custom of doing the stunts himself for the action scenes starring him, which has already led to not-so-simple injuries in the past.
“I’ve always been an adventurer,” he said of it. “At 18, I took a parachute and climbed on the roof of my house and tried to fall. It did not work, and while falling I remember saying to myself that I was going to die, and that even if I lived – my mother would kill me. Fortunately, I fell well, but still suffered a blow and this “It was the first time I saw stars. I was always the kid who climbs the highest tree.”
“No one asked Gene Kelly why he sings and dances himself in his musical films, so why do I get asked about the stunts? I grew up on the Hollywood Golden Age, where actors would acquire skills other than acting – skills related to movement and singing, for example. “Over the years, I jumped and danced and sang. I learned to do everything myself and I did everything myself. All this does not mean that I am not afraid during the filming.”
“Love in the Sky: Maverick” is perhaps Corona’s biggest Hollywood victim. The film was supposed to be released as early as July 2019. The studios rejected it due to unrelated circumstances to the June 2020 plague, and since then it has been postponed again and again, and will eventually be released here and around the world next week, three years (!) After the original release date. Even by the extraordinary standards of the period.
Throughout this period, Cruz and the other producers insisted that the film go up in theaters. The actor was asked about this of course, and answered in a way that provided a lot of satisfaction to Cannes and his anti-Netflix ideology.
“There was no chance in the world that the movie would air on Netflix“Cruz declared to applause.” I did not think about it for a moment. I make movies for the movies and only think about the big screen. I also like going to the movies as one person, sitting in a hall with a hat on and watching the whole experience from start to finish – including the trailers. “
“During Corona’s time, I called the directors of the theaters and told them, ‘I know what you’re going through, but don’ t worry. OK”.
As much as it depended on him, Cruz kept his word. “Love in the Sky: Maverick” is indeed exclusively on the big screen, and is about to break box office. But will it really be okay? Is that enough to rehabilitate movie theaters? This is the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and it’s hard to believe that in its 100th edition someone will stand on stage and say that there is and was no chance that his film will go live.