Cruise Control

Cruise And Wagner Are The New Faces Of United Artists

Just when I thought actor Tom Cruise was keeping himself out of the media spotlight-after being dumped by Paramount last summer--he makes an odd career move. One that, when it was announced late Thursday afternoon, had the industry buzzing--He and longtime business partner Paula Wagner are set to bring back movie studio United Artists from the brink of death

Nicole LaPorte of Variety explains how it all went down:

Nearly a century after United Artists was founded by Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks as a studio run by and for artists, it's in for an auspicious rebirth.

Tom Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner are reviving UA, with Wagner to serve as CEO and Cruise to star in and produce pics for the MGM-owned label.

Cruise's arrangement with UA is not exclusive -- he will still be able to star in films at other studios.

No UA titles have yet been determined, but MGM is expected to announce the company's first release within the next several weeks.

Deal is a coup for Cruise, who was recently lambasted by Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone for his "inappropriate behavior" and rich salary as he and Wagner were exiting their long-standing production deal at Paramount, as well as for MGM chairman-CEO Harry Sloan.

Since he took over the reins last year, Sloan has been aggressively reviving the Lion, which many had believed to be somnolent, or at least under the grips of 20% stakeholder Sony.

Cruise offers MGM -- which under Sloan has operated as a distributor and marketer of low- to mid-budget indie pics -- more content, as well as an A-list property with major box office appeal. Cruise also fits into MGM's plans to get into the tentpole biz; studio recently announced plans for "Terminator 4."

Though dubbed a disappointment, Cruise's last pic, "Mission: Impossible 3" grossed $395 million worldwide.

In turn, UA offers Cruise an opportunity to rebrand with an historical name that stands for artist-driven filmmaking. His alliance with UA also answers the question on many minds of late: Does Tom Cruise still have the appeal to land at a studio? The answer, evidently, is yes.

With Wagner overseeing day-to-day operations, UA will develop and produce pics in the $40 million-$50 million range -- though some will have higher budgets -- with the goal of releasing four films a year. The movies will be distribbed and marketed by MGM. In some cases, UA will partner with other studios, including MGM.

A limited portion of the slate will be films produced by Cruise and Wagner; the rest will be produced by outside producers. Funding is close to being finalized -- the source is a high-profile investment fund.

Wagner says that the pics will not be "genre specific" and that tentpoles will be included in the mix.

"The whole concept is to make movies, and we have a company that is artist-friendly," she said. "We're going to do a wide variety of films. We are producers, and we know how to make economically sound choices."

Wagner and Cruise's relationship with UA is separate from the $3 million financing deal they recently signed with Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. That deal continues to exist under the Cruise/Wagner Prods. banner and is not exclusive to any studio. Pics produced by Cruise and Wagner at UA and other studios will go out under the C/W banner...

...(It is not coincidental that when Cruise and Wagner set up new offices after leaving Paramount in August, they were in the MGM tower in Century City.)

Cruise and Wagner are substantial minority owners in UA and will have ownership of all forthcoming UA pics.

"What we needed to do was create a communication and dialogue between the studio-financing side and the talent side of the business," Sloan said. "By creating UA run by artists, and by having artists and top talent owning a nice, big piece of the studio and being involved in the financing, they have the opportunity to benefit from the success of the studio."

In UA's early stages, MGM will fund the company's overhead, production and development costs, but it will ultimately set up an independent financing structure for the label from outside sources.

"As the other studios do, it's a matter of managing portfolios, and we will be going out to the markets in order to set up co-financing structures, whether hedge funds or equities," said MGM chief operating officer Rick Sands.

Sloan said that "ultimately, UA will be able to stand on its own and have its own financing, credit lines, production funds: That's the goal."...

...Of the UA deal, Redstone said through a spokesman, "I wish Tom and his associates the greatest good fortune in their new venture."

UA was founded in 1919 by Chaplin, Pickford, Douglas and Griffith as the first independent studio run by artists. Later, UA flourished as a haven for filmmakers such as Woody Allen, Robert Altman and Milos Forman in the 1970s. In more recent decades, the company lost some of its luster, and when MGM was sold to a consortium of investors, including Sony and Comcast, in 2004, the label went quiet.

Cruise and Wagner's task will be to breathe life back into the label, just as the new MGM is getting the Lion to roar again.

In a statement Cruise said: "Paula and I are very respectful of the rich history and tradition of United Artists, and we welcome the opportunity to contribute to that legacy by providing a wide range of releases that appeal to all audiences. It's our desire to create an environment where filmmakers can thrive and see their visions realized."


The full story can be found right here...

The reason I call the move by Cruise/Wagner "odd" has more to do with the fact the pair already inked that deal with Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder than anything else....Running a studio on top of that seems like a lot...Since Wagner gets to steer the ship while Tom is out having fun on deck and he can also work for any studio that wants him--I wonder how involved he will really be with the business side of things...I think the real winner here is studio partner MGM which can now kick its own comeback plans into even higher gear with a marquee team on its side.

As for Cruise's next acting gig, Roger Friedman of Fox News says it's very Jerry Maguire-esque. Considering most of his female fans abandoned him over the last year or so--that's a wise move--making a romantic dramedy. As it is in politics, you gotta appeal to your base at some point in the campaign, the same holds true for "disgraced" mega-stars as well.