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Filmography

How Many Films Did Tom Cruise And Nicole Kidman Star In Together?

When we talk about the '90s power couples, there are a few that have stuck in our minds through the decades. Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman , Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford, and of course, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. These iconic couples had people invested in their relationships from the moment they were spotted arm-in-arm on a red carpet all the way to the second news of their breakups broke.

Kidman and Cruise, in particular, caused a great stir when their marriage ended. Everybody remembers the striking image of Kidman as she strolled the streets in apparent glee as the divorce was finalized. Later, the "Big Little Lies" star opened up about the relationship saying, "Our life together was perfect. It took me a very long time to heal. It was a shock to my system," she added, "That was a great relationship. I think it ran its course. I was really damaged and not sure whether [love and marriage] was ever going to happen again to me," via InTouch Weekly .

But as we all know, it all worked out in the end. Kidman found love in singer Keith Urban while Cruise went on to marry Katie Holmes and have a child with her before splitting up after six years of matrimony. And while Cruise and Kidman's marriage didn't last, it's safe to say their contributions to cinema will stand the test of time, especially in the movies they did together.

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise starred in three movies together

Unsurprisingly, the two Hollywood stars' paths first crossed on the set of the film, "Days of Thunder." In a 2017 interview with People , Nicole Kidman fondly reminisced about the first time she saw Tom Cruise during an audition for her role in the film, "I remember being so nervous and seeing Tom Cruise drive up in a Porsche [. . .] and he got out of the car and walked through, and I was like 'Ah!' and my jaw dropped." She also added that she was intimidated auditioning in front of the movie's executives and Cruise and believed she wouldn't get the part. But she was called and offered the role on the very same day.

Although Kidman had previously gained notoriety from working in the Australian thriller, "Dead Calm," and several other Australian films, she broke through the American film scene with "Days of Thunder." At the time of filming, Kidman was 22, while Cruise was 28 and in the process of getting a divorce from his first wife, Mimi Rogers. In a 1995 interview with Playboy , Rogers would share that the marriage primarily ended due to Cruise's desire to become a monk, which didn't happen. Months before the film's release in 1990, the divorce was finalized and Kidman and Cruise went public shortly after. The actors wed in a private ceremony on Christmas Eve that same year.

Eyes Wide Shut was one of their most notable projects

In 1992, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise appeared in their first film as a married couple, "Far and Away." And while the film did relatively well, their big break as an iconic Hollywood couple would happen in 1999 with Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut." The official trailer for the film featured several explicit scenes, including some steamy kisses shared between the real-life couple.

Unsurprisingly, the couple's chemistry sizzled in the erotic mystery. In 1995, the couple admitted to Vanity Fair that their initial attraction was sexual. Kidman gushed, "I thought he was the sexiest man I'd ever seen in my life." And Cruise also said something similar, "Instant lust, that's what I felt," he added, "I thought she was amazingly sexy and stunning. It grew into love and respect."

Due to the themes of infidelity in the movie and their striking performances, many believed that Kidman and Cruise were tapping into real-life emotions. But Kidman denied these rumors in a 2020 interview with The New York Times , "We were happily married through that," she added, "We would go go-kart racing after those scenes. We'd rent out a place and go racing at 3 in the morning." Sadly, the couple's divorce was finalized in 2001 after 11 years of marriage. Although the pair has been vague about what went down behind the scenes, many have speculated that this might be why they really got divorced .

Tom Cruise Doesn't Really Do Sequels Very Often, But There's Apparently One Movie His Co-Star Was Shocked Didn't Get A Follow-up

"He did bite me at the end..."

Unless we are talking about Mission: Impossible – M:I 8 is currently filming or the long-delayed Top Gun : Maverick – Tom Cruise isn’t known for making very many sequels to his flicks. But, according to one former cast member, there is one film in his oeuvre that he is shocked never got a follow-up. The former cast member in question is Christian Slater , who co-starred along with Cruise and Brad Pitt in one of the best films of the 90s , the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel Interview With The Vampire . According to the Heathers alum, he’s shocked that he and the Risky Business star never got a second bite at the neck, playing a vampire in a sequel.

Tom Cruise looks up as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire.

Christian Slater Reflects on The Missed Sequel Opportunity

It's hard to believe it's been nearly three decades–the movie turns 30 this year–since we were first mesmerized by one of the most iconic vampire performances on screen. In an interview shared on Comicbook.com’s Chris Killian’s Instagram , Christian Slater discussed how he and Cruise were reflecting on the project. The pair expressed a mutual astonishment over the movie's lack of a sequel despite their roles becoming fan favorites. He recounted:

Tom Cruise and I were both surprised that Interview With The Vampire didn’t get a sequel. You know, that would have been fun. Uh, I mean, he did bite me at the end of that thing.

For my money, even three decades since its release, Interview With The Vampire is still one of the best vampire movies ever committed to celluloid. Upon release, it was a critical and financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing R-rated horror films of 1994, and grew to become a goth cult favorite. Not to mention, it introduced the broader world to actress Kirsten Dunst , a role Cruise helped the young actress secure thanks to some very practical advice.

The Enduring Legacy of 'Interview With the Vampire'

Tom Cruise's electrifying turn as the vampire Lestat was central to the film’s success. Initially, Anne Rice, the source material's author, hated Cruise’s casting in the role. However, his performance won her over and helped cement the film's place in cinematic history. Despite this success and the buzz around it, plans to continue Lestat's story with Cruise in a sequel never came to fruition. While the potential for a direct follow-up to this beloved film sparked plenty of discussions, ultimately, those plans remained just out of reach, leaving fans to wonder what might have been.

There was anticipation over a sequel starring the Top Gun A-lister, yet various factors, including rights issues, changes in production companies, and creative decisions, led to a different path for the book to screen adaptations of Rice's novels.

The next film in the series, Queen of the Damned, starring the late singer and actress Aaliyah , was released in 2002, but it did not involve Tom Cruise. Instead, Stuart Townsend took over the role of Lestat. The film combined elements from the second and third books of Rice's series, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned . Still, it diverged significantly from the source material and did not continue directly from where Interview left off.

Interview With The Vampire is enjoying a second adaptation and return to screens as a television series, which is gearing up for its second season on AMC .

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The Possibility Of A Sequel With Cruise

The ending of Interview with the Vampire set the stage perfectly for a sequel. It left audiences reeling from its final twist and introduced a new narrative thread with Daniel, the San Francisco reporter who becomes enthralled with Louis's tale of the undead. As Christian Slater hinted in the recent interview, the setup was ideal for a follow-up. Yet, despite the ripe storytelling potential, a direct continuation wasn't in the cards. Could a sequel with Cruise still happen? As the interviewers and Slater point out, Tom Cruise barely looks like he's aged since the last time he put on the Vampire Lestat's fangs. So, never say never.

Christian Slater's most recent work, another book adaptation, the series The Spiderwick Chronicles , is available now for free on The Roku Channel . Be sure to check out our 2024 movie schedule to see what upcoming horror movies are heading to a screen near you.

Ryan graduated from Missouri State University with a BA in English/Creative Writing. An expert in all things horror, Ryan enjoys covering a wide variety of topics. He's also a lifelong comic book fan and an avid watcher of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

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This 20-Year-Old Tom Cruise Movie Can Lay The Blueprint For His Future After Mission: Impossible

Tom Cruise's action star status faces a challenge as he ages, so exploring villain roles could be the key to his future success after Mission: Impossible .
A return to the character depth of his role in Collateral could provide Cruise with exciting new opportunities in his career.
Practical stunt work sets Cruise apart in action films, but taking on antagonistic roles could help him stay relevant in the industry.

Tom Cruise has been a movie star for over forty years, and one of his most underrated films could be the key to the next phase of his career after Mission: Impossible . Cruise, in his most recent star era, has become synonymous with daring stunt work and large action set pieces in his blockbuster films. The two most notable examples are his long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, which is currently filming its eighth installment, and Top Gun: Maverick , which was the highest-grossing film of 2022 .

In many ways, Cruise is as popular as he's ever been and remains one of the last examples of a true movie star. There's just one issue he faces, and it's one that will only get worse with time: he's now in his 60s. He's still in amazing shape for his age and can still perform all the stunts his action roles require of him. Yet, at a certain point, Cruise just won't be able to physically accomplish these feats anymore, and the question will arise of what he will do to define the next era of his career.

10 Movies That Defined Tom Cruise's Career

Tom cruise should follow collateral's blueprint after mission: impossible.

The answer regarding a future after Mission: Impossible lies with one of Cruise's most memorable roles as the cold-blooded hitman Vincent in Michael Mann's Collateral . Collateral follows a single night in the life of cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx), who is forced to transport Vincent around L.A. as he crosses off targets on his hit list. The film doesn't just feature excellent action scenes but also a fascinating back-and-forth between the two leads. Many long exchanges of dialogue happen within Max's cab, and the audience sees him and Vincent argue philosophically about the value of human life and their differing ideologies.

Cruise had to train for Collateral since it was an unexpected role, as the actor had never played the main villain of a film before, and to this day hasn't done it again since. The uniqueness of this notion paid off, as Collateral proved to be a healthy hit. It grossed $220 million worldwide from an estimated $65 million budget (via Box Office Mojo ). Cruise's movie star charisma brought layers of charm to Vincent's sociopathic demeanor, and it is still widely considered one of the best performances of Cruise's long and illustrious career. A return to this type of role would be an exciting prospect for the actor.

Every Michael Mann Movie, Ranked Worst To Best

Villain roles can help tom cruise stay relevant.

As Cruise gets older, it'll become more challenging for him to remain at the center of these action franchises. Unlike films like Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny , which heavily relied on CGI to assist 81-year-old Harrison Ford with the action scenes, Cruise's movies use their practical stunt work as a selling point. Top Gun: Maverick had Cruise flying real jets , and Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One had him jumping off a massive cliff on a motorcycle. Too much CGI would cheapen the impact of these stunts, which have become a big part of Cruise's brand.

However, if Cruise takes on more antagonistic parts in movies like Collateral going forward, he could not only avoid putting his body at risk in as many huge stunts but also access an untapped well of potential film roles. Cruise would still be a selling point in whatever franchise he chooses to be a part of, and he'd be able to explore the darkness he displayed as Vincent all those years ago. It'd be an exciting development for fans to witness, full of possibilities, and could prove to be the key to Tom Cruise staying relevant through the 2020s and beyond.

Source: Box Office Mojo

(Tom-Cruise-asJoel)-from-Risky-Business-&-(Tom-Cruise-as-Ethan-Hunt)-from-Mission-Impossible

Is The Mummy: Resurrection With Keanu Reeves Real or Fake? 2024 Movie Speculation Explained

The Mummy: Resurrection trailer starring Keanu Reeves has many wondering if the film is fact or fiction.

In 1999, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz thrilled and chilled audiences with The Mummy , an action-adventure-tinted take on the classic cinematic monster movie series of the same name.

The movie put Fraser on the map and was nothing less than a smash hit, spawning two sequels that were ultimately subject to diminishing returns. A Tom Cruise -focused reboot occurred in 2017 that many agree was not the film they were hoping for.

A New Mummy Movie Starring Keanu Reeves?

A new trailer for a film called The Mummy: Resurrection lurched its way onto YouTube, raking in an impressive number of views. This is thanks, in part, to its supposed star, the über-fan-favorite Keanu Reeves .

Unfortunately, for fans of Universal’s horror/adventure franchise, no new Mummy movie, remake, reboot, sequel, or otherwise is being developed, much less being kept under wraps (Get it?)

Additionally, this is not even the first instance of a bogus Mummy trailer surfacing on the internet. Another Mummy: Resurrection preview cropped up a few months back , with this one claiming to feature the ubiquitous Dwayne Johnson as its lead.

There was an attempt made at a new installment several years ago in 2017. It starred Mission: Impossible ’s own Tom Cruise. But not even Cruise’s magnetic box office draw was enough to get butts in theater seats and The Mummy flopped hard.

The 2017 remake was also supposed to get Universal’s ill-fated Dark Universe off the ground. The Dark Universe was intended to cash in on the interconnected type of storytelling popularized by Marvel’s MCU.

This did not work out for the studio either, and an infamous Dark Universe cast photo wound up becoming an internet laughingstock.

In 2022, Brendan Fraser, who starred in all three parts of the original Mummy trilogy from the late ‘90s/early 2000s, remarked to Variety that he’d be “open” to doing a fourth film, but admitted that he wasn’t quite sure “how it would work:”

“I don’t know how it would work. But I’d be open to it if someone came up with the right conceit.”

As for Keanu Reeves, although he won’t be taking on the Mummy, he does have several upcoming projects in the pipeline. These include the Jonah Hill-directed comedy Outcome and a fifth film in the now-iconic John Wick series.

Reeves will also provide the voice of Shadow, the Blue Blur’s notorious black-and-red quilled rival in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for Paramount . Sonic 3 arrives in December.

Where Have Universal’s Classic Monsters Been Lurking?

Beginning in the 1930s, Universal Studios made household names out of several legendary figures in horror, such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and yes, the Mummy.

The movies produced about these characters proved so popular that a myriad of spin-offs, sequels, merchandise, and even a Saturday morning cartoon or two were made.

But nowadays, these titans of terror have largely fallen out of favor, with new-age replacements in the form of Ghostface from the Scream franchise and Jigsaw of Saw fame.

And there is nothing wrong with that. Times change and pop culture changes in lockstep. But longtime devotees surely yearn for a simpler era, one which existed even further back from ’80s slashers like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees.

Matters are likely not helped by the fact that much of the modern-day stabs at the Mummy and his ilk have been met with underwhelming box office returns. The classic monsters now mostly existing in the public domain are not much of a benefit either since this makes the waters very easily muddied.

Who knows, though? Perhaps Brendan Fraser will strap on Rick O’Connell’s shoulder holsters again and appear in another Mummy sequel that continues the storyline from 2008’s Tomb of the Dragon Emperor . Time will tell.

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Warner Bros. Spends Big: ‘Joker 2’ Budget Hits $200 Million, Lady Gaga’s $12 Million Payday, Courting Tom Cruise’s New Deal and More

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In January, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy jetted to London to connect with the new crown jewel of the studio, Tom Cruise . The three met to identify a film that would kick off their nonexclusive “strategic partnership.” Sources say a raft of possibilities were discussed, including an “Edge of Tomorrow” follow-up and Quentin Tarantino ’s “The Movie Critic,” which currently isn’t set up with a distributor and has Warner Bros., like every major studio, salivating.

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“The strategy at Warner Bros. right now and the reason they made some of these big star deals is they’re basically playing with other people’s money,” says one insider. “They’re shopping for Quentin or Cruise with the notion they can use it as a shiny object that is going to be additive when Zaslav sells the company.”

That time may be approaching. In April, Warner Bros. Discovery can entertain offers to buy, sell or merge with a studio like NBCUniversal, as many on the lot believe will happen. That’s when the two-year lock-up period expires as part of the 2022 deal that united WarnerMedia and Discovery. All of the recent moves, from a first-look pact with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap to the quest to land Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” follow-up are akin to painting a house before it hits the market.

And this is one splashy renovation. The budget for Todd Phillips’ musical “Joker” sequel — one of De Luca and Abdy’s first green lights — has ballooned to about $200 million, a significant bump from the $60 million cost of the first film. Sources say Joaquin Phoenix is getting $20 million to reprise his role as the clown prince of crime, while Lady Gaga is taking home about $12 million to play Harley Quinn. “Joker” took in more than $1 billion, but musicals are tricky. Case in point: Warners lost $40 million on last year’s “The Color Purple,” according to sources. Though that one can be blamed on the previous regime.

Some argue that spending big is essential when releasing movies in theaters.

“There’s only so much top talent in Hollywood, and it’s very competitive and stretched thin because a lot of talent have deals in streaming,” says Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. “If theatrical is going to work, you need the A-lister like Tom and Leo, and Warner Bros. is spending what they need to spend to keep this talent.”

But executives across town believe Warners’ math sometimes doesn’t add up, with the studio decried as fiscally irresponsible. The Anderson film, for instance, was greenlit with a $115 million budget, according to sources. Underscoring the gamble, none of the director’s movies has crossed $80 million at the box office. His latest, 2021’s “Licorice Pizza,” made $33 million worldwide. Even with Cruise’s star power, “Magnolia” only mustered $48.5 million. (It was De Luca, then a New Line exec, who convinced Cruise to play “Magnolia’s” misogynistic self-help guru.) The pair are said to be less pumped about another auteur’s latest: Bong Joon Ho ’s “Mickey 17.” In January, Warner Bros. pulled the $150 million Robert Pattinson sci-fi starrer from its schedule and then moved it to 2025. A Warner rep insists: “There is, of course, enthusiasm for it.”

As merger mania draws near, De Luca and Abdy seem unwilling to push back on talent asks. But apparently they did just that during the Coogler-Jordan negotiations. The director and star wanted 25% of first-dollar gross to split and two guaranteed theatrical release slots for future films. Both deal points were nixed.

Despite the pressure to acquiesce to demands from top talent, De Luca and Abdy can still say no.

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New 83% horror movie is the perfect way to reboot the dark universe 7 years after tom cruise's failure.

The Dark Universe has the perfect opportunity to be rebooted thanks to a new horror movie that avoids the issues of Tom Cruise's previous failure.

Abigail proves to be the perfect reset for the Dark Universe, focusing on strong characters and thrilling storytelling.
The horror approach in Abigail sets up a potential reboot of the Dark Universe with R-rated, full-horror entries.
While Abigail hints at the possibility of a new Dark Universe, its fate depends on box office success for future development.

Universal Pictures has the perfect way to reboot the Dark Universe years after Tom Cruise failed to do so thanks to its new vampire horror movie Abigail . The catalog of iconic horror characters at Universal's disposal put the studio in a position where it wanted to relaunch its Dark Universe for modern audiences. Tom Cruise's 2017 movie The Mummy was meant to be the start of a sprawling monster universe that included everyone from the Invisible Man to Frankenstein and Van Helsing. However, these hopes came to an abrupt end after The Mummy 's box office did not match expectations.

With Tom Cruise failing to relaunch the shared universe, the Dark Universe could not move forward, even after the studio infamously brought Cruise, Russell Crowe, Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, and Sofia Boutella together for a photo shoot to promote the cinematic universe. This left Universal in a position where it began reprioritizing individual horror movies involving monsters and supernatural creatures instead of worrying about setting up the Dark Universe . That has now led to Abigail , and the movie about a Dracula-esque vampire's daughter could now be what gets the Dark Universe up and running again.

Universal’s New Horror Movie Confirms Dracula’s Perfect Character Replacement After 127 Years

Abigail is a better starting point for a new dark universe than the mummy, tom cruise's movie was weighed down by universe plotting.

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By the time that Abigail 's ending comes to a close, the movie proves how it could be the perfect reset for the Dark Universe. The film primarily focuses on the main story of survival as the people who kidnap Abigail try to avoid becoming her latest victims. With Radio Silence at the helm, Abigail is a thrilling and gory vampire film that introduces great new characters, including a revamped version of Dracula and his daughter. It is through this approach that the movie still manages to plant enough seeds that there is a greater mythology at play in Abigail 's universe .

The difference between Abigail and The Mummy is that the newer vampire flick is able to get audiences invested in this world and characters and leaves them wanting more. The Mummy was not able to do that. The film was weighed down by expectations that it would set up the Dark Universe. This meant including several moments that felt like they were only included to set up a larger franchise, like Russell Crowe's Dr. Henry Jekyll appearing. That distracted from the main story The Mummy was telling, leaving audiences without strong connections to Tom Cruise's character.

Abigail 's smaller focus and expectations gave it a major advantage over The Mummy . Abigail could work as a standalone vampire movie and still be a satisfying adventure without Joey and Abigail's story continuing. However, The Mummy was much too focused on being big enough and successful enough that the Dark Universe plans could come to fruition. The end result was The Mummy being maligned by critics and performing moderately at the box office, while Abigail 's Rotten Tomatoes score is incredibly high and word of mouth is strong.

Abigail's Horror Approach Would Be Great For The Dark Universe

The dark universe can be scary again.

One of the biggest benefits to Abigail launching the Dark Universe would be how it utilizes the horror genre. The film fully leans into the amount of scares and blood that should be in a vampire movie. The Radio Silence team are no strangers to reinventing horror franchises for modern audiences after their work on Scream , and they have done it again with Abigail . It might seem obvious that a vampire movie should embrace the horror genre, but that is not what the Dark Universe did before.

Even before The Mummy really tried to launch the Dark Universe, Universal's 2014 movie Dracula Untold attempted the same. The vampire movie had some tinges of horror, but the PG-13 movie leaned more into action when it could. The Mummy went a step further with that approach by utilizing Tom Cruise's greatest strengths to make the film a major action blockbuster, one that just happened to include supernatural creatures. Although none of the other canceled Dark Universe movies were made, it seems that Universal wanted PG-13 movies that skewed more action than horror to be made.

Abigail establishes the precedent for R-rated, full-horror entries in a potential new Dark Universe. After seeing how well it worked with vampires, Universal could apply the same approach to other characters. The studio already did so with Invisible Man in 2020, and the upcoming The Wolf Man reimagining could do the same. It would make sense for any other potential additions to a new Dark Universe would follow Radio Silence's lead with Abigail and give the iconic horror creatures the genre treatment they deserve.

Abigail's Shared Universe Teases Set Up How The Dark Universe Can Be Reborn

Other universal monsters could exist in abigail's universe.

There is already some groundwork for how Abigail could relaunch the Dark Universe thanks to the world it sets up. Abigail's father is designed as a stand-in for Dracula , and the movie includes enough teases that he is the proper version of the legendary vampire for Matthew Goode's character to take on that role in future installments. There are no other Universal Monsters who definitively or subtly are suggested to exist in Abigail 's universe. But, the movie does tease that Abigail and Ready or Not exist in the same universe , which could be key to a new Dark Universe beginning.

Abigail 's Ready or Not Easter egg is notable beyond the Radio Silence connection because it means that demons also exist in this world. The fact that demons and vampires are now confirmed to occupy the same franchise is a great way for Universal to get the Dark Universe off the ground. It now becomes easier to accept that other supernatural beings and characters exist in this world beyond vampires. This could be how Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Invisible Man, and other classic Universal Monster characters are seamlessly introduced.

Will Universal Move Forward With Abigail's New Dark Universe?

Abigail was not intended to launch a shared universe.

Just because Abigail could be the start of a new Dark Universe doesn't mean that it will. The fate of the potential new horror franchise is undecided. Universal has not confirmed any plans for Abigail 2 to be made, nor that the film will directly connect to any other upcoming horror movies. The studio has learned from The Mummy and the previous attempt to launch the Dark Universe. Instead of announcing an entire slate of interconnected horror movies, Abigail is currently just another standalone movie. Abigail, her Dracula-inspired father , and Joey are all left with uncertain futures as a result.

If a new Dark Universe does start, Abigail 's box office is likely the key. The movie was made on a budget of $28 million, meaning it needs to make nearly $60 million at the box office to break even for Universal. It would only be at that point that the studio would probably consider continuing the franchise, let alone expanding it into a Dark Universe reboot. Considering Abigail has not even made its budget back at the box office worldwide, it is far from guaranteed that audiences will get a chance to return to this universe and watch it grow.

Abigail (2024)

Tom Cruise produced a movie in Eugene during the summer of 1996 about Steve Prefontaine

In 1996 a film crew descended on Eugene to make a movie about Steve Prefontaine.

The film followed the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman.

Prefontaine was a star athlete from Coos Bay who ran for the University of Oregon and later competed in the Olympics in the 1970s.

He died in an automobile accident in Eugene on May 30, 1975, at the age of 24.

The film was written and directed by Robert Towne and produced by Tom Cruise.

Hundreds of locals appear as extras in the film at locations around Oregon, Lane Community College and Hayward Field.

The $25 million movie was released and distributed by Warner Bros. in 1998.

Cruise himself visited Eugene in 1998 for a screening of the film at the McDonald Theater.

The movie was well-received by critics but ended up grossing only $777,000 at the box office.

Contact photographer Chris Pietsch at [email protected] , or follow him on Twitter @ChrisPietsch and Instagram @chrispietsch

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Will an ai movie win an oscar within seven years.

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US filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (L) and US actor Tom Hanks arrive for the world premiere of Disney's ... [+] Pinocchio at Walt Disney Studios Main Theater in Burbank, California, on September 7, 2022. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

My friend Andy Halliday sent me today’s “The Daily AI Show” podcast. He and his co-hosts Jyunmi Hatcher, Beth Lyons and Brian Maucere mulled over the question “Will An AI Movie Win an Oscar Within 7 Years?” Andy knows I have a particular interest in Cinematic AI, having worked in motion pictures the first ten years of my career. Indeed, I listened to the whole podcast and even wrote my own thoughts on this very compelling question: will an AI movie win an Oscar within 7 years?

Bob Zemekis ( Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Roger Rabbit ) is directing a film starringTom Hanks and Robin Wright, Here, due November 2024, in which the actors are de-aged by using Metaphysic AI. In some scenes, the stars' avatar will be the only performers. This could certainly win an academy award for best picture, or more likely, Special Effects, and could happen in 2025. Does that count? Metaphysic is famous for its deep fake Tom Cruise TikTok videos from 2022.

AI is a tool that will enhance the special effects and animation pipeline, where work can cost millions of dollars per minute. In most but not all cases the AI should disappear. This will happen sooner than 7 years. Winning an Oscar, or even being nominated, will require, as always, great filmmaking, by humans. Using AI, along with other cloud-based approaches, will enable producers to make $100M movies for $10M. They don't give you awards for that, but it’s a dramatic change.

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SXSW attendees watch The Golden Key, a never ending story generated and narrated by AI with input ... [+] from spectators answering questions in Austin, Texas, on March 12, 2024. At South by Southwest — the gargantuan Texas festival for cinema, music and tech — artists this year embraced virtual reality as a way to better connect with humanity, not escape it. VR and augmented reality are often associated with video gaming, or the groundbreaking hardware races underway between tech titans like Apple and Meta — though with little in the way of mass adaptation. (Photo by Julie JAMMOT / AFP) (Photo by JULIE JAMMOT/AFP via Getty Images)

There’s one use of AI in entertainment which artistically, could be the most compelling: Films made, or hallucinated, by AI from a prompt. This is one person, doing very little, "making" or prompting, the film. This may well become a genre; imagine a channel or YouTube channel, that shows films imagined by Sora and other AI, with very limited human intervention. I saw synthetic media for the first time at SXSW where "The Golden Key" won for the immersive category (it didn't fit into any other category). I could have watched the film produced using Stable Video in real time for hours. The viewer can choose which actors they'd prefer in their synthetic entertainment, or have their own avatar "star" in the show.

"Will An AI Movie Win an Oscar Within 7 Years?" Great podcast with Andy Halliday, Jyunmi Hatcher, ... [+] Beth Lyons and Brian Maucere.

Finally, from an awards standpoint, I predict it will take the Academy a decade, maybe more, to accept this new synthetic media genre as legitimate. As the panel notes, MP Academy is a lifetime membership. It is structured so that the final vote is made by the members whose average age is 65 +. The audience would have to show they really want this, and still it will take decades before academy voters even consider synthetic actors, directors, composers, editors, etc. etc. Seven years is soon.

Personally, I have not seen anything to suggest a screenplay will be "written" by AI. Instead, a skilled writer will use it as a co-pilot, as a tool, which will be invisible. Professional writers in journalism, academia, media and business are using AI, but it is invisible. It is merely a tool to make the process move faster.

LOS ANGELES - 1990: A view of 11 Oscars statues lined up next to each other in 1990 in Los Angeles, ... [+] California. (Photo by Santi Visalli/Getty Images)

The studios, while giving AI lip service (“AI! Of course we're working on it”), have too much to lose by using AI before the legal and copyright issues are resolved. Also, these are union shops, which will resist AI by nature, so it will take a lot of friction to introduce it. More likely, in ten years, a studio will go buy Metaphysic.

Finally, as the “Daily AI Show” wrapped up, Halliday pointed out that AI will be used by the entertainment industry in ways that have nothing to do with awards. Marketing, for example, will use AI. Recommendation engines, discovery engines, used by streaming services are powerful machine learning algorithms. There are of course many definitions that would call this ML app AI.

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Tom Cruise at an event for Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

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64 wins & 119 nominations total

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Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

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Tomu Kurûzu
5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
July 3 , 1962
Syracuse, New York, USA
Spouses Katie Holmes November 18, 2006 - August 20, 2012 (divorced, 1 child)
Children Isabella Jane Cruise
Parents Thomas Mapother III
Relatives William Mapother (Cousin)
Other works Played Nathan Detroit in a high school production of "Guys and Dolls"
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Trivia His acting idol is Paul Newman . Much to the delight of Cruise, they became good friends during work on The Color of Money (1986) . Newman got him into racing, and Cruise ultimately raced on his team.
Quotes The thing about filmmaking is I give it everything, that's why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It's not that hard. Sign your own checks, be responsible.
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Salaries Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two ( 2025 ) $13,000,000 + % of back end
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