Cruise-Wagner takes over UA

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"Studio management by creative talent" was the idea when Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith formed the old United Artists on 2.5.19, and now the same deal is in effect with today's announcement that Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner are taking over UA and running the creative-greenlight side of the business "subject to certain parameters," with the partnership and support of MGM chariman and CEO Harry E. Sloan.

Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner; MGM CEO Harry E. Sloan

Crazy Tom, Crazy Harry and Paula Wagner! This is definitely a Cruise + Wagner rebound that eliminates all the spiritual residue of Sumner Redstone's harsh decision to boot their production company off the Paramount lot last summer (especially with the story being recounted in the December Vanity Fair), and a nice little maneuver by Sloan that makes UA sexy again. But we'd all like to know more details.

Wagner "will serve as Chief Executive Officer of United Artists, overseeing the day to day operations of the studio alongside her longstanding producing partner Cruise, who will star in as well as produce films for United Artists and also be available to appear in film projects for other studios," the release says.

How many films per year will the new United Artists be looking to produce? What are the financial parameters? Will they be acquiring at all? Cruise's fame and box-office potency is obviously the fulcrum of the deal, but the last eighteen months have made it clear to everyone that his currency has been devalued. But there's opportunity that comes with this. One game ends, another begins.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 2, 2006 at 11:01 AM

comment #1

Merlyn says ...

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!

That's AWESOME! Hate him all you want, the dude was always going to rebound. Well played...

Posted by Merlyn at November 2, 2006 11:38 AM

comment #2

Joel says ...

Can't wait to see what he does next! Miiii was pretty good and Collateral was great. The guy may be a little off-kilter in real life, but who cares? He's an actor.

Posted by Joel at November 2, 2006 11:42 AM

comment #3

Cadavra says ...

This time the inmates have REALLY taken over the asylum! ;-)

Posted by Cadavra at November 2, 2006 11:45 AM

comment #4

storymark says ...

Pretty cool. Cruise may be a nutter, but as long as he's not out eating babies or anything, I don't much care. I generally like his taste in projects, so I'm curious.

This could be very interesting.

Posted by storymark at November 2, 2006 11:52 AM

comment #5

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

This is kind of cool, for historical reasons if no other, though of course UA's true glory days were not under its founders but under Arthur Krim et al., when they served as distributor to Hollywood's more daring indie producers (Otto Preminger, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, etc.) and wound up one year nabbing three out of five Best Picture Oscar nominees (Rocky, Network and Bound For Glory).

The less than meets the eye here is that surely Cruise isn't actually expected to run a distribution company. Distribution is MGM's business; UA is just an old studio name they happen to own. Basically they've given Cruise a development deal, and then reached into their portfolio of existing brands and stuck the coolest possible Fuck-You-Sumner on it.

If nothing else, I admire the brio with which Cruise bounces back, the crazy little Thetan.

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at November 2, 2006 12:07 PM

comment #6

Merlyn says ...

"If nothing else, I admire the brio with which Cruise bounces back, the crazy little Thetan."

And THAT is the sound a nail makes when it's being hit on the head...

Posted by Merlyn at November 2, 2006 12:15 PM

comment #7

Joshua Mooney says ...

Yeah, well, like the aliens say at the end of "BB", "So what? Big deal."

Like Tom Cruise wasn't going to keep on making Tom Cruise movies? Like Redstone blacklisted/exiled him or something? Myopic-Hollywood media-hype bullshit.

Now, if Geffen buys the L.A. Times, color me intrigued. (Hell, at first I figured he sold that Pollock because he was sick of looking at it. It's not one of Jackson's cheerier pieces.)

Posted by Joshua Mooney at November 2, 2006 12:16 PM

comment #8

Doug says ...

On the Entertainment page of the CNN site it says MGM expects UA to release about four films a year.

Posted by Doug at November 2, 2006 12:23 PM

comment #9

Merlyn says ...

Hollywood Reporter has an article too.

Posted by Merlyn at November 2, 2006 12:26 PM

comment #10

aspiringcrackaddict says ...

any one know where I could get a good tuna on rye?

Oh scratch that I'm in the mood for a Reuben.

Posted by aspiringcrackaddict at November 2, 2006 12:36 PM

comment #11

JD says ...

I like the sound of this. There's no doubt that Cruise has always had good -- if slightly unadventurous -- taste in projects. Plus, he clearly has something to prove, which should inspire some interesting maneuvers.

Posted by JD at November 2, 2006 12:44 PM

comment #12

aspiringcrackaddict says ...

here is a NYTimes article on the cruise/wagner wedding. Thats right Cruise/Wagner wedding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/29/fashion/weddings/29houghton.html?_r=1&ref=weddings&oref=slogin

Posted by aspiringcrackaddict at November 2, 2006 12:47 PM

comment #13

Dixon Steele says ...

Cruise/Wagner needed to do something bold to get back their credibility...and this is pretty bold.

Now, will it work?...who knows, but it's not the same old, same old.

Posted by Dixon Steele at November 2, 2006 1:28 PM

comment #14

Craig Kennedy says ...

That's a pretty amusing FU to Paramount, but I think Mgmax is right about UA's golden years being after the studio was no longer run by 'talent'. And what does it really mean to moviegoers who don't work in Hollywood? Not much.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at November 2, 2006 2:50 PM

comment #15

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

"Yeah, well, like the aliens say at the end of "BB", "So what? Big deal."

I'm sure it's obvious, but not to me at this minute. What is BB? Battlestar Balactica? Blade Bunner?

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at November 2, 2006 5:13 PM

comment #16

Josh Massey says ...

Yeah, MGmax, I couldn't figure that out either.

There weren't any aliens in "Batman Begins," "Blues Brothers" or "Bad Boys," were there?

Posted by Josh Massey at November 2, 2006 6:50 PM

comment #17

JET says ...

Who says history doesn't repeat itself ......

"So the lunatics have taken charge of the asylum."

It was TRUE then when Richard A. Rowland FIRST said it, just as it's TRUE today with Tom Cruise and United Artists / MGM

Posted by JET at November 2, 2006 8:26 PM

comment #18

IClavdivs says ...

Yes, Cruise nows owns or is part of UA but we will see what he does with it. Sure the man can make HIS movies a success, the other movies like Suspect 0, Ask The Dust/Dusk, etc., that he churns out one after the other is another matter. Now, he has a studio, what he will do with it is another matter!

Posted by IClavdivs at November 3, 2006 5:58 AM

comment #19