ABSTRACT
In November 2006, parent company MGM announced that United Artists would be reborn under the leadership of Tom Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner. Since their longtime production deal at Paramount Pictures ended in August 2006, Cruise and Wagner were set to create a new talent-friendly studio model for United Artists focusing on artist-driven productions. With MGM handling worldwide marketing and distribution, United Artists intended to produce up to four films a year, including both high-concept and character-driven projects with budgets of up to $60 million. This chapter explores the ways in which Tom Cruise’s star persona intertwined with United Artist’s studio identity.
Following the controversies surrounding his relationship with Katie Holmes, his well-publicized association with Scientology, the unfortunate couch-jumping incident on the set of Oprah Winfrey’s show, and the disappointing box office numbers of both War of the Worlds and Mission Impossible III, Paramount ended its collaboration with Cruise who was subsequently hired by United Artists. Given the power to greenlight the studio’s upcoming projects, Cruise’s move to United Artists marked a moment in which the studio was attempting to forge ahead with a celebrity as its media mogul. By exploring the production, distribution, and critical reception of four of United Artists’ most noteworthy films of the time (Lions for Lambs, Valkyrie, Fame and Hot Tub Time Machine), this chapter will chart the fall of United Artists under Tom Cruise’s leadership.
