http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/08/movies/08impo.html?ei=5065&en=ca7bdb379a6d5553&ex=1147752000&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
So the numbers have come back from MI-3's opening week-end and it looks like the movie has done nowhere as well as the last MI-2. It's interesting that the executives at Paramont are denying that anything about the films success has been affected by the star (Tom Cruise) 's antics over the last year.
It is easy for them to deny that Cruise has lost star power , but it is hard to deny in the face of the film's numbers this last week-end. And more imporantly there is no accurate way to know if the film would have done better if it had been made sooner but-audiences seemed excited about the film. There was a large gap between MI-1 and MI-2 and the second still did well.
The problem seems lay with the fact that Tom Cruise has broken his star quality seal. First he divorced Nicole Kidman while she was pregnant and the stress caused her to have a miscarriage. Then there was the weird 'She knows what she did statements' to the cameras and paparazzi about his wife and the divorce which would give anyone the willies.
Then he got into trouble by fighting with Brooke Shields over the use of Anti-Depressants for post partem depression. And he made it worse by getting in Mark Lauer's face on the Today Show and behaving quite frankly like an arrogant dupe. His lack of understanding and sympathy that displayed- arrogance, ignorance and a sense of superiority over the rest of us-turned people off. More importantly, it turned off the biggest audience that has made Tom Cruises' career. WOMEN.
Aaah yes, the power of women at the box office, women of all ages, creeds, and races liked Tom Cruise-he was at least-cute and charismatic who didn't love Joe Cool? Well, all the women who have suffered from post partem depression or known a woman who suffered from post partem depression didn't like his attitude. How about all the husbands, brothers, and sons of these women who felt annoyed by his attitude that really put down their experience with this problem?
Or what about all the Moms, sisters, and wives who have lived with a loved one who depended on Ritalin, or some other mild anti-depressant to control a problem with Depression or ADD? Anyone can argue and some might agree to use less of these drugs, and the argument is reasonable as an opinion. But for a Hollywood actor without a medical degree of ANY KIND, much less a college degree to make the statements this man made over 2005, is career suicide and plain old stupid.
And no one can forget Oprah, his jumping and screaming, his catapulting around stage frankly made me uncomfortable to watch for all it's fakeness. Then there is the quick relationship with Katie Holmes, a woman far younger than him, pregnant out of marriage and to the chagrin of her parent's and the Public. Most Americans may write off Hollywood values as incomplete and silly, but this relationship has pressed too many boundaries and asked too much of Tom Cruises' corn fed midwestern fan base. He appeals to the wholesome and the chipper part of the human psyche-he's Jerry Maguire-not Mr. Vanilla Sky. He just can't get that through his head.
No one would blame him for wanting some freedom but with Katie Holmes looking like a trapped animal-she succors sympathy from his once partial female fan base. She appears to be a trapped woman who has been saddled with a too fast too sudden and too controlling relationship. Her demeanor has become fodder for US weekly and The Soup, shows that appeal to the general population of Women.
Most importantly, Women's interest in Cruise has fueled his career when Men grew tired of him, he was hot and cute, Men admired that woman liked him. He was an action hero that brought women and teens into the theater. The general population ignored the rumors that he is gay and poo poo'd the control of the Scientologists over him. But, he lost all of that when he let his cult the Scientologists run his career for him and became so publicly open about his relationship with them. Maybe the Scientologists can't work with him anymore either-maybe their own tender grasp on him has suffered and failed.
I ate lunch yesterday and 9 out of 10 woman at the table believed Tom Cruise is gay and that Katie Holmes was not pregnant with his child. The one person who did not care is a friend who doesn't go to the movies and cares nothing for Hollywood. The child Katie Holmes carried is maybe a fake or even worse yet, someone elses other than Tom's because as you know-he's been remored to be sterile and his fan base now believes it. The best he could do for his career is give up the charade, back off from films, apologize to Brooke Shields, stop promoting Scientology and his weird relationship with a too young too freaked out Katie Holmes because no one believes him anymore. Heck at this point he might gain back some points with his fan base or get a new one by admitting he is gay. At least that would allow people to write off his weird behavior and forgive him for his actions.
If the President can allow Porter Goss to cry Uncle and leave the CIA to be replaced by a better appointee who can kick some butt to clean up the agency-Tom Cruise can do better too. In the meantime, a huge vacuum of fame has been left open in Hollywood with none of the too young, too imperfect, and not quite ready for superstardom male actors ready to fill the void.
Woman have been isolated by his actions and free to move onto who? Brad Pitt? He's tarnished by Angelina Jolie. George Clooney? He's gone too political. It seems that whenever a famous person looses touch with their base audience who what they do for a living and starts using their fame as a bully pitt-their career takes a dive. Affairs and divorces are actually slightly more forgiveable by the American Public's standards than political and social badgering by the people they trust to help them relax.
Oddly enough the only major Hollywood stars with untarnished reputations these days are Women, namely Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon who have not only garnered the attention of men as attrative women, but gained the respect of a female fan base as likeable and cute people.
Maybe this is all the better for Woman to finally take over Hollywood and gain a better place for equality at this time. In that case, I would have to Thank Tom Cruise for his actions. He may have even done us all a favor.
