Paramount decided not to extend its contract with Tom Cruise‘s production company, thereby sparking a whole lot of Hollywood water cooler gossip about who said nasty things and why. It’s pretty fun stuff, too.
From Variety: "The 14-year Tom Cruise-Paramount relationship has ended on a note of anger and outrage. (Cruise’s production partner Paula) Wagner denounced comments made by Sumner Redstone about Cruise as "outrageous and disrespectful." Redstone told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that Par was ending its relationship with Cruise because "his recent conduct has not been acceptable."
Cruise has been a tabloid regular over the past year due to his relationship with actress Katie Holmes, their daughter, his outspoken views on psychiatry and medication, and his increasingly outspoken advocacy for the Church of Scientology.
Wagner defended Cruise/Wagner’s longtime success for the studio, saying that the shingle’s product has accounted for 15% of Par’s theatrical revenue in the last 10 years and 32% for the past six years. Their credits include the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, "Vanilla Sky" and "War of the Worlds."
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What I find amusing is that Redstone said "We don’t want to work with the guy anymore cuz he’s been acting like a nutcase," and Wagner’s response is "But look at how much money we made for you!"
