After a 2022 that brought the biggest film of his career at the box office and the highest grossing film of the year Top Gun: Maverick ($718.7 million, $1.49 billion worldwide) Tom Cruise accepted the David O. Selznick Award at the PGA Awards tonight.
After an enthusiastic introduction by former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing, Cruise broke down in tears as the CEO said, “Every day is better because of you.”
Paramount/Skydance Top Gun: Maverick was also nominated for Best Picture at the PGAs tonight and has been nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture.
Lansing shared her early days with the 20th Century Fox actor cranes (1981) and also how he wanted to try his first production effort in 1996 Impossible mission. The studio boss had her doubts about Cruise in an ensemble, but better a little Cruise than none, she thought at the time. But then Lansing read the script that contained the whole thing Impossible mission Team dies in the beginning and Cruise’s Ethan Hunt survives to avenge her death.
What impressed her most, however, was that Cruise understood the studio side of the business.
He did not see us as his enemy. When the budget got tight, Tom worked to cut it without damaging the film,” Lansing said.
“Tom Cruise showed us admissions are back,” she said of the actor-producer’s determination to stay Top Gun: Maverick as theatrical release. And the release happened during the pandemic, despite the politics in the studio that wanted to get the sequel on Paramount+.
“He looked at the dailies every day…looked at all the previews,” Lansing said of his determination to produce the best picture. The actor hid in the screening room or in the back of the room to capture the audience’s reaction during test screenings. If only the audience knew Cruise was watching them.
Cruise starred for Strauss Also talk to Zarathustra with scenes from, God, his whole canon, viz The Color of Money, Rain Man, Taps, Collateral, Jack Reacher, Far and Away, The Firm, Mission: Impossible, A Few Good Man, Eyes Wide Shut, Minority Report, Cocktail, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky, Interview with the Vampire , Rock of Ages, Magnolia and more.
Cruise took the stage and told Lansing, “You are an extraordinary person and have had a huge impact on my career.”
Cruise talked about his childhood working odd jobs so he could go to the movies. “If I didn’t have the money, I would have found a way to sneak in,” the actor said.
One day he was 18 years old in Valley Forge, PA. “I didn’t watch a movie, I did one on set.” The photo was craneswith and Timothy Hutton, hot off his Oscar win for everyday people, and first-year actor Sean Penn. While there, Cruise became even more enamored with filmmaking and a vocational student on the set of taps, Explore the production through different sections thanks to director Harold Becker and producer Howard Jaffe with “their decades of wisdom”
“I was overwhelmed by what I didn’t know,” Cruise said. “How do I become proficient at this?”
As a sequel to taps, Penn invited Cruise to Los Angeles where he met Paula Wagner. She would become his talent agent and, for years to come, his production partner. He thanked her husband Rick Nicita, Bert Fields and Kevin Huvane of CAA.
Cruise told the audience that he understood that if his films were good, they would make money and everyone who worked with him would share in his productions. He brought that philosophy to the room and emphasized that everyone benefits, the studio, the entire ecosystem of the industry as everyone in the film industry does well.
“You have to create that happiness and keep it,” Cruise said. “I cheer for you all.”
Cruise was largely absent from the awards ceremony for Top Gun: Maverick, but it’s no accident: he’s popped up at key moments during the post-nomination Oscar period at the Nominees Luncheon and tonight’s PGA Awards. Especially when Paramount wants to use its secret weapon. Cruise received a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival Top Gun: Maverick had its foreign premiere there in May and the four-time Oscar nominee received a festival retrospective.
“I want to thank the audience for entertaining you,” the actor said.
The Selznick Achievement Award recognizes a producer or production team for exceptional work on motion pictures. Past honorees have included Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Brian Grazer, David Heyman and Kevin Feige.
Source: Deadline
Ashley Root is an author and celebrity journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for all things celebrity, Ashley is always up-to-date on the latest gossip and trends in the world of entertainment.
