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Mission Impossible: Why Tom Cruise, James Cameron, and Chris Rock Weren’t at the Oscars

By Savannah Walsh

A slew of A-list stars attended the Oscars 2023 —and walked that surprisingly chic  champagne carpet —in celebration of the  95th Academy Awards , where  Everything Everywhere All at Once  was the night’s big winner. But celebrities cannot, in fact, be everywhere all at once—and several major players were missing from Sunday’s ceremony as well.

Host  Jimmy Kimmel  noted a few of these absences during  his monologue , where he joked, “You know, Tom Cruise and James Cameron didn’t show up tonight. The two guys who insisted we go to the theater didn’t come to the theater.”

There were a few surprise attendees Sunday, including Cocaine Bear, Jenny the Donkey, and  Lady Gaga . But if you’re wondering where some of those missing major players were instead of the 2023 Oscars, read on. 

Cruise, nominated as a producer for best-picture-contender Top Gun: Maverick, has been largely missing from the awards circuit this year—outside of the  Oscar Nominees Luncheon , where  Steven Spielberg   reportedly  told him he “saved Hollywood’s ass.” But his absence at the 95th Academy Awards was unexpected, as Kimmel  told  The Hollywood Reporter that Cruise would attend. Alas, a representative for the actor later told  People that Cruise was overseas filming  Mission: Impossible 8, making any appearance at the Oscars—well, impossible. Kimmel took Cruise’s truancy as an opportunity to make a Scientology joke. “Tom Cruise with his shirt off? L. Ron Hubba Hubba,” he quipped.

James Cameron

Cameron, whose blockbuster epic Avatar: The Way of Water was nominated for best picture, didn’t attend because of “personal reasons,” his fellow producer  Jon Landau   told   The New York Times ’  Kyle Buchanan. But Kimmel seemed to suggest that Cameron’s failure to secure a directing nod was a contributing factor in his nonattendance. “I mean, how does the Academy not nominate the guy who directed  Avatar ?” Kimmel asked. “What do they think he is, a woman?” (Only seven women have been nominated for best director in the Oscars’ 95-year history—and zero in 2023.)

Glenn Close

The eight-time Academy Award nominee, who has yet to win an Oscar, continued her unlucky streak with the organization by  testing positive for COVID ahead of the ceremony, as reported by the  Associated Press . Close was meant to reunite with  Harrison Ford, her costar in 1997’s  Air Force One, to present best picture. While Close isolated and rested, Ford went it alone for the night’s biggest award. At least Close’s Oscars history will always have “ Da Butt .” 

The two men at the center of the  biggest scandal in Oscars history were unsurprisingly not in attendance at Sunday’s ceremony, although  jokes about the incident were littered throughout the telecast. During the show, Rock, who declined the Oscars hosting job in favor of speaking out via his own  live Netflix special , was spotted at a Miami viewing party. As seen in a  video posted to Twitter , comedian  Whitney Cummings  appears shocked to see Rock, excitedly declaring, “Chris Rock is in the fucking building!” before raising a glass. 

Tradition has it that last year’s best-actor Oscar winner presents the best-actress trophy at the following ceremony, but all of that changed when  Smith slapped Rock onstage . Instead of an invite to present,  Smith got himself banned from attending the Academy Awards for a decade. It was last year’s best-actress winner,  Jessica Chastain,  and  Halle Berry, who in 2002 was the  first Black woman to win best actress, who  jointly presented the honor this year instead. Smith, who  resigned from the Academy days after his actions,  reportedly spent the weekend taking his family to see  Jay Shetty, life coach to the stars,  at an event in Los Angeles. 

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“he’s not kryptonite yet”: hollywood execs on will smith’s career damage post-slap.

Even as the Academy weighs discipline, the prevailing view in Hollywood is that the actor's onstage assault of Chris Rock will not have a major impact on his movie-star career, though his future awards prospects may dim.

By Kim Masters

Kim Masters

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While it seems clear that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will take steps to discipline Will Smith in the wake of the infamous slap, the predominant opinion in Hollywood is that the incident will at most prove to be a minor road bump in the star’s long acting career.

“He’s not kryptonite yet,” says one studio executive. “He has to sit in the penalty box for a bit. He’s going to do some interview with someone like Gayle King and it will kind of wash away.” Smith’s long history in the business will help, this person continues: “He has never been violent on set. He has been extra accommodating. And you read about what he did on the King Richard set.” (Among other gestures, Smith gave the film’s cast bonuses to compensate for the film’s day-and-date release on HBO Max.)

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Another longtime studio exec agrees there are still shoes to drop in how Smith manages going forward. If he could publicly reconcile with Chris Rock , for example, that might help bolster his image. But this top industry veteran is a bit more cautious, saying anyone casting Smith in a movie or series would have to weigh the challenge of trying to promote a project knowing that reporters inevitably would ask Smith and fellow castmembers about the incident. “I think [studios] would think twice — do they need the aggravation?” he says. “Everyone would do the equation, ‘I’ve got Will Smith, but now I’ve got this baggage and they’re going to reshow the slap . Do I need that, and is so-and-so available?’ The other side is, ‘I’ve got Will Smith, and he needs a comeback, and I’ll restore his luster.’ You would weigh factors — what the movie is, what the cost is. If [his reps] say, ‘Will really wants to do this and it’s important to him,’ there are ways for him to say, ‘I’m cutting my price but not [permanently] cutting it.'”

But a marketing executive says she thinks Smith will face more lasting damage. She feels that he revealed a dark side and that the whole sequence of events — the slap, the self-justifying acceptance speech, the dancing at the Vanity Fair party and an apology on Instagram that struck her as shallow and disingenuous — will inflict lasting damage. She also thinks Smith’s long career has left him overexposed. Some of his more recent projects, including 2019’s Gemini Man and Collateral Beauty in 2016, have been poorly reviewed and underperformed, she points out.

Smith now has Apple+’s slave escape drama Emancipation in postproduction. The streamer had planned a 2022 debut but has not dated its release. Apple declined to comment. Otherwise, Smith has a few projects in preproduction, including Bad Boys 4 , but no start dates are set. One studio executive wonders whether Smith will be eager to work in front of the camera again now that he has an Oscar, or whether he will focus on producing.

An area where Smith may be challenged is the awards space. Actors branch member Rutanya Alda told THR that Smith “made me wish I hadn’t voted for him. It changed the whole tone of the evening. I will never, ever vote for anything Will Smith is in again.” A media professional who votes on awards agrees that he would not cast a ballot for Smith in the future. “To assault a man and then finish the evening dancing at the Vanity Fair party — talk about getting it all wrong,” he said. As Emancipation would appear to be an awards play, such feelings could well hamper its prospects in that respect.

One studio believes the proper response from the Academy is to expel Smith permanently — which might actually be doing him a favor. “It won’t affect his career, but people will think he got his punishment and we can forgive him,” he says. “And he can say, ‘That’s what I deserve. I disrespected the Academy and that’s what I deserve.’” (Smith would still be eligible for awards.)

In fact, this person thinks the Academy could end up with more lasting reputation damage than Smith if it “wimps out” in disciplining the star. Tim Solberg, a professor of business of the arts at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, also says he believes Smith won’t face any consequences from the incident, but “the Academy itself may suffer damage if it does not take action.”

Smith’s own business ventures could also be impacted by the moment. He is a brand ambassador for Fitbit, who told THR , “We are evaluating the situation and do not have any information to share at this time.”

Westbrook Inc., the production company controlled by the actor and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, raised $60 million at a $600 million valuation in January from the Blackstone-backed Candle Media. The rich valuation was justified in part by Smith’s immense stardom, with seemingly everyone in town eager to work with him, and with Westbrook securing a piece of every project starring the couple (as well as other projects like  Bel-Air  and  Cobra Kai ).

If Smith is no longer welcomed by studios or fellow stars, it would be all but certain to have an adverse impact on Westbrook and its potential business, fresh off its cash raise, when it should be in expansion mode.

Alex Weprin and Danielle Directo-Meston contributed to this report.

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How Will Smith’s Assault On Chris Rock Could Hurt His Movie Career

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HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: Will Smith accepts the Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘King Richard’ onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

No, this post won’t be about the almost hourly updates concerning how Will Packer, Dawn Hudson and those of their ilk reacted to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on Sunday night’s Oscar telecast, both in terms of right after it happened and in the days after in terms of whatever punishment might be offered up. Nor will this be a screed about the morality of what went down earlier this week, although even Smith’s apology seems to admit “thing bad.” However, there will be fallout. Right now, Smith’s commercial value is in existing franchises, and this incident may have done real damage in terms of his worth in non-franchise films.

Will Smith was once Hollywood’s biggest movie star.

Will Smith has been a movie star at least since he raced down a city street chasing murderous drug dealers, unbuttoned shirt billowing in the wind, in Michael Bay’s early 1995 hit Bad Boys . He became an icon when he punched out an alien and snarled “Welcome to Earth” in Roland Emmerich’s $820 million-grossing Independence Day in the summer of 1996. Moreover, there was a period from around 2002 to 2008 where he was the biggest movie star on Earth, putting butts in seats for a slew of genres with and without existing IP.

He pulled out massive global box office successes from romantic comedies ( Hitch ), animated films (DreamWorks ’ A Shark’s Tale ), sci-fi fantasies ( I, Robot ), action adventures ( Bad Boys II ), superhero dramedies ( Hancock, still the biggest grossing original superhero flick), apocalyptic melodramas ( I Am Legend, whose $77 million domestic debut in 2007 is still the biggest for a solo star vehicle ) and economic mobility dramas ( The Pursuit of Happyness , which grossed $306 million worldwide). Even as Hollywood was following the four-quadrant IP franchise money in the wake of Harry Potter, Spider-Man and Pirates of the Caribbean , Smith was the franchise.

He was the biggest movie star of the post-9/11 era, and I’d argue his recent films (including Bad Boys For Life ) have been partially about reflecting on his role as America’s top creator of pop culture bread-and-circus films (often playing a righteous cop no less) during that very grim moment in time. But Smith hasn’t been a huge star sans franchise for the last decade. While Hancock earned $624 million in the summer of 2008, Smith was (I’d argue) unfairly dinged for the $170 million global gross of Seven Pounds . I argued then that only Smith could pull such grosses for a movie like that, a grimdark drama about a man choosing suicide over his role in a fatal vehicular accident.

In 2002, he reacted to the commercial failures of The Legend of Bagger Vance and Ali by making Men in Black II . I would argue he reacted to the mixed reviews for Hancock and the commercial disappointment of Seven Pounds by making Men in Black 3. The over-budget and much-delayed MIB3 inexplicably turned out to be the best of the trilogy, and it earned a strong $179 million domestic/$623 million worldwide right alongside The Avengers a decade ago. But that success came to define the last decade of Will Smith’s career. He’s still worth his big paycheck in explicit “sequel to that Will Smith movie you liked” extensions and as an added value element, but almost everything else is (at best) a coin toss.

He’s still a bankable box office draw in either his own previously successful franchises ( Men in Black 3, Bad Boys For Life ) or as a big-deal added value element to an IP cash-in ( Aladdin, Suicide Squad ). Moreover, attempts to make sequels to Will Smith-centric hits without Will Smith ( Independence Day: Resurgence, Men in Black International, The Suicide Squad ) have gone down in flames. However, in original or new-to-you flicks like After Earth, Focus (admittedly $150 million on a $50 million budget), Collateral Beauty, Concussion, The Gemini Man, Spies in Disguise and King Richard , well, that’s why he was rumored to be in talks for a sequel to I Am Legend (despite his character dying at the end).

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 23: Will Smith gets slimed onstage at Nickelodeon's 2019 Kids' Choice Awards at Galen Center on March 23, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Here are the three ways the fallout may impact Will Smith’s career...

Kevin Spacey’s value as a film actor dropped into the abyss following allegations of sexual assault precisely because his only value was in prestige. While he hadn’t been a butts-in-seats draw since the early 2000s, Spacey still “classed up” movies like Baby Driver, Horrible Bosses 2 and Margin Call . Once he lost his prestige, he became useless. Likewise, Armie Hammer may be finished in Hollywood precisely because he was never a butts-in-seats draw and now offers no value as a prestige element. Johnny Depp was barely a butts-in-seats draw outside of Pirates of the Caribbean sequels and, in some cases, Tim Burton-directed fantasies ( Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland ). Following allegations of spousal abuse, he now offers little in terms of prestige.

Likewise, save for the Oscar-winning (and $175 million-grossing) Hacksaw Ridge (which Mel Gibson directed but did not star in), Gibson’s last decade has mostly been defined by straight-to-VOD thrillers of varying quality ( Last Looks > Force of Nature ) and periodic stunt casting in the likes of Machete Kills and Daddy’s Home 2 . Now if you’re arguing that Gibson, Depp, Hammer and Spacey were accused of (or committed) serious crimes, while Smith “just” lost his temper and slapped a colleague on national television, you’re 104% correct and I don’t mean to compare in terms of morality. But those three examples are useful in terms of what kind of damage can be done to actors who aren’t butt-in-seats draws and then lose the presumption of prestige.

Will Smith has the advantage of being a hugely successful box office draw and a recent track record of added-value element boosts to inherently commercial IP flicks. He’s a big reason Suicide Squad earned $725 million worldwide and he was a huge boon to Aladdin , essentially playing the Genie as a reprise of Hitch , and its $1.053 billion global gross. At worst, he’s probably still “worth it” in Aladdin 2, Bad Boys 4 or those kinds of star+IP packages. But there are only so many Will Smith franchises that can be sequelized (it’s not like the world is desperate for Bright 2, Hancock 2 or Wild Wild West’s Revenge ), and (like Pixar) he’ll eventually run out of how own franchises.

So, absent obvious paydays, will “the slap” cost Will Smith his prestige to the point where he won’t be all that useful in studio programmers and year-end awards flicks? We already know that such films are not commercial haymakers (quality notwithstanding, I’m the weirdo who likes Collateral Beauty ), but sans the presumption of prestige and the potential for year-end awards, well, Smith may have trouble justifying his casting in anything other than surefire IP and sequels to prior glories. The question going forward is whether Smith still gets to star in films like Apple’s $120 million runaway slave actioner Emancipation and Netflix’s David Leitch-directed thriller Fast and Loose . That suggests a third scenario.

The third scenario (alongside “no harm no foul” and “just nostalgia sequels”) is akin to Tom Cruise. Cruise’s antics while promoting War of the Worlds put a permanent stain on his star power. While he didn’t really jump on Oprah Winfrey’s couch (and was merely playing to Oprah and her excited audience), the “couch jump controversy” led to Cruise’s current normal where he’s only remotely bankable in Mission: Impossible sequels and like-minded action/sci-fi flicks. The Cruise who could power A Few Good Men , Jerry Maguire, Eyes Wide Shut or even The Last Samurai to relative blockbuster business is gone. The “option C” is a new normal where Will Smith gets to make movies, even big movies, but nothing akin to King Richard or Focus ever again.

SANTA BARBARA, CA - JANUARY 27: Actors Will Smith (L) and Tom Cruise attend the Santa Barbara Film Festival Modern Master Award Presented to Will Smith at the Arlington Theatre on January 27, 2007 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

The long-term implications won’t be determined over the next weeks or months. Without getting into “deserved,” because that’s not my place to say (and, yes, Smith’s status as a Black movie star complicates the conversation), the Oscar incident shattered a carefully crafted 30-year image of approachable, harmless and always-on movie star charisma. Honestly, there are few actors (maybe Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks or Sandra Bullock?) for whom such a sight would be equally as shocking. As I explained to my kids in terms of my shock (they know some of these people but grew up in a different time), it was akin to watching Mickey Mouse lose his temper and slap one of the Animaniacs on national television.

Hollywood killed their star system by constantly trying to turn every handsome white guy into the next Tom Cruise and didn’t bother trying to find the next Will Smith until marquee characters replaced actors as the driving motivation for moviegoers. It will be a bitter irony if both former titans find themselves with near-identical third acts of their otherwise illustrious careers. Either Will Smith’s career isn’t aggressively impacted by this, he loses the Q score to do anything beyond fan-friendly sequels or (as a skewed middle ground) he remains an action star in theaters and on streaming but loses his theatrical value for anything beyond action movies. What do you think is most likely? Sound off below if you want to place your bets.

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Tom Cruise Not Talking with 'Kryptonite' Will Smith After Chris Rock Slap at Oscars [RUMOR]

While the critical reception for Will Smith's latest film, "Emancipation," has been steadily rising in the wake of the infamous Chris Rock slap, one of Smith's old pals, Tom Cruise, has been less than enthusiastic in his defense of the Oscar winner.

An insider revealed to RadarOnline.com  that Smith has repeatedly reached out to Cruise to get back together and see if they can get out and cooperate on projects.

The source added that a reliable picture starring Tom Cruise would ensure Will Smith's return to the spotlight.

Cruise seems uninterested and does not respond to Smith's letters, even though Smith volunteered to travel to Longon if that would be more convenient.

It is true that the 60-year-old "Top Gun: Maverick" star feels terrible about what Smith, 54, has been through, but that does not mean he will "be stupid enough to put his neck on the line and be dragged down by association" as an insider puts it.

However, the "Emancipation" star is not the only person Cruise wants to avoid.

"Tom is still very wary of any Hollywood friendships. He likes his reclusive lifestyle in the United Kingdom," the insider revealed, adding, "He doesn't want to get sucked back into the Hollywood scene – especially by way of Will Smith. He's still kryptonite."

READ NEXT: Chris Rock Won't Talk About Will Smith's Oscars 2022 Slap Unless He Gets Paid, Says His Hearing Is Back  

The Effect of Will Smith's Chris Rock Slap

Following Smith's whack to Chris Rock's face for a joke that may have gone too far, the Oscars turned for the worse.

Others were more intrigued by what happened after that joke than the joke itself.

Specifically, the baldness caused by alopecia was the subject of the joke about Jada Smith. She reminded him of G.I. Jane, so he joked about it.

There is some debate over how insulting that joke is. However, it cannot be denied that Will Smith's slap on him infringed on Chris Rock's rights. There was an immediate change in mood.

Will Smith was denounced after the Chris Rock slap. The Oscars suspended him for ten years after the occurrence.

He faced widespread condemnation after he was shown on television physically attacking a man in front of a live audience. His life quickly descended into a pit of despair, per Animated Times.   

Even after he was kicked out of the Academy, the effects of this action continued to reverberate. Tom Cruise has broken off ties with Will Smith because of the incident.

Tom Cruise Did Not Attend the Golden Globes

Tom Cruise did not attend the 80th annual Golden Globes, aired on NBC on January 10.

"Top Gun: Maverick" was the year's biggest hit and received two nominations (Best Motion Picture, Drama, and Best Original Song), but the film's main star was snubbed for Best Actor.

This removal did not come as much of a surprise, given that Cruise was an early celebrity voice on last year's tumult surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the feuding group responsible for the Golden Globes.

In February 2021, a report exposed the HFPA's lack of Black members and history of ethically questionable judgments, among other problems.

In May, three months later, Tom Cruise gave back the three Golden Globe Awards he had previously received, said Yahoo .

After years of hosting the Golden Globes, NBC announced they would only air the 2022 ceremony once the HFPA made significant changes.

The event nonetheless took place on January 10, 2022, with the winners being announced through Twitter rather than a television broadcast, which was widely mocked.

READ MORE: Tyrell Terry Retirement: The Shocking Truth Why Ex-Dallas Mavericks Guard Retires From NBA at Just Age 22  

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Will Smith Learned He's No Tom Cruise While Filming Bad Boys for Life - From The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

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Jude Law Was Destined for Superstardom. Then Came Chris Rock’s Oscars Monologue.

In the early 21st century, the rising young British actor was on an incredible run. But one mean joke on the entertainment world’s biggest stage permanently changed how we felt about the ‘Talented Mr. Ripley’ star.

Welcome to Misleading Men, a regular feature where we look back at the actors who ruled Hollywood for one brief shining moment.

It’s rare to realize in real time that you’re witnessing the moment that signifies that an actor is over. Not that he’s never going to work again, or that he won’t continue to give strong performances — just that, from here on out, we’re probably always going to think about him in a different, less-favorable light. You almost feel bad for the guy — does he know? Should we tell him?

For Jude Law , that moment was February 27, 2005, which just so happened to be the biggest annual event in his profession, the Academy Awards. He wasn’t there, but Chris Rock was, and in his opening monologue as host, he talked about the fact that there’s only really about four movie stars — “the rest are just popular people.” Rock’s examples of real movie stars? Guys like Clint Eastwood and Tom Cruise . Law was watching the broadcast with a few friends, with no clue that he was about to be the target of Rock’s bit:

“You want Tom Cruise, and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait. It’s not the same thing, okay? Who is Jude Law? Why is he in every movie I have seen the last four years? He’s in everything. Even the movies he’s not acting in — if you look at the credits, he made cupcakes or something. He’s in everything. He’s gay, he’s straight, he’s American, he’s British. Next year he’s playing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a movie! If you can’t get a star, wait, okay?”

You could feel the uncomfortable laughter in the room. Oscar hosts tend not to rip actors too severely — and, even then, it’s very much fun-loving and just-playing-around. But by the show’s tame standards, Rock obliterated Jude Law. Want to know how severe the mocking was? When the Academy put Rock’s monologue up on YouTube, they left out the Jude Law joke — although they did include Sean Penn’s introductory remarks when he came out later to present Best Actress, awkwardly defending his All the King’s Men costar . “Jude Law is one of our most talented actors,” Penn stridently declared, which wasn’t the point. Rock wasn’t talking about talent — he was speaking about something much more precious, star power.

Best as I can tell, Law has only twice discussed Rock’s joke. In the fall of 2006, he told The New York Times how much it annoyed him:

“At first I laughed, because I didn’t think he knew who I was. Then I got angry as his remarks, I felt, became more personal. My friends were livid. I was moved when Sean came to my defense. As a celebrity I know I’m fair game for a lot of things that I don’t like, but Rock crossed the line when he made his point and got his laugh then seemingly wouldn’t stop. It’s very unfortunate that I had five or six films come out at the same time. However I had no control over that.”

He didn’t talk about the incident again until early this year, for Vulture , and it sounded like, more than a decade later, he was still a bit scarred from the experience:

“I’m going to be really candid. Chris Rock slagging me off at the Oscars was upsetting. It felt like, ‘Fuck, am I that guy that you point fun at?’ Obviously, I’ve realized since that a gag is a gag is a fucking gag. Whatever, it could’ve been anyone.” He pauses, maybe worried that he has said too much. “It was probably a bubble that needed bursting around myself. Like, ‘Oh, this could be brutal. This isn’t all plain sailing.’”

Just like you, I can recite plenty of hit films and/or solid performances to Law’s credit since the 2005 Oscars — The Holiday , Sherlock Holmes , Contagion , The Grand Budapest Hotel , Vox Lux , Captain Marvel , The Young Pope / The New Pope and especially Spy — but after Rock’s monologue, it was over. He no longer seemed beautiful and invincible. That bulletproof confidence was gone.

We can always revisit its peak, though. Although he’d done some film work to that point, most notably in Gattaca , Jude Law emerged fully formed in 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley , which announced him as the next promising young actor — British, impossibly handsome, with an old-school Hollywood suaveness about him. (Little wonder that, a few years later, he’d play the impeccably dashing Errol Flynn in The Aviator .) When we meet his character Dickie, he’s sunning himself on an Italian beach with his perfectly pretty girlfriend Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Like Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), we can’t help but gawk. Tanned, smiling, utterly pleased with himself and his wealth, Dickie is a bronzed beauty — he has everything, and Tom wants it all.  

The trick, of course, was that Law made you realize that Dickie wasn’t just fabulous cheekbones and cosmopolitan flair — we sensed the rot underneath that flawless physique. Law’s director, English Patient filmmaker Anthony Minghella , hinted at that when he praised him by saying , “He shows this interesting tension between grace and danger. He has extraordinary charisma and lust for life, but he also has cruelty in him.” 

The Talented Mr. Ripley was filled with stars — not just Damon and Paltrow but also Philip Seymour Hoffman and an up-and-comer named Cate Blanchett — but because Law wasn’t as famous, we just assumed he was the gorgeous, witty, unattainable creature he played in the movie. Law had earned a Tony nomination a few years earlier, for Indiscretions , but filmgoers weren’t well acquainted with this kid who turned 27 just a couple days after The Talented Mr. Ripley came out. It felt like a discovery. He earned an Oscar nomination for the movie — the only actor in that impressive cast to do so. 

He was on his way.

The next few years, Law kept earning accolades. He was a very fun sex robot in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (he had the smooth, inhuman features); appreciably menacing as a vain hitman in Road to Perdition (showing the shades of cruelty that Minghella mentioned); and convincingly romantic as a Civil War soldier coming home to Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain (earning a second Oscar nomination in the process). But by the time of the 2005 Oscars, something got lost. It’s often blamed on his back-to-back 2004 bombs Alfie and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow , which severely torpedoed his movie-star ascension. I think, though, it went beyond the fact that those films were duds — it’s that they seemed to be indicative of Law’s inability to be anything more than the good-looking, slightly roguish charmer. Was he just a pretty face? Was there any depth there? Those movies weren’t rejected — it was more like audiences rejected him.

Then came Rock’s comments, which pinpointed the intangible that defines movie stars — we either believe they are, or we don’t. And by comparing Law to Cruise, Rock made the contrast between them obvious — and announced it on the most public stage imaginable. Suddenly, we all knew it, too. Once your aura gets taken away, you can’t get it back.

I like several things Law has done since then, but that special glow has faded. The work he’s done post-Rock has largely felt like a reaction to that fleeting golden-god status he once enjoyed. Boyish Brits, complete scoundrels, snooty gents, cocky popes — tellingly, the guys he’s played are often either humbled or indignant because their lives didn’t exactly work out. (And off-screen, his tabloid exploits began to draw more attention than his roles, underlying the idea that he’d squandered his potential.)

Lots of beautiful actors have to work hard to be taken seriously as dramatic performers, but Law made it too easy for naysayers to dismiss him. He still gets good reviews —   I haven’t seen The Young Pope , but I imagine he could get a lot of mileage out of a cheeky line like, “I know, I’m incredibly handsome. Please, let’s try to forget about that.” But overall, his career has become a bittersweet acknowledgment that, yes, we used to think so much more highly of Jude Law.

Back in 1999, as The Talented Mr. Ripley was about to change his life, he pondered what made his character so fascinating. “I liked Dickie’s darker side,” Law said , “but there’s also a bravado to him and a kind of boldness that’s enviable. He’s always out doing what he wants to do and expects that everyone else is doing the same. That’s enviable but painful, too. He’s selfish.”

Watching the movie now is additionally poignant. Back then, Jude Law seemed like Dickie — a vibrant, carefree young man luxuriating in his own effortless gorgeousness. Today, though, the film is a passing glimpse of a star with everything in front of him, the quick descent just around the corner. Dickie is doomed in The Talented Mr. Ripley — he has no idea what’s coming. Law didn’t, either.

Further Viewing

Skipping past the obvious Jude Law highlights, here are three personal favorites that I think show his range — and, occasionally, his sense of humor:

I Heart Huckabees (2004). David O. Russell’s existential screwball comedy made excellent use of Law’s smiling sliminess. He plays Brad, the Brad-iest corporate executive imaginable: a soulless PR executive at a big-box store who tries to co-opt an earnest environmentalist (Jason Schwartzman) in order to acquire some marshlands for development. But Brad’s polished demeanor is about to get wrecked by a couple of unconventional detectives (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin), who hit him with a heavy question: “How am I not myself?” Law is great as this empty nobody in a nice suit.

Spy (2015). As Fine, the smooth-talking agent in Paul Feig’s action-comedy, Law does a James Bond riff that makes playful fun of the fact that he’s almost too Ken Doll-perfect in the role: He’s got the swagger, he’s got the style, he’s got the looks. Opposite Melissa McCarthy, whose Susan is his handler (and also secretly in love with him), Law gives us an unobtainable dreamboat who, spoiler alert, is too good to be true. He’s never been more wonderfully snide than he is here.

The Nest (2020). One of my favorite films at this year’s Sundance was writer-director Sean Durkin ’s deeply unsettling domestic drama about a family (led by Law’s investment broker) who move from the States to England so he can pursue a lucrative job opportunity. Not exactly a horror movie or a thriller, The Nest watches as this husband and his wife ( Carrie Coon ) start to unravel — primarily because he isn’t telling her everything about his precarious work situation. Wanna watch Law’s handsome shell implode? This movie, which IFC Films will hopefully release later this year , is the actor at his phony best.

Tim Grierson

Tim Grierson is a contributing editor at MEL. He writes about film and pop culture for Screen International, Rolling Stone and Vulture.

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Tom Cruise’s Best Performance Was in His Worst Movie

Tom Cruise's over-the-top rocker was the best part of this musical.

The Big Picture

• Tom Cruise shines in critically-panned Rock of Ages , stealing the show with his Stacee Jaxx role despite the movie's failure.
• His performance of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "I Want to Know What Love Is" is energetic, entertaining, and unmissable.
• Cruise's portrayal of Jaxx, channeling Axl Rose and Steven Tyler, adds a colorful charm that sadly fizzles out in the movie's second half.

Hollywood giant Tom Cruise already has his name down as a legendary actor. His career has spanned four decades, and in that time, he has spoiled us with some stellar performances and iconic characters. From the ass-kicking action hero Ethan Hunt to the outburst-prone studio executive Les Grossman, Cruise has understandably amassed a colossal amount of fans over the years. However, one of his best performances was actually in one of his most critically-panned movies. Not only that, it was also a rare box-office bomb for him.

The 2012 Adam Shankman movie Rock of Ages , adapted from the Broadway musical, boasted an all-star cast that included Catherine Zeta-Jones , Paul Giamatti , Russell Brand , Alec Baldwin , and Bryan Cranston . Despite the impressive names attached, it was met with a negative reception, even from the creators of the original Broadway show themselves. Cruise, however, was widely acclaimed for his small, but memorable role with many agreeing he was the only high point. He plays a boozed-up rock star lavishly named Stacee Jaxx , and he completely steals the movie despite not having a huge amount of screen time. He makes the absolute most of every second though.

Rock of Ages

A small-town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.

Tom Cruise Gave an Electric Performance in 'Rock of Ages'

Though the movie may have bombed, Cruise looks like he’s having the time of his life onstage. He perfectly mimics the live performances of a rock band frontman in the 1980s . From the way he pulls out audience members, points at his bandmates, and bellows out the lyrics at the top of his lungs, he's a joy to behold. An undeniable highlight is his rendition of Def Leppard ’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” This is one of the movie’s most energetic sequences, and it is all thanks to the way Cruise carries himself throughout the song. Beginning with a crowd-interactive “Huh! Hey!” before flailing about the stage wildly and belting out some genuinely impressive vocals, Cruise channels Def Leppard’s lead singer Joe Elliot to unleash a beast of a performance. It is a real challenge to get through the scene without head-banging along with Cruise’s infectious vitality .

The movie teases Jaxx’s appearance for a while. His roaring vocals kick the movie off with Guns N’ Roses ’ “Paradise City” and aside from a very brief appearance, he does not properly appear until 43 minutes in. When he finally comes into the picture, one of his first scenes sees him going on a long, senseless monologue about a “fire phoenix,” much to the confusion of Baldwin's Dennis Dupree. None of the other characters really know how to act around Jaxx, aside from Giamatti who plays his long-suffering manager . The near-constant intoxication of Jaxx makes him unpredictable, and there are moments where his personality shifts suddenly into sincerity.

Tom Cruise’s Only Western Is Old Fashioned Romance at Its Best

Although it would be a stretch to call Jaxx a well-developed character, the biggest insight we get into his life comes through Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive,” which Jaxx sings to answer what it is really like to be him. Cruise is effortlessly cool as he walks with a swagger through the backstage area , and the lyrics to the song genuinely provide an interesting perspective on the real Stacee Jaxx. As he swings from the ceiling and gets mauled by groupies, it is interesting to notice the look of disinterest on his face. Notable lines such as “It’s all the same, only the names will change” and “I drive all night just to get back home” imply a more sensitive side to Jaxx, which the movie never fully uncovers. As soon as the song finishes though, Jaxx goes back to his more typical scatterbrained behavior, but it does suggest it may all be a front to protect the image he has built for himself .

'Rock of Ages' Stands Out In Tom Cruise's Filmography

As electrifying as Cruise is onstage , he is just as terrific when he performs Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” as a duet with Malin Akerman . In a risqué rendition of the power ballad, Cruise relaxes his rock vocals in favor of more tender vocals, but impresses equally. Akerman — who is another bright spark in the movie —impresses also, and together they add humor to the song by providing it with just the right amount of raunchiness and ridiculousness. They both have such great chemistry with each other too, it is a shame that the movie brushes them aside too soon. There is really only a portion of the running time dedicated to Stacee Jaxx from around the 40-minute mark to the 75-minute mark. Other than this, he only makes sporadic appearances, and the movie suffers greatly because of this. It is a lengthy movie at 136 minutes, and the absence of Jaxx in the second half really brings it down . No one else is able to come anywhere close to Cruise’s level of enthusiasm and energy.

For the role, Cruise handpicks the more extreme sides of real-life rock stars Axl Rose and Steven Tyler , and it pays off wonderfully. Cruise’s transformation into the rock god is seamless. He is almost unrecognizable with his long, straightened brown hair, leather pants and large tattoos scattered over his muscular physique. True to the 1980s glam rock era , Jaxx is shirtless for practically all of his scenes too. The movie wastes him hugely by having him completely fizzle out of the story. He does make a return for the final performance, where we are treated to him bellowing out a section of the Journey mega-hit “Don’t Stop Believin’”, but his presence is sorely missed, and his absence is also painfully obvious. In Cruise’s long career, Rock of Ages does not hold a candle to a large chunk of his filmography, but he pours his heart and soul into his performance and makes the movie a lot more entertaining for it.

Rock of Ages is now available to rent on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

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All of The Fall Guy 's Crazy Cameos and Action-Movie Easter Eggs Explained

From Tom Cruise references to a special post-credits cameo, find out all the easter eggs in 'The Fall Guy'

Eric Laciste/Universal Pictures; ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Fans of action-packed cinema have plenty to feast their eyes and ears on in Ryan Gosling ’s The Fall Guy .

Loosely based on the 1980s TV series of the same name about a stunt man played by Lee Majors , the film comes from director David Leitch , who was involved in such pulse-pounding hits as John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train . 

With a script from Drew Pearce ( Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation ) and costarring action regulars Emily Blunt , Winston Duke and Aaron Taylor-Johnson , The Fall Guy honors and showcases the best of the stunt community — “ the heroes on screen ,” as Gosling, 43, recently told PEOPLE. 

It also pays homage to similar action films and stars that have come before. Read on for the cinematic references, easter eggs and starry cameos that audiences won’t want to miss. 

It seems inconceivable to make a movie centering stunt work without mentioning a trailblazer of the art form: Tom Cruise . The Top Gun star has made a name for himself doing the kinds of death-defying acts that most A-listers leave to their stunt doubles. In his Mission Impossible franchise, he has jumped from alarming heights, hung onto the outside of airplanes and driven motorcycles off cliffs .

As both an all-around fan of moviemaking magic and a vocal proponent of practical effects, Cruise’s name had to make an appearance in The Fall Guy . Gosling’s stunt double character Colt Seavers, as he’s joining the set of movie-within-a-movie Metalstorm , has his face and body copied by deepfake technology. He quips that he’d like Cruise’s face transposed onto his own.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

The Fall Guy ’s top scene-stealer isn’t Gosling, Blunt or even Stephanie Hsu or Hannah Waddingham . It’s Jean-Claude Van Damme — not the martial artist who starred in countless action classics, but a loyal dog with that name.

So loyal is the Kelpie pooch, in fact, that he seems to converse with Hsu and Gosling’s characters and obey their commands. The catch is that such commands must be in French, a winking nod to Van Damme’s primary language. (The Belgian actor also speaks Dutch and English.) 

The canine sidekick is also a salute to a dearly departed pet of Gosling’s partner Eva Mendes . “Eva used to have a dog named Hugo who was a Belgian Malinois who was an attack dog," he revealed in March. "He only spoke French. He’s passed now, so this is my homage to him."

Universal Studios

Stunt-heavy movies and series

Leitch’s movie doesn’t take place in the 1980s, but its rock-and-roll-inflected music and macho vibes channel that era’s most action-packed properties.

Audiences don’t have to look closely to find echoes of Magnum P.I., The A-Team, Miami Vice and, of course, The Fall Guy . And trailblazing action A-listers like Arnold Schwarzenegger , Sylvester Stallone , Jackie Chan or Chuck Norris would surely nod in approval of the impressively choreographed fight moves and stunts from Fall Guy ’s second unit director and stunt designer Chris O’Hara. 

Fans of Burt Reynolds , who was no stranger to action fare, will see his influence too. The director-star’s 1981 movie Sharky's Machine includes a yet-to-be-topped record: the highest free-fall movie stunt ever at 220 feet, performed by Dar Robinson. Among Fall Guy ’s death-defying feats is a climactic drop from a helicopter performed by one of Gosling’s doubles, Troy Brown, who broke his own record for longest high fall at 150 feet. (The stunt performer’s father, Bob Brown, was also a high-fall expert.) 

Movie-within-a-movie Metalstorm , directed by Blunt’s character and starring a slew of extras in extraterrestrial get-ups, looks almost convincing enough to deserve its own feature-length treatment. Obvious aesthetic influences on the gold-tinged, post-apocalyptic alien world include Cowboys & Aliens, Mad Max and Dune (its soundtrack is distinctly reminiscent of Denis Villeneuve’s Arrakis). 

Per The Fall Guy ’s distributor Universal Pictures, its inspiration came from a little-known box office flop from 1983 also from the studio: Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn .

Note: Spoilers for The Fall Guy ahead.

Eric Laciste/Universal Pictures

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Jason Momoa

A late twist in The Fall Guy involves Taylor-Johnson’s movie star character needing to be replaced on Metalstorm . Who should step in but Aquaman himself? 

With brief screen time for a cameo, Jason Momoa manages to both ham it up and show off some impressive combat skills, slinging extraterrestrial guns, swinging the character’s gold cape and delivering inspiring speeches with panache. 

Lee Majors and Heather Thomas

Fans of the 1980s Fall Guy series are in for a treat at the cinema: original stars Majors and Heather Thomas are given a grand cinematic entrance in a mid-credits cameo that serves as a satisfying payoff.

Ruby Wallau/Getty; Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage

In Glen A. Larson’s five-season show, both actors played Hollywood stunt performers who moonlight as bounty hunters. Its hit theme song, "Unknown Stuntman," was sung by Majors himself. ( The Fall Guy film updates the song with a new cover from none other than Blake Shelton .) Fun fact: the 1981 GMC K-2500 Wideside that the series made famous also appears in Leitch’s movie.

There’s one more homage to Majors in one of the film’s wild fight scenes. When Gosling pushes away a goon, the sound effect audiences can hear is the same as one in The Six Million Dollar Man , another TV hit starring Majors.

Related Articles

Screen Rant

Dwayne johnson & tom cruise want to team up in an action movie.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Tom Cruise, two of the world's biggest action stars, want to join forces on an action movie in the future.

Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise are both interested in teaming up for a future film. The box office used to be run by movie stars who would draw in audiences regardless of the property. The current Hollywood system and audience tendencies favor IPs and franchises over who is starring, although having a recognizable name and face can help. One of the last few true movie stars is Cruise, who remains a box office draw. Even a film like  The Mummy that received bad reviews still performed well overseas thanks to Cruise's box office clout.

If there is another movie star in this same fashion, it may just be Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. He's turned otherwise ridiculous films into massive hits at the box office on his own. But, when he's attached to a franchise name, the box office receipts go through the roof - like with  Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle . Somehow though, the two men haven't shared the screen - but they're open to it.

Related:  Mission: Impossible - Fallout May Have Franchise's Biggest Opening

Tom Cruise was asked by  ET Canada about a potential team-up with The Rock on the big screen. He says he'd be interested in the idea and couldn't stop saying how fun it could be. Johnson then chimed in on Twitter , teasing his desire to make it happen, while promising the only people who would have more fun then them on set would be the viewers.

One of the keys to Cruise's continued success is his daredevil nature and insistence on doing his own stunt work. This has especially made the  Mission: Impossible franchise something special in recent entries, and the reactions to  Mission: Impossible - Fallout are hyping some of his most insane stunts so far. Even with the injuries suffered during the latest installment, Cruise shows no signs of wanting to slow down .

If Johnson and Cruise are going to make a team-up happen, one of the dozens of projects Johnson has in development could be put to use. They're reportedly looking for another male lead in Johnson's  Red Notice , where Cruise could also team up with Gal Gadot , giving the movie three of the most popular names in the industry. Cruise could also add more star power to  San Andreas 2 should that ever happen, or even dive into a comic book role for  Black Adam .

A Johnson/Cruise movie would instantly be one of the biggest films Hollywood has in development, but it may just come down to how badly both actors want it to happen. Both are not only mega stars, but they're also heavily involved in the developmental process on their movies. They're frequently producers on their respective films, so they have even more say than the typical movie star. At the end of the day, as long as both actors remain in high demand, it'll hopefully just be a matter of time before they can star in a movie together.

MORE: Dwayne Johnson Addresses Tyrese Gibson Fast & Furious Feud

Source:  Dwayne Johnson

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Why Tom Cruise, Khloe Kardashian, Chris Rock & 6 other celebs are moving to Dayton

• 10 out-of-town concerts that are worth the drive
• Happy birthday Justin Bieber!
• 50 things to do in Dayton in March

If you're anything like me, you've heard by now that Tom Cruise is moving to the area.

Well, he’s not.

the world’s “premiere fantasy news site” (whatever the hell that means), is spreading the

lie that the Top Gun actor is moving to Oxford.

Again, he's not.

Come on folks, not everything you read on the Information Superhighway is true.

Here's part of the lie:

"In a surprise to everyone in Hollywood and certainly everyone in Oxford, Tom Cruise announced today in an interview with People Magazine that he was 'tired of the Hollywood lifestyle' and that he wanted to 'live in a place where people were people and whose sincerity you didn't have to question.'  He recently visited Oxford while scouting out a film location with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and, according to Bruckheimer, 'Tom immediately fell in love with the relaxed lifestyle and the tranquil beauty of the surrounding countryside and was telling everyone that he was going to move there.'"

The site also has the A-lister moving to Maryville, Tennessee and Indianola, Iowa.

Cruise is not the only star the site says is surprising Hollywood by leaving it in the dust.

Singer Katy Perry evidentially likes cows and chicken so much that she’s moving to Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Justin Bieber likes them, too. (By the way, happy birthday, Biebs !)

JB gives the exact same quote about cows and chickens in Sandy Oregon that Katy gave about them in Rock Hill.

"'I want a farm, I want cows, I want chickens!' Justin told Us Weekly with an excited laugh. 'I'm not giving up my career, I just want to move to a place that feels so different than what I've been used the last several years of my life. For me, that place is Sandy, Oregon.'"

They don't want cows or chickens.

That’s some crazy clickbait there, McKenzie Post.

Then again, maybe they are onto something.

How about these rumors for your brain:

• Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is moving to Springboro because it has great garage sales.
•  Leonardo Di Caprio i s going to sell shells in the Oregon District.
• Tom Cruise is not moving to Oxford until he sells his bungalow  in Belmont.
• Comedian Chris Rock is moving Yellow Springs to pursue an underwater basket weaving degree at Antioch Mcgregor.
• Liam Hemsworth Is moving to Lima for obvious reasons.
• Rihanna just bought a house in Riverside. Bring her an underwater welcome basket.
• Halle Berry just invested in a Huber Heights movie theater. It will not sell popcorn.
• Khloe Kardashian i s moving to Clayton to get away from Kanye West.
• Miley Cyrus plans to enroll in the Miami Valley School even though she's too old for prom.

About the Author

Community Impact Editor Amelia Robinson is an award-winning columnist, features writer and podcast host. The Ohio University graduates work has appeared in the Dayton Daily News since 2000.

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'He's Still Kryptonite': Tom Cruise Avoiding Will Smith Months After Chris Rock Oscars Slap

Dec. 16 2022, Published 5:00 a.m. ET

The tide finally turned for Will Smith — after that slap — as his new film Emancipation continues collecting more and more kudos. But there's one old pal who hasn't been quick to rally around the embattled Oscar winner, and that's Tom Cruise , RadarOnline.com has learned.

"Will has approached Tom several times, trying to reconnect and see if they can hang out and brainstorm on some projects together," a source spilled. "A solid movie with Tom would guarantee Will's comeback, or so he thinks. Will has even offered to fly to London if that's more convenient, but Tom isn't biting and doesn't even write him back."

The Top Gun: Maverick actor, 60, has some sympathy for what Will, 54, has been through, but that doesn't mean Tom is going to "be stupid enough to put his neck on the line and be dragged down by association," the source added.

But it's not just Will who Tom wants to avoid.

"Tom is still very wary of any Hollywood friendships. He likes his reclusive lifestyle in the United Kingdom," the insider revealed, adding, "He doesn't want to get sucked back into the Hollywood scene — especially by way of Will Smith. He's still kryptonite."

RadarOnline.com has reached out to Tom for comment.

• Tom Cruise 'Not Returning' Ex-Pal Will Smith's Calls As Embattled Star Tries To Revive Career After Oscars Slap: Sources
• Battle Of The Heartthrobs! Tom Cruise 'Blames' Golden Globes Snub On Old Pal Brad Pitt: Sources
• Tom Cruise ‘Schmoozing’ Hollywood To Snag Oscar For ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Will slapped Chris Rock during the live broadcast of the Academy Awards in March. He eventually took ownership of his behavior, admitting he should have never let his emotions get the best of him after the comedian made a G.I. Joe joke directed at the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett , who has been battling alopecia.

As RadarOnline.com reported, Will jumped on the stage and struck Chris in front of Hollywood's most elite before going back to his seat and continuing to shout obscenities.

"Keep my wife's name out your f------ mouth," Will screamed as Chris stood there horrified.

While the Men In Black actor owned up to his behavior, Chris is still holding a grudge. Sources told this outlet that the Grown-Ups star was "angry" and had "mixed feelings" about Will's apology.

Chris is a good guy. Like everyone that saw Will's apology , he had mixed feelings," insiders spilled in August. "Part of him felt sorry for Will and another part of him felt angry that Will was making himself out to be the victim."

While Will has continued to bring up the Oscars slap time and time again, Chris has chosen to avoid giving it attention, using the assault only as ammo in his stand-up material.

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Famous People with Dyslexia, Dyscalculia & Other Learning Differences

The list of famous people with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other learning differences is as impressive as it is long. celebrities ranging from tom holland and jennifer aniston to keanu reeves and chris rock attribute their creative successes, in part, to the resilience and perseverance they developed to overcome challenges in the classroom and in life..

Gwen Stefani

Singer with dyslexia.

At 17, Gwen Stefani became lead vocalist and co-founder of No Doubt, a Southern California alt-rock band that dominated the airwaves in the mid-90s with its ska-punk-infused sound. In 2004, her first solo album struck gold with radio hits like “Hollaback Girl” and “What Are You Waiting For,” cementing her status as a powerhouse singer-songwriter.

In the last 20 years, the Grammy Award winner and mother of three has joined the cast of NBC’s The Voice as a judge; launched fashion (L.A.M.B.) and makeup (GXVE Beauty) lines; created Kuu Kuu Harajuku, an animated television series; and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It was when she began helping her children with their dyslexia that she recognized her own. “I don’t think people really know this about me because I didn’t know, but I had dyslexia growing up,” she told Variety . “I had a learning challenge in school; l hid myself in so many ways. I don’t know how I even got through school — I barely graduated. I tried as hard as I could, but I learned differently. It took me extra work just to learn what everyone else was learning easily.”

Stefani called dyslexia a “superpower” that helps her solve problems and write songs. At the 2022 New York Women in Communications’ 52nd Annual Matrix Awards , she told the audience that “the dyslexic advantage has probably made me who I am.”

[ Take the Self-Test: Could I Have Dyslexia? ]

Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns/Getty Images

Tom Holland

Actor with dyslexia.

Anchor of the Spiderman franchise since age 19, Tom Holland made his superhero debut in Captain America: Civil War and has appeared in blockbusters including The Impossible, Uncharted, and the animated film Spies in Disguise alongside Will Smith. The English actor appeared in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list and has won accolades including a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, and a Guinness World Record.

Following his dyslexia diagnosis at age 7, Holland enrolled in a private school. But, even today, he’s the target of criticism for spelling and grammar mistakes on social media, where he has 7.4 million Twitter followers.

When asked how he perseveres and learns the skills to succeed in his career, Holland said he utilizes patience and preparation.

“It’s just about taking your time… giving yourself an appropriate amount of time to do the things you need to do,” Holland told 11-year-old YouTuber Jazlyn Guerra in 2021. “The better prepared you are for anything, the more you’ll be able to do and accomplish things that are fantastic.”

Photo by Gage Skidmore

Jennifer Aniston

Actor and producer with dyslexia.

Known far and wide for her role as Rachel in the television show Friends , Aniston started acting at a young age and has earned practically every award imaginable, including a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe.

Aniston opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about her dyslexia — a diagnosis she received in her 20s after seeking out a prescription for glasses.

“I had to read a paragraph, and they gave me a quiz, gave me 10 questions based on what I’d just read, and I think I got three right,” Aniston said. “Then they put a computer on my eyes, showing where my eyes went when I read. My eyes would jump four words and go back two words, and I also had a little bit of a lazy eye, like a crossed eye, which they always have to correct in photos.”

“I thought I wasn’t smart. I just couldn’t retain anything. Now I had this great discovery. I felt like all of my childhood traumas, tragedies, dramas were explained.”

Photo by Dave Mathews

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Keanu Reeves

Actor, philanthropist, and publisher with dyslexia.

Keanu Reeves spent much of his childhood pretending. While imagination no doubt benefited the actor of the Matrix franchise, Point Break, John Wick, and other films, Reeves wasn’t pretending to improve his acting chops but to fit in.

Reeves was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child. The traditional school setting became a formidable challenge over time, and he eventually dropped out of high school. But Reeves parlayed his love of stories into a career acting in them.

In a 2017 Esquire article, Reeves was described as a “voracious reader.” In the article, Reeves attributes his love of learning and reading to his step-grandfather who worked for Encyclopedia Britannica. “In my room, I would just open them up. There was a curiosity there. I really enjoyed it,” he said.

Outside of his acting career, Reeves has founded a private cancer foundation, which aids children's hospitals and provides cancer research; a book publisher, X Artists’ Books (XAB); and Arch Motorcycle Company, a custom-motorcycle manufacturer.

Photo by GabboT

Salma Hayek

Actor, director, and producer with dyslexia.

At age 25, Salma Hayek left her home in Mexico to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. However, learning a new language wasn’t her only hurdle. As a teenager, Hayek was diagnosed with dyslexia — a learning difference that did not prevent her from becoming an acclaimed actor, director, and producer famous for her portrayal of painter Frida Kahlo in Frida , and Ajak in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals .

“I'm really a fast learner. I always was, which is maybe why in high school they didn't realize I had dyslexia. I skipped years without studying too much,” Hayek told WebMD Magazine in a 2009 article by Gina Shaw.

“[The dyslexia] doesn’t bother me now,” she said. “Some people read really fast, but you’ll ask them questions about the script, and they’ll forget. I take a long time to read a script, but I read it only once.”

Comedian with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder

Emmy and Grammy award-winner Chris Rock launched his comedy career as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and has since written, produced, and starred in movies and comedy specials. In 2022, he kicked off his stand-up Ego Death World Tou r after a memorable appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony.

In 2020, Rock discussed his non-verbal learning disorder (NLD) with The Hollywood Reporter , saying that he can take things “too literally” and has an “all-or-nothing” thought process.

“I’d always just chalked it up to being famous,” Rock said . “Any time someone would negatively respond to me, I’d think, 'Whatever, they’re responding to something that has to do with who they think I am.' Now, I realize it was me. A lot of it was me.”

Rock proudly links to nvld.org from his Twitter bio. NLD is believed to be as prevalent as dyslexia and is often misdiagnosed or confused for ADHD . Though there is much more to learn about NLD, treatments for children include social-emotional learning, executive function training, and physical therapy.

Photo by Mo Riza

Actor, Producer, Philanthropist with Dyslexia

Perhaps most famous for his portrayal of fighter pilot Maverick in the Top Gun franchise, Tom Cruise began his unrivaled Hollywood career at age 19, but not without setbacks. The actor showed signs of dyslexia in grade school and once described himself as “a functional illiterate.” According to Cruise , he finally learned to read as an adult through a learning method developed by L. Ron Hubbard called Study Technology.

“I loved learning, I wanted to learn, but I knew I had failed in the system,” Cruise said . “Like many people, though, I had figured out how to get through it. I did the same thing when I moved to New York, and Los Angeles to become an actor.”

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder associated with “difficulty with spelling and word recognition,” according to Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D. “Symptoms of dyslexia vary from difficulty breaking down words into syllables to trouble with the accuracy, fluency, and comprehension of the material being read.”

According to the International Dyslexia Association , up to 20% of the population may have symptoms of dyslexia.

[ Free Guide: 19 Symptoms of Adult Dyslexia ]

Daniel Radcliffe

Actor with dyspraxia.

Daniel Radcliffe is an English actor best known for his portrayal of Harry Potter in the film franchise that began when he was only 12 years old.

The beloved on-screen wizard has been a source of hope and encouragement in real life for people like him living with dyspraxia, a neurological disorder that affects fine and/or gross motor skills. Up to 50% of children with dyspraxia also have ADHD.

“It has never held me back, and some of the smartest people I know are people who have learning disabilities,” Radcliffe said . “The fact that some things are more of a struggle will only make you more determined, harder working, and more imaginative in the solutions you find to problems.”

In 2022, Radcliffe starred in The Lost City alongside Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, who has dyslexia.

Photo by Dave Catchpole

[ Self-Test: Dyspraxia Symptoms in Children ]

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, star of the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer , is celebrating his first major leading role in an American television series. Garcia-Rulfo, who plays Mickey Haller in the adaption of Michael Connelly’s crime novel, has said his dyslexia complicated his approach to learning his lines in English, his second language.

“I bought a blackboard and put it in my apartment and — it was crazy — I made mental maps with images, drawings,” Rulfo said . “I did it for every scene. If there was a gun, I drew a gun. It’s easier for me to learn that way.”

Dyslexia affects approximately 20% of the population and often co-occurs with other conditions. Adults with dyslexia are entitled to reasonable accommodations in the workplace under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Photo by Gordon Correll

[ Your Rights to ADHD Accommodations at Work ]

Singer, Actor with Dyscalculia

Grammy-winning singer and Oscar-winning actress Cher has said that her struggles with dyscalculia (a math learning disorder) and dyslexia led her to drop out of school as a teenager.

“I couldn’t read quickly enough to get all my homework done and, for me, math was like trying to understand Sanskrit,” Cher wrote in her autobiography The First Time . “Almost everything I learned, I had to learn by listening. My report cards always said I was not living up to my potential.”

The iconic performer has amassed many awards including a Primetime Emmy, GLAAD Media Award, Guinness Book of World Records title as the oldest female solo artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the song “Believe.”

She recently collaborated with fashion brand Versace on a limited-edition line to raise funds for gender-diverse children and communities. Cher got her start in the music industry as half of Sonny and Cher , the duo that exploded in the 1960s with the pop hit, “I Got You, Babe.”

When asked if she would turn back time and change these learning differences if she could, Cher said, “No! It caused pain, but it’s me!”

[ Click to Read: Unlocking the Potential of Gifted Kids with ADHD ]

NFL Player with Dyslexia

Two-time NCAA National Champion and ESPN broadcaster Tim Tebow was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 7. Dyslexia tends to run in families; Tebow’s father and brother also have the learning disorder.

Tebow never viewed his learning difference as a handicap. “It [dyslexia] has to do with finding out how you learn,” he said . In Tebow’s case, he made flashcards of football plays as a way around struggling to try and read the whole playbook.

Tebow openly shared his dyslexia diagnosis with New York Jets couch Rex Ryan, who was diagnosed with the learning difference in adulthood.

“I don't think it makes me respect him more, because I respect Coach Ryan a lot," Tebow said in 2012. "What it does is just show that learning disabilities, especially dyslexia, have nothing to do with how smart or intelligent someone is. Because there are not many minds in the NFL that are as bright or as sharp or as flexible as coach Ryan's."

Photo by Naval Surface Warriors

Octavia Spencer

Actor, author with dyslexia.

Academy Award and a Golden Globe-winning actor Octavia Spencer began her career in the 1990s, but she dominated the spotlight in 2011 with her role in The Help . Spencer currently plays Poppy Parnell in the Apple TV+ series Truth Be Told , which has been renewed for its third season.

“I was a dyslexic child and am a dyslexic adult; that doesn’t really mean that you’re not intelligent — it just means that your brain functions differently,” Spencer said . “I was actually tested for the gifted program in my school because I was more auditorily inclined than visually.”

Learning disorders are not linked to low intelligence . Many children with learning differences are gifted, or twice exceptional (2e) .

Spencer is the author of the Ninja Detective book series and recently partnered with ID and Discovery+ to develop a slew of true-crime projects. She credits her path to success to her mom, who kept her grounded as a child.

Photo by Walt Disney Television

Amanda Gorman

Poet with auditory processing disorder and speech articulation issues.

Amanda Gorman is the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate. At age 22, she became the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, reading her poem, "The Hill We Climb" during President Biden's inauguration.

Her family revealed in a 2018 interview that Gorman was diagnosed with auditory processing disorder and a speech impediment as a young child.

“She had trouble expressing herself,” Gorman's mother said in an interview with Understood. “But she was always advanced in her thought.”

In a 2021 episode of The Oprah Conversation , Gorman spoke to Oprah Winfrey about her diagnoses:

"I was born early, along with my twin. A lot of times, for infants, that can lead to learning delays," Gorman said. "One of my delays was in speech and speech pronunciation.”

“The auditory processing issue just means I really struggle as an auditory learner," she continued.

“R” sounds in particular challenged Gorman the most. “It is one of the most complex letters in the English alphabet. That was something that I would struggle with until probably 20 years of age," she said.

Gorman credits her speech impediment for making her stronger as a writer.

“When you have to teach yourself how to say words from scratch – when you are learning through poetry how to speak English – it lent itself to a great understanding, I think, of sound, of pitch, of pronunciation,” she said. “I think of my speech impediment not as a weakness or a disability, but as one of my greatest strengths.”

[ Take the Self-Test: Could I Have Auditory Processing Disorder? ]

Photo by Carlos M. Vazquez II/U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

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Tom Cruise Doesn't Really Do Sequels Very Often, But There's Apparently One Movie His Co-Star Was Shocked Didn't Get A Follow-up

U nless we are talking about Mission: Impossible – M:I 8 is currently filming or the long-delayed Top Gun: Maverick –Tom Cruise isn’t known for making very many sequels to his flicks. But, according to one former cast member, there is one film in his oeuvre that he is shocked never got a follow-up. The former cast member in question is Christian Slater, who co-starred along with Cruise and Brad Pitt in one of the best films of the 90s , the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel Interview With The Vampire . According to the Heathers alum, he’s shocked that he and the Risky Business star never got a second bite at the neck, playing a vampire in a sequel.

Christian Slater Reflects on The Missed Sequel Opportunity

It's hard to believe it's been nearly three decades–the movie turns 30 this year–since we were first mesmerized by one of the most iconic vampire performances on screen. In an interview shared on Comicbook.com’s Chris Killian’s Instagram , Christian Slater discussed how he and Cruise were reflecting on the project. The pair expressed a mutual astonishment over the movie's lack of a sequel despite their roles becoming fan favorites. He recounted:

Tom Cruise and I were both surprised that Interview With The Vampire didn’t get a sequel. You know, that would have been fun. Uh, I mean, he did bite me at the end of that thing.

For my money, even three decades since its release, Interview With The Vampire is still one of the best vampire movies ever committed to celluloid. Upon release, it was a critical and financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing R-rated horror films of 1994, and grew to become a goth cult favorite. Not to mention, it introduced the broader world to actress Kirsten Dunst, a role Cruise helped the young actress secure thanks to some very practical advice.

The Enduring Legacy of 'Interview With the Vampire'

Tom Cruise's electrifying turn as the vampire Lestat was central to the film’s success. Initially, Anne Rice, the source material's author, hated Cruise’s casting in the role. However, his performance won her over and helped cement the film's place in cinematic history. Despite this success and the buzz around it, plans to continue Lestat's story with Cruise in a sequel never came to fruition. While the potential for a direct follow-up to this beloved film sparked plenty of discussions, ultimately, those plans remained just out of reach, leaving fans to wonder what might have been.

There was anticipation over a sequel starring the Top Gun A-lister, yet various factors, including rights issues, changes in production companies, and creative decisions, led to a different path for the book to screen adaptations of Rice's novels.

The next film in the series, Queen of the Damned, starring the late singer and actress Aaliyah , was released in 2002, but it did not involve Tom Cruise. Instead, Stuart Townsend took over the role of Lestat. The film combined elements from the second and third books of Rice's series, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned . Still, it diverged significantly from the source material and did not continue directly from where Interview left off.

Interview With The Vampire is enjoying a second adaptation and return to screens as a television series, which is gearing up for its second season on AMC .

The Possibility Of A Sequel With Cruise

The ending of Interview with the Vampire set the stage perfectly for a sequel. It left audiences reeling from its final twist and introduced a new narrative thread with Daniel, the San Francisco reporter who becomes enthralled with Louis's tale of the undead. As Christian Slater hinted in the recent interview, the setup was ideal for a follow-up. Yet, despite the ripe storytelling potential, a direct continuation wasn't in the cards. Could a sequel with Cruise still happen? As the interviewers and Slater point out, Tom Cruise barely looks like he's aged since the last time he put on the Vampire Lestat's fangs. So, never say never.

Christian Slater's most recent work, another book adaptation, the series The Spiderwick Chronicles , is available now for free on The Roku Channel . Be sure to check out our 2024 movie schedule to see what upcoming horror movies are heading to a screen near you.

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Tom Cruise Movies List

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Endless Love (1981)

R | 116 min | Drama, Romance

Parental disapproval of a passionate romance between two teenagers leads to arguments, circumstance, insanity and tragedy.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Brooke Shields , Martin Hewitt , Shirley Knight , Don Murray

Votes: 9,580 | Gross: $31.18M

2. Taps (I) (1981)

PG | 126 min | Drama

Military cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Director: Harold Becker | Stars: George C. Scott , Timothy Hutton , Ronny Cox , Sean Penn

Votes: 20,104 | Gross: $35.86M

3. The Outsiders (1983)

PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama

In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell , Matt Dillon , Ralph Macchio , Patrick Swayze

Votes: 97,615 | Gross: $25.60M

4. Losin' It (1982)

R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jackie Earle Haley , John Stockwell , John P. Navin Jr.

Votes: 5,231 | Gross: $1.25M

5. All the Right Moves (1983)

R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.

Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Lea Thompson , Craig T. Nelson , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,403 | Gross: $17.23M

6. Risky Business (1983)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.

Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca De Mornay , Joe Pantoliano , Richard Masur

Votes: 99,897 | Gross: $63.50M

7. Legend (1985)

PG | 94 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Mia Sara , Tim Curry , David Bennent

Votes: 72,520 | Gross: $15.50M

8. Top Gun (1986)

PG | 109 min | Action, Drama

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Tim Robbins , Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer

Votes: 502,934 | Gross: $179.80M

9. The Color of Money (1986)

R | 119 min | Drama, Sport

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman , Tom Cruise , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Helen Shaver

Votes: 93,311 | Gross: $52.29M

10. Cocktail (1988)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.

Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Brown , Elisabeth Shue , Lisa Banes

Votes: 91,917 | Gross: $78.22M

11. Rain Man (1988)

R | 133 min | Drama

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino , Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 546,840 | Gross: $178.80M

12. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

The biography of Ron Kovic . Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Larkin , Raymond J. Barry , Caroline Kava

Votes: 116,014 | Gross: $70.00M

13. Days of Thunder (1990)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sport

A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Robert Duvall , Randy Quaid

Votes: 96,453 | Gross: $82.67M

14. A Few Good Men (1992)

R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller

Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore , Kevin Bacon

Votes: 287,513 | Gross: $141.34M

15. The Firm (1993)

R | 154 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeanne Tripplehorn , Gene Hackman , Hal Holbrook

Votes: 147,767 | Gross: $158.35M

16. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt , Tom Cruise , Antonio Banderas , Kirsten Dunst

Votes: 347,663 | Gross: $105.26M

17. Mission: Impossible (1996)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jon Voight , Emmanuelle Béart , Henry Czerny

Votes: 470,504 | Gross: $180.98M

18. Jerry Maguire (1996)

R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Renée Zellweger , Kelly Preston

Votes: 287,152 | Gross: $153.95M

19. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Todd Field , Sydney Pollack

Votes: 375,366 | Gross: $55.69M

20. Magnolia (1999)

R | 188 min | Drama

An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jason Robards , Julianne Moore , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 328,623 | Gross: $22.46M

21. Mission: Impossible II (2000)

PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Director: John Woo | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dougray Scott , Thandiwe Newton , Ving Rhames

Votes: 377,878 | Gross: $215.41M

22. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001)

Not Rated | 142 min | Documentary, Biography

The career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise .

Director: Jan Harlan | Stars: Katharina Kubrick , Malcolm McDowell , Stanley Kubrick , Barbara Kroner

Votes: 12,208

23. Vanilla Sky (2001)

R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Penélope Cruz , Cameron Diaz , Kurt Russell

Votes: 285,804 | Gross: $100.61M

24. Space Station 3D (2002)

Not Rated | 47 min | Documentary

From outer space countries don't exist.

Director: Toni Myers | Stars: Tom Cruise , James Arnold , Michael J. Bloomfield , Robert D. Cabana

Votes: 1,749 | Gross: $93.37M

25. Minority Report (2002)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Colin Farrell , Samantha Morton , Max von Sydow

Votes: 584,593 | Gross: $132.07M

26. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Upon learning that his father has been kidnapped, Austin Powers must travel to 1975 and defeat the aptly named villain Goldmember, who is working with Dr. Evil.

Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers , Beyoncé , Seth Green , Michael York

Votes: 222,958 | Gross: $213.31M

27. The Last Samurai (2003)

R | 154 min | Action, Drama

Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Ken Watanabe , Billy Connolly , William Atherton

Votes: 471,377 | Gross: $111.11M

28. Collateral (2004)

R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jamie Foxx , Jada Pinkett Smith , Mark Ruffalo

Votes: 433,300 | Gross: $101.01M

29. War of the Worlds (2005)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dakota Fanning , Tim Robbins , Miranda Otto

Votes: 475,452 | Gross: $234.28M

30. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.

Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise , Michelle Monaghan , Ving Rhames , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 390,894 | Gross: $134.03M

31. Lions for Lambs (2007)

R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Tom Cruise , Meryl Streep , Robert Redford , Michael Peña

Votes: 52,724 | Gross: $15.00M

32. Valkyrie (2008)

PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller

A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bill Nighy , Carice van Houten , Kenneth Branagh

Votes: 259,353 | Gross: $83.08M

33. Tropic Thunder (2008)

R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller , Jack Black , Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Kahn

Votes: 448,312 | Gross: $110.52M

34. Knight and Day (2010)

PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cameron Diaz , Peter Sarsgaard , Jordi Mollà

Votes: 210,390 | Gross: $76.42M

35. Takers (2010)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A group of bank robbers find their multi-million dollar plan interrupted by a hard-boiled detective.

Director: John Luessenhop | Stars: Chris Brown , Hayden Christensen , Matt Dillon , Michael Ealy

Votes: 65,797 | Gross: $57.74M

36. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg , Paula Patton

Votes: 528,604 | Gross: $209.40M

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Oprah Winfrey 20th Anniversary Collection 6 disc over 17 hours

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Oprah Winfrey will donate 100% of Harpo's profits from the sale of this DVD Collection to Oprah's Angel Network®.

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• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.56 x 5.63 x 1.73 inches; 1.05 Pounds
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen, NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour
• Release date ‏ : ‎ November 15, 2005
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Oprah Winfrey, Nate Berkus, Gayle King, Chris Rock, Tina Turner
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Paramount
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000B9OI62
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 6
• #82,575 in DVD

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Chris Rock Disses Selena Gomez on Twitter, Basically Calls Her the Poor Man’s Beyonce

Slow down! Chris Rock posted a shady tweet aimed at Selena Gomez , unfavorably comparing her to Beyoncé . On Tuesday, June 7, the Top Five actor, 51, shared a meme that insinuated the “Same Old Love” singer, 23, is the poor man’s version of Queen Bey.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebs Fight Back on Twitter!

The comedian posted a photo of Gomez performing on her Revival Tour, wearing a gold bodysuit reminiscent of Beyoncé’s Formation  world tour wardrobe. The shot was stamped with the following phrase: “when you buy your formation tickets on craigslist.” Rock didn’t write the caption, but he did add his own commentary. “This is true,” he wrote alongside the pic.

This is true. pic.twitter.com/asTKPGaTra — Chris Rock (@chrisrock) June 7, 2016

Not surprisingly, his humor fell flat with diehard Selenators, who were quick to defend their favorite pop princess on social media.

“@chrisrock Selena gomez is better than you shut up,” one fan sassily fired back at Rock, while another wrote: “@chrisrock I hope you feel good about yourself now. A grown man has to slam a young woman to make himself feel better. That’s sad Chris.”

Related: PHOTOS: Biggest Costar Feuds Ever! These Celebrities Can’t Stand Each Other Off-Screen

“@chrisrock if its a joke, its not funny,” another wrote in defense of Gomez. “@selenagomez is a young star and am sure your kids love her. Its just an outfit.”

Rock’s dis of the Disney Channel alum comes as a surprise, given that she graciously met and posed for photos with the Grown Ups star’s young daughters Lola, now 13, and Zahra, now 12, at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards back in 2010.

Related: PHOTOS: See Selena Gomez's Sexiest Styles Through the Years

Regardless of Rock’s rude remark, Gomez feels as though her Revival  tour reflects some of her best work to date.

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“I have never cared about a tour as much as I care about this one. I’ve never worked as hard,” she told Us Weekly during an April interview. “Every day I start with a workout, I do vocal lessons, I do piano lessons. I go on stage and we map out the whole thing.”

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