Strike in Hollywood: Will Tom Cruise (Really) Save Cinema?

Strike in Hollywood: Will Tom Cruise (Really) Save Cinema?



“Maverick” to the rescue

The current strike of writers and actors in the American film industry is a historic event whose impact will be very significant. The causes are many, but among these the economic influence of the big streamers on the Hollywood movement and the use of artificial intelligence stand out. The strikers are in a weak position against the war machines that are the big Hollywood studios. The voice she carries is that of SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, actress and producer best known for the series A nanny from hell. But, in addition, no “official” participation of a huge star in the negotiations had been reported, until today.

In fact, as revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Cruise participated via Zoom together with SAG-AFTRA in the negotiations in early June, before the strike of actors and actresses began. In addition to campaigning for better AI oversight, the actor has also advocated for better stunt support.

And while the AMPTP was the counterparty in these negotiations, Tom Cruise also pleaded with SAG-AFTRA to the promotion of the films and the presence of the teams on the red carpet can continue, in order to revive cinemas still in remission from the Covid episode. A request that, according to a source of The Hollywood Reporter present during these negotiations, “it didn’t make people feel comfortableObviously, what he then undertook in this context did not affect the position of the studios.

The actor in a strong position

In 2022, as we exit the pandemic, Tom Cruise made a phenomenal comeback in his “Maverick” pilot suit. A surprising artistic and commercial performance, which took place when the decline of the superhero genre seemed well underway and inevitable, creatively exhausted and problematic in both production and distribution. In this situation, the desire for realism and the deeply spectacular ambition of Top Gun: nonconformist it was a breath of fresh air. A great event certified by Steven Spielberg himselfwho congratulated Tom Cruise at the 2023 Oscar nominees dinner on Feb. 13:

You saved the cinema!

The superstar of the 80s and 90s has thus passed another level of celebrity with Top Gun: nonconformist. He even became the world’s leading representative of the acting profession at the age of 60, by dint of dead cheat waterfalls and rare but effective statements on his joyful conception of cinema. Today a planetary icon of cinema and legendary star of action films, Tom Cruise is the savior, capable of his image as an actor and his power as a successful producer fold the studies?

A shot to play for Tom Cruise?

The box office falters Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 it’s not the ideal situation. But it’s not catastrophic. On the one hand, it is not attributable only to the film, the release calendar being symptomatic of the ambient confusion, with three big outings and a cannibalistic orgy in 7 days: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, Barbie AND Oppenheimer. On the other hand, Tom Cruise’s films generally enjoy considerable longevity and international success. But the box office of this new work MEDIUM will be hampered by this traffic jam, as well as the current political situation in Hollywood, which prohibits any promotion.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 ©Paramount Pictures

So rather than taking responsibility for a performance that is likely well below expectations, the actor and producer of the saga may just be witness and spokesman of a dramatic global situation. And look like a potential leader of the struggle against the omnipotence of streaming, the excessive use of CGI and artificial intelligence, with all that these developments entail in terms of economic upheaval. Tom Cruise is also directly affected by the strike. Indeed, the filming of Mission: Impossible – The showdown part 2 it was, like the vast majority of films in production paused.

The missing media figure

The main obstacle to Tom Cruise’s active and media participation in the struggle of screenwriters and Hollywood actors and actresses lies perhaps in his ultra-discretion and his refusal, aside from promotion, to appear in the media. Rather cold for twenty years with a sector that hasn’t spared him, he should regain a stronger public and political identity, which he has long ago abandoned.

Endowed with a fortune estimated at over 500 million dollars, Tom Cruise is unaffected by the financial interests that motivate the strikers. As Fran Drescher pointed out in an interview with Varietythe struggle is primarily about the “workers“of Hollywood.

Remember, Tom Cruise and the A-List have their own studio deals. It is not for them that we strike. We are mobilizing for the grassroots worker.

But it is precisely in its quality of Super star that Tom Cruise could weigh into the opposition between the studios and their employees, screenwriters and performers. Since it looks like that studio executives are inclined to let the strike continue until “(the strikers) lose their houses and apartments”thus targeting the “working” class of Hollywood, the intervention of a superstar like Tom Cruise would force them to change discourse and perspective. Also, actor and producer, he is able to play both sides and try to unite the two camps, rather than getting stuck between two chairs. So, wouldn’t a return to the negotiating table for Tom Cruise be the best option to change that?

Source: Cine Serie

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