A luxury car ban, controversial comments, and directors who hate him — Tom Cruise is Hollywood's darling no more.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00A luxury car ban, controversial comments, and directors who hate him, Tom Cruise is
00:06Hollywood's darling no more.
00:09Tom Cruise has been a bona fide heartthrob since sliding onto screens in a pink shirt
00:13and tighty-whities in the 1983 comedy-drama Risky Business.
00:17Since then, he's delivered box office smash hit after smash hit, making him one of the
00:22biggest stars in the world.
00:24However, Cruise's reputation has soured over time, and he's no longer as beloved as he
00:28once was.
00:30With the rise of the tabloids, actors became equally well-known for their off-screen antics
00:34as their on-screen abilities.
00:36For some, that added to their allure.
00:38Cruise?
00:39Not so much.
00:40He unwittingly found himself an object of ridicule and a late-night punchline, providing
00:45a never-ending supply of gossip, front-page headlines, and alleged scandals.
00:50If you had a dollar for every time Cruise has been controversial, you'd be able to dine
00:54out at Nobu every night for a year.
00:57Then there are all the crazy rumors and his slew of wild interviews.
01:01And of course, there's Cruise's involvement in Scientology that's caused ripples throughout
01:05the entertainment world and impacted his dating and personal life.
01:09I think it's a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist."
01:12Still, Cruise remains a firm fan favorite and box office drawl, as each new Mission
01:16Impossible installment continues to bank hundreds of millions of dollars.
01:21So have industry insiders really turned their backs on him?
01:25One of the many perks of A-lister life is the wildly lavish freebies thrown the star's
01:29way.
01:30Elite brands fall over themselves to be associated with the Hollywood jet set, hoping the chosen
01:35few will be snapped flaunting one of their overpriced watches on the red carpet or zipping
01:39down Rodeo Drive in their latest fancy motor.
01:42So it's a telling sign that Tom Cruise has purportedly made it onto Bugatti's ban list.
01:47The French luxury car manufacturer is a longtime celeb favorite.
01:51Jay Leno, Kylie Jenner, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady, and Jay-Z are just a few of the
01:57faces that can be spotted behind a steering wheel, and Cruise is one of the most famous
02:01of them all.
02:02However, he's now been permanently prohibited from ever purchasing another one of its cars,
02:07which, according to Motor Trend, range in price from $3 to $12.5 million.
02:13So how did Cruise land himself in the Bugatti Black Book?
02:16Well, the company holds a grudge because of a flubbed entrance at the Mission Impossible
02:203 premiere in 2006.
02:23Cruise pulled up to the red carpet in his Bugatti Veyron and struggled to open the door
02:26for 40 seconds.
02:28Watchers were amused, but Bugatti was mortally offended, believing it damaged its image as
02:33a feat of engineering.
02:34Still, Cruise is an esteemed company.
02:37According to Modern Car Collector, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber have also copped luxury
02:42car bans for perceived wrongdoings.
02:44Tom Cruise is adored by his fans, and there's a reason for it.
02:48The superstar is one of the red carpet's hardest workers.
02:51He's famed for arriving early, sometimes up to two hours before roll call, to mingle with
02:55the crowds.
02:56Cruise ensures he's on his charming game, flashing his megawatt smile, chatting, and
03:01never refusing selfies.
03:02It's amazing.
03:03It's so much fun being here.
03:05Hello.
03:06This is incredible.
03:07To be in Rome, to be opening this film, it's very special."
03:11However, it's a different matter regarding his fellow A-listers.
03:15An inordinate number of celebs can't stand Cruise, and are unusually willing to talk
03:19about it.
03:20Leah Remini is top of the list.
03:22Since leaving Scientology, she's been outspoken about her disdain for Cruise.
03:26Tom, and all Scientologists, are told to believe that people like me are literally the devil."
03:34Then there is Brooke Shields.
03:36After writing a memoir about her struggle with postpartum depression, Shields understandably
03:40took offense at Cruise's comments on psychiatry, in which he pushed Scientology as a cure in
03:45a heated interview with Today in June 2005.
03:47I've never agreed with psychiatry.
03:49Ever."
03:50She wrote in a New York Times op-ed,
03:52"...if any good can come of Mr. Cruise's ridiculous rant, let's hope that it gives much-needed
03:57attention to a serious disease."
03:59Meanwhile, Mickey Rourke called Cruise irrelevant in a July 2022 talk TV interview.
04:05You don't think Tom Cruise is a good actor?
04:09I think he's irrelevant.
04:10Oh, the irony.
04:12Tandi Newton said it was awful working with him.
04:15She told Vulture in 2020,
04:16"...he was a very dominant individual.
04:19He tries super hard to be a nice person, but the pressure, he takes on a lot, and I think
04:23he has the sense that only he can do everything as best as it can be done."
04:28During his 40-year career, Tom Cruise hasn't had a lot of flops.
04:32So given his track record, you'd think filmmakers would be scrambling to sign up Cruise.
04:37And at one time, they were.
04:38He's worked with all the greats.
04:40However, the pool of directors seeking him out has drastically shrunk.
04:44Some claim it's because he developed a bad rap.
04:47Steven Spielberg was apparently furious with the actor over his behavior in the run-up
04:51to the 2005 release of War of the Worlds.
04:54Kim Masters reported on her KRCW-FM radio show, The Business, that Spielberg estimated
04:59Cruise's over-couch-jumping fiasco, nonstop Katie Holmes fangirling, and Brooke Shields'
05:04psychiatry attack cost the movie $30 million in box office takings.
05:09The two have apparently made up, but there's still no collaboration on the horizon.
05:14Meanwhile, director Stanley Kubrick reportedly hated working with Cruise, claiming he ruined
05:19Eyes Wide Shut by bullying and strong-arming him into changing direction.
05:23The director's friend Arlie Ermey told Radar in 2006,
05:27"'Kubrick was kind of a shy little timid guy.
05:30He wasn't real forceful.
05:31That's why he didn't appreciate working with big, high-powered actors.
05:35They would have their way with him.
05:36He would lose control, and his movie would turn to s----.'"