Rebecca De Mornay reflects on relationship with 'Risky Business' co-star and ex Tom Cruise
'I'm really, really proud of him,' De Mornay said, acknowledging Cruise's extraordinary rise to Hollywood superstardom. The 1983 film, which launched both of their careers, remains a cultural touchstone, and De Mornay credited Cruise's drive and vision even back then. 'He is a brilliant interpreter of the zeitgeist,' she added. 'We started this together and look what he did with it.'
De Mornay reflected on their differences, likening Cruise to a 'major chord' and herself to a 'minor chord,' noting that his career path fulfilled what America wanted, while she pursued more unconventional and gritty roles after Risky Business. Her filmography includes Runaway Train, Backdraft, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and a role in Marvel's Jessica Jones.
Now, De Mornay appears in Saint Clare, a dark thriller starring Bella Thorne as a serial killer with a fixation on Joan of Arc. De Mornay said she was drawn to the project by its unique perspective. 'It's very rare that I read scripts about a female serial killer who's obsessed with Joan of Arc,' she explained. 'I just wanted to be a support to this project.'
Despite the film's violent themes, she admitted she didn't initially associate it with real-life figures like Jeffrey Epstein. 'I never even thought of that… it's freaky that that would come into it,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Hollywood vs censorville
A rude emoji was replaced with a politer one in F1: The Movie. Photo: File Film fans in India were outraged to learn that a 33-second kiss scene in Superman was shortened to just a few seconds by their country's censors. Despite the film's 13+ rating, India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) felt compelled to sanitise the embrace they described as "overly sensual." When it was created through the Cinematograph Act of 1952, the CBFC's official mandate was to certify films according to age categories, but it has since become notorious for its role as a censor. Recent examples of alterations in major Hollywood productions include replacing a middle-finger emoji appearing in F1: The Movie with a fist emoji. Swear words were muted in Marvel's Thunderbolts and Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. In Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (2023), the Indian board had Florence Pugh's nudity covered up with a digitally inserted CGI dress. "If a scene is meant for mature audiences, it should simply be placed in the appropriate category," argued writer Disha Bijolia in Indian online magazine Homegrown. "Instead, the CBFC repeatedly interferes with a filmmaker's vision — cutting into plots, disrupting emotional arcs, and flattening the intent behind entire narratives." Satisfying demand Along with the widespread censorship method of simply banning films, releasing alternate versions of movies is also well established in many countries beyond India. Authoritarian states know that even if a film is banned, it can still circulate illegally, which motivates them to distribute their own "more appropriate" versions of the works. Way before AI-created imagery became widely available, Iran had already equipped the country's censors with new digital technology by 2010, allowing them to tweak dialogues and images that didn't conform to Islamic modesty. The approach is detailed in an 2012 article in The Atlantic, which also shows stills comparing how the original scenes were retouched in the Iranian versions: Women simply disappear from the frame, or their neckline is covered up with a clunky vase. Even Will Ferrell's crotch is hidden behind a wall in the motorsports comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). Drugs not okay Even though many major Hollywood studios no longer distribute their films in Russia since it launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in 2022, there are still some Western films appearing in the country's cinemas or on streaming platforms. One recent example of a film that circulated in an altered version was the award-winning US film Anora (2024). Censors simply zoomed into various scenes to crop out the depictions of characters using drugs, as shown by independent Russian-language news site Meduza. Meanwhile, the film's nude scenes featuring the stripper played by Mikey Madison were left untouched. A film like Anora would never air on Turkish television. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's conservative AKP government, around 95 per cent of the media landscape has been brought into line with their conservative guidelines. Broadcasters mainly avoid sex scenes and portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters. Historical topics seen as promoting "anti-Turkish rhetoric" can be particularly contentious. Cigarettes and alcohol are also blurred on TV, with some stations coming up with creative solutions to cover up the items. Meanwhile, some Hollywood studios have released their own self-censored versions to circumvent bans and blurs. Sony Pictures supplied an alternate version of Blade Runner 2049 to Turkey and other non-Western markets, removing or cropping scenes showing nudity, as film critic Burak Göral first noted. Turkey's Film Critics Association (S?YAD) issued an open letter condemning the censorship, noting that the cuts were "an insult to moviegoers in Turkey." Accessing China China is renowned for banning and shortening films, too. Official censorship guidelines prohibit, among other things, the "promotion of cults or superstition." The 2016 Ghostbusters reboot thus failed to be released in the country despite being retitled Super Power Dare Die Team. Surprisingly, Disney's Coco, which centers on the Mexican Day of the Dead, was authorised a year later. Major productions that have been altered by China's censors include the 2012 James Bond film, Skyfall. A scene in which a Chinese security guard is killed was completely cut out because it suggested that China is unable to protect its own territory from foreign agents. In other "controversial" scenes, the subtitles differed from what was actually been said on screen. In the famous portrait scene in James Cameron's Titanic 3D (2012), Kate Winslet was cropped up to her chin to hide her nudity. "Considering the vivid 3D effects, we fear that viewers may reach out their hands for a touch and thus interrupt other people's viewing," a Chinese official explained. In 2022, social media users widely mocked the censors' alternate ending for Minions: The Rise of Gru. In the original version, villains Gru and Wild Knuckles evade capture by authorities after the latter fakes his own death. But through a series of subtitled stills that were widely compared to a PowerPoint presentation for their poor quality, the Chinese version had Wild Knuckles arrested and imprisoned for 20 years; he starts a theater troupe in jail. Gru is portrayed as simply "returning to his family," with being a father becoming his "biggest accomplishment." Hollywood studios have also been releasing their own alternate versions of movies in China to avoid state censorship — and the PowerPoint slides. The country began allowing a limited number of Hollywood films per year into the country in 1994, and as major studios increasingly competed to gain access to the restricted and lucrative slots, they also started tailoring their stories to please a Chinese market of some 1.4 billion people. A 2020 report by nonprofit organisation PEN denounces the growing trend of producers willingly altering their films for Beijing's censors: Hollywood filmmakers "are making difficult and troubling compromises on free expression," it stated. Iron Man 3 (2013) is a prominent case highlighting this approach. While altered films typically lose runtime, four minutes of extra content were added to the Marvel blockbuster, with exclusive scenes featuring Chinese star Fan Bingbing and actor Wang Xueqi, as well as scenes promoting a local milk brand. In the Chinese version, the beverage helps Iron Man/Tony Stark recover from an injury.
Express Tribune
14 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Pedro Pascal defends activism while promoting Fantastic Four and calls out media fear culture
Pedro Pascal is everywhere right now. From the latest Marvel reboot The Fantastic Four: First Steps to indie films like Eddington and The Uninvited, the 50-year-old Chilean-American actor has become one of Hollywood's most visible stars. But while many celebrities retreat behind carefully curated images, Pascal remains outspoken — and intentional. Amid a packed press run for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, now playing in UK cinemas, Pascal told Sky News that using his platform to advocate for causes is essential, even when public backlash looms. Known for wearing "Protect The Dolls" T-shirts in support of the trans community and linking to nonprofits like Doctors Without Borders and The Trevor Project, Pascal is deliberate in his activism on Instagram, where he has over 11 million followers. 'I think it's very easy to get scared no matter what you sort of talk about,' he told Sky News. 'There's so many different ways that things can get kind of fractured… but I'll never shut up.' That defiance resonates in a media environment where one misstep can derail a career. Pascal understands the risks — but speaks up anyway. In a time of studio spin and influencer-dominated narratives, his transparency is rare. In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Pascal plays Dr. Richard Reeds, a man burdened by the weight of the world yet hopeful about the future. It's a fitting parallel. While the film, directed by WandaVision's Matt Shakman, stands alone in its MCU universe, it's Pascal's own unfiltered voice that may be his most heroic act. It's a role that makes him 'fantastic' on-screen — but it's his fearless voice off-screen that truly defines him.
Express Tribune
18 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Fantastic Four: First Steps credits introduce future MCU villains and cosmic stakes
Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four: First Steps ends with two post-credit scenes that expand the film's scope and hint at major players in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's future. Both scenes center around Franklin Richards, the young son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, who is portrayed as more than just a background character. In the mid-credit scene, Franklin is shown in a dimly lit chamber, channeling radiant energy as he interacts with cryptic symbols. A deep voice interrupts him, and from the shadows, a hooded figure emerges, Doctor Doom, partially unmasked. He warns Franklin, 'Your power is not a gift… it's a claim.' The exchange establishes Doom's interest in the child and hints at a larger ideological conflict ahead. The end-credit scene shifts to outer space, where a massive celestial body looms. A colossal figure, Galactus, appears in silhouette, speaking just one line: 'The child has awakened.' This moment confirms the cosmic magnitude of Franklin's presence, connecting him to broader multiversal consequences within the MCU. Together, the two scenes position Franklin Richards not merely as an offspring of heroes, but as a central figure whose power may alter the direction of Marvel's next saga. With Galactus and Doctor Doom now introduced, Fantastic Four: First Steps sets the stage for a far-reaching storyline in Marvel's evolving universe.
