Latest news with #JackReacher
Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike recalls getting punched and mugged in London: ‘All my mother heard was a scream'
British actor Rosamund Pike recently recalled a terrifying moment from nearly 20 years ago, when she was attacked and mugged while walking through London. The Gone Girl star, during a recent interview, shared that the incident took place in 2006 during what began as a casual phone call with her mother. 'I was on the phone to my mother, on a mobile phone walking along a road, and I was mugged,' Rosamund recalled during her recent appearance on Magic Radio. The assault, Rusamund recalled, happened suddenly, with a cyclist snatching the phone from her hand mid-conversation. 'The phone was snatched, so all she (her mother) heard was me scream and a thud, and the phone went dead,' Rosamund added. The mugger didn't stop at stealing her phone — Rosamund said she was physically assaulted during the encounter. '(e) Punched me down the side of my cheek,' she recalled, describing the shocking violence that accompanied the theft. Though she admitted feeling 'angry' in the moment, the 46-year-old actor said she was acutely aware that her mother, left in the dark by the sudden end of the call, endured her own wave of fear. 'I walked to the pub and called [my mom] when I got there and met my friends. But for her, it was probably a pretty horrible 15 minutes,' she said. Rosamund, who was born in London, has since built an impressive career with roles in acclaimed films like Die Another Day (2002), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Jack Reacher (2012), Beirut (2018), and Saltburn (2023). She also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in Gone Girl (2014), opposite Hollywood star Ben Affleck. Nearly two decades after the incident, Rosamund's candid account adds a layer of personal vulnerability to the public image of the accomplished and composed actor.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Cruise control: How the actor rewrote his Hollywood story
Tom Cruise is doing what he does best: scaling buildings, climbing on planes and all of those cuckoo bananas movie stunts that leave us slack-jawed. While the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning star's fans and media outlets alike seem to be Cruise crazy over it all — as they should be because WOW! — you will never erase from my mind that the superstar had a press tour that went in a much less successful, more 'Oh my goodness, what in the world is happening?!' direction back in 2005. Let's start with today. At 62, Cruise is the last of the true movie stars. 'The best stuntman in the movie world,' according to Sean Penn. The man who 'saved Hollywood's ass' with Top Gun: Maverick, according to Steven Spielberg. The leading man with unbridled love for the filmmaking industry, who prefers movie-making to taking vacations. While the reviews of M:I 8 may call out the 'dull and disjointed' plot (who's going for the storyline?!), the energy that Cruise brings to the supposed final film in the series — with his "crazy, death-defying," 'off the hook' stunts — is recognized in each one. Cruise has pulled back the curtain on what those stunts entailed, and it's like: Is he trying to die? Of course not, but his intensity and envelope-pushing are next level. That included an 'underwater sequence unlike any other.' With his bank account and Hollywood cachet, Cruise could certainly leave 99.9% of his cinema tricks to stunt doubles or CGI, but he doesn't, because he's Mr. Movies. Cheers to whoever came up with Paramount's 'Nobody goes as hard as Tom Cruise' line that's everywhere, because, well, bingo. M:I 8 director Christopher McQuarrie, a frequent Cruise collaborator both for this series and a slew of other films (Jack Reacher, Fallout), talked about the stunts and workhorse Cruise's next-level drive with GQ, saying, 'If you want to know why I'm working for Tom for 18 years and other people aren't, lots of directors will do that once. They don't ever want to f***ing do that again.' While it sounds like Cruise (having) control is a thing, on the red carpet with McQuarrie and the cast, he comes off as very much part of the team. With the shaggy hairstyle he's adopted — one that would get Maverick in trouble with his superiors — the No. 1 on the call sheet comes off as an ensemble guy, jumping into group photographs, not even in the center. Another of his secrets is that he's a fan man. Yahoo Entertainment's Kelsey Weekman, who's been reporting from Cannes, watched him sign dozens of autographs at the premiere, some for enthusiasts who lined up 12 hours early in hopes of a Cruise encounter. He posed for photos, gave fist bumps and otherwise delivered that BCE (Big Cruise Energy), thanking fans online for supporting the franchise, 30 years strong. While he hasn't made an entrance into a M:I 8 premiere by helicopter, motorcycle or parachute — yet! — the showman stood atop two different planes at the London premiere. In dress shoes. The truth is, he loves a photo op. We know he has the need for speed, but also has his sights on heights. Cruise, coming off his epic Olympic stunt last summer, he picked an extreme locale to shoot an M:I 8 commercial: the roof of the BFI IMAX in London. Cruise has become the perfect Hollywood ambassador. He called for that touching moment of silence for Val Kilmer. He urged theatergoers to see Sinners — and then invited Michael B. Jordan to an M:I 8 premiere. He even gave his ex-wife Nicole Kidman a rare acknowledgement. He recounted being nervous to approach Dustin Hoffman, his future Rain Man costar, as a young actor. All the while, he tells us pretty much nothing about his personal life. What's going on with Ana de Armas? Who knows? He's certainly not bringing up Scientology. In fact, he barely gives interviews, and when he does, they're about filmmaking. Anyone who has survived and thrived in Hollywood for as long as Cruise has — with his nearly 50 film credits over four decades — has had various incarnations. Frankly, so have I when it comes to covering celebrities, so I can't help but juxtapose the Cruise today to the Cruise of exactly 20 years ago. In June 2005, Cruise's War of the Worlds came out, and the press tour was like an explosion of bad. Things were great for him personally — he had fallen in love with future (and now past) third wife, Katie Holmes — but things got desperately off track. It was, publicitywise, a toxic combination of things that occurred over a four-week period. It started after Cruise fired his long-time publicist, who claimed she kept him in check when it came to publicly discussing his Scientology beliefs, and hired his sister Lee Anne DeVette. During an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Cruise couldn't answer any questions because he was basically too in love with Holmes to speak. In the most over-the-top display, he started pumping his fists, doing the Rocky pose and ultimately jumping on the couch in a moment forever engrained in many brains. While it was hotly debated whether the thing with 'Kate' was a publicity stunt, he started giving interviews about Scientology. Cruise took it upon himself to criticize Brooke Shields for revealing in her book that she took an antidepressant to combat postpartum depression. He called Shields 'irresponsible' on Access Hollywood. At the London premiere of War of the Worlds, a prankster squirted water in Cruise's face with a trick microphone. It definitely wasn't nice, but Cruise got into it with the guy, giving the 'jerk' an on-camera scolding. The man and three others ended up getting arrested. Then came the Today show. Pressed about his comments about Shields, things got heated between Cruise and then-host Matt Lauer, as Holmes looked on from the wings. The movie star called Lauer 'glib' and said that he didn't 'know the history of psychiatry' like Cruise did, calling it a 'pseudo-science.' Cruise said Shields should have exercised and taken vitamins, not medication. He denied the existence of chemical imbalances and said, from his research, ADHD drugs like Ritalin were 'dangerous' and he helped friends get their children off of them. Cruise's claims were widely criticized by experts. There was also a hot mess of an interview on 60 Minutes Australia. Cruise wasn't having any Kidman questions from the journalist who claimed he had to take a four-hour course on Scientology to book the interview. Despite the horrible press tour — which the Washington Post called 'a series of manic moments in public, in which the screen idol appears to be losing his chiseled, steely reserve' — War of the Worlds was a commercial success. However, Cruise's popularity took a nosedive. His sister was fired. So was a Paramount publicist who booked Cruise on Oprah. The next year, M:I 3 came out, and it was elevated to an 'entirely new level' with stunts that were 'bigger, riskier and bolder' than ever before. His action roles kept coming with more M:I, Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow and Oblivion. When he did press, it wasn't about Scientology, but his on-screen moves, for which he started work with a helicopter coach and motorcycle coach. It also became about his work ethic — being first on set and last to leave. The 20-year-strong birthday gifts he sends costars. The holiday cakes he ships around the world. The mentoring of young actors. On his current press tour, he danced on a tipping chair, perhaps a playful nod to Oprah's couch and his past — but with a new spin. As for spin, a crisis and PR expert who has followed Cruise's highs and lows, calls the star a master of his craft — and image. 'He's the last action hero who actually has the balls to risk his neck — literally — for your ticket price,' Eric Schiffer of Reputation Management Consultants told Yahoo Entertainment. 'Cruise's commitment to practical stunts is a category killer to every CGI superhero in the business. He's also the last of the true movie stars — no Marvel mask required.' Schiffer, who doesn't work with Cruise, said each of the actor's stunts — from hanging off the Burj Khalifa to his wing-walking at 10,000 feet in M:I 8 — is a 'press release shot… The movie is the marketing.' Boosting that is Cruise's 'work-ethic lore,' said Schiffer. Whether it's the '5 a.m. helicopter arrivals [or] birthday cakes flown to crew,' the star 'projects blue-collar glamour: the billionaire who clocks in first.' Plus, personally, Cruise 'guards mystique like IP.' Unlike every influencer, he's not oversharing on social media, has done just a handful of talk shows in the last 15 years and has had 'zero TMZ sound bites. In an age of excess content, scarcity is king.' Yes, 2005 was a P.R. disaster, but his box office wins — especially Top Gun: Maverick, which Cruise confirmed is getting a sequel — have rewritten his story. Cruise's Q-Rating, which measures a celebrity's popularity, 'cratered 40% after 2005,' Schiffer said. He struggled to get it back up, hindered by bad press around his 2012 divorce from Holmes and his legal battle against the tabloid Bauer Media in 2013. He slowly made his way back with 'the final exorcism of Oprah's sofa happening on Memorial Day 2022,' said Schiffer. 'Top Gun: Maverick hauled a pandemic-scarred public into IMAX and rewired Cruise's brand from 'eccentric zealot' to the Saint of Popcorn. Nostalgia is a powerful eraser — [and] Maverick wiped the slate clean.' In February 2023, National Research Group, an entertainment data firm, placed Cruise at No. 1 on the list of Top 25 Theatrical stars using survey data from 3,000 Americans, age 12-74, about which stars they go to the movies to see. In August 2024, he fell to No. 2, behind Denzel Washington. Cruise's media playbook today 'is brutal in its simplicity: talk craft, show stunts, skip faith,' Schiffer observed. 'Interviews storyboarded to redirect any Scientology or private-life detour back to cameras, lenses, and G-forces. Cruise's team knows when to vanish and when to go supernova.' As far as who's pulling the strings? Schiffer thinks it's all Cruise's doing 'with an iron-fisted message discipline wrapped in IMAX spectacle.' And what a spectacle it's been.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Cruise control: How the actor rewrote his Hollywood story
Tom Cruise is doing what he does best: scaling buildings, climbing on planes and all of those cuckoo bananas movie stunts that leave us slack-jawed. While the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning star's fans and media outlets alike seem to be Cruise crazy over it all — as they should be because WOW! — you will never erase from my mind that the superstar had a press tour that went in a much less successful, more 'Oh my goodness, what in the world is happening?!' direction back in 2005. Let's start with today. At 62, Cruise is the last of the true movie stars. 'The best stuntman in the movie world,' according to Sean Penn. The man who 'saved Hollywood's ass' with Top Gun: Maverick, according to Steven Spielberg. The leading man with unbridled love for the filmmaking industry, who prefers movie-making to taking vacations. While the reviews of M:I 8 may call out the 'dull and disjointed' plot (who's going for the storyline?!), the energy that Cruise brings to the supposed final film in the series — with his "crazy, death-defying," 'off the hook' stunts — is recognized in each one. Cruise has pulled back the curtain on what those stunts entailed, and it's like: Is he trying to die? Of course not, but his intensity and envelope-pushing are next level. That included an 'underwater sequence unlike any other.' With his bank account and Hollywood cachet, Cruise could certainly leave 99.9% of his cinema tricks to stunt doubles or CGI, but he doesn't, because he's Mr. Movies. Cheers to whoever came up with Paramount's 'Nobody goes as hard as Tom Cruise' line that's everywhere, because, well, bingo. M:I 8 director Christopher McQuarrie, a frequent Cruise collaborator both for this series and a slew of other films (Jack Reacher, Fallout), talked about the stunts and workhorse Cruise's next-level drive with GQ, saying, 'If you want to know why I'm working for Tom for 18 years and other people aren't, lots of directors will do that once. They don't ever want to f***ing do that again.' While it sounds like Cruise (having) control is a thing, on the red carpet with McQuarrie and the cast, he comes off as very much part of the team. With the shaggy hairstyle he's adopted — one that would get Maverick in trouble with his superiors — the No. 1 on the call sheet comes off as an ensemble guy, jumping into group photographs, not even in the center. Another of his secrets is that he's a fan man. Yahoo Entertainment's Kelsey Weekman, who's been reporting from Cannes, watched him sign dozens of autographs at the premiere, some for enthusiasts who lined up 12 hours early in hopes of a Cruise encounter. He posed for photos, gave fist bumps and otherwise delivered that BCE (Big Cruise Energy), thanking fans online for supporting the franchise, 30 years strong. While he hasn't made an entrance into a M:I 8 premiere by helicopter, motorcycle or parachute — yet! — the showman stood atop two different planes at the London premiere. In dress shoes. The truth is, he loves a photo op. We know he has the need for speed, but also has his sights on heights. Cruise, coming off his epic Olympic stunt last summer, he picked an extreme locale to shoot an M:I 8 commercial: the roof of the BFI IMAX in London. Cruise has become the perfect Hollywood ambassador. He called for that touching moment of silence for Val Kilmer. He urged theatergoers to see Sinners — and then invited Michael B. Jordan to an M:I 8 premiere. He even gave his ex-wife Nicole Kidman a rare acknowledgement. He recounted being nervous to approach Dustin Hoffman, his future Rain Man costar, as a young actor. All the while, he tells us pretty much nothing about his personal life. What's going on with Ana de Armas? Who knows? He's certainly not bringing up Scientology. In fact, he barely gives interviews, and when he does, they're about filmmaking. Anyone who has survived and thrived in Hollywood for as long as Cruise has — with his nearly 50 film credits over four decades — has had various incarnations. Frankly, so have I when it comes to covering celebrities, so I can't help but juxtapose the Cruise today to the Cruise of exactly 20 years ago. In June 2005, Cruise's War of the Worlds came out, and the press tour was like an explosion of bad. Things were great for him personally — he had fallen in love with future (and now past) third wife, Katie Holmes — but things got desperately off track. It was, publicitywise, a toxic combination of things that occurred over a four-week period. It started after Cruise fired his long-time publicist, who claimed she kept him in check when it came to publicly discussing his Scientology beliefs, and hired his sister Lee Anne DeVette. During an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Cruise couldn't answer any questions because he was basically too in love with Holmes to speak. In the most over-the-top display, he started pumping his fists, doing the Rocky pose and ultimately jumping on the couch in a moment forever engrained in many brains. While it was hotly debated whether the thing with 'Kate' was a publicity stunt, he started giving interviews about Scientology. Cruise took it upon himself to criticize Brooke Shields for revealing in her book that she took an antidepressant to combat postpartum depression. He called Shields 'irresponsible' on Access Hollywood. At the London premiere of War of the Worlds, a prankster squirted water in Cruise's face with a trick microphone. It definitely wasn't nice, but Cruise got into it with the guy, giving the 'jerk' an on-camera scolding. The man and three others ended up getting arrested. Then came the Today show. Pressed about his comments about Shields, things got heated between Cruise and then-host Matt Lauer, as Holmes looked on from the wings. The movie star called Lauer 'glib' and said that he didn't 'know the history of psychiatry' like Cruise did, calling it a 'pseudo-science.' Cruise said Shields should have exercised and taken vitamins, not medication. He denied the existence of chemical imbalances and said, from his research, ADHD drugs like Ritalin were 'dangerous' and he helped friends get their children off of them. Cruise's claims were widely criticized by experts. There was also a hot mess of an interview on 60 Minutes Australia. Cruise wasn't having any Kidman questions from the journalist who claimed he had to take a four-hour course on Scientology to book the interview. Despite the horrible press tour — which the Washington Post called 'a series of manic moments in public, in which the screen idol appears to be losing his chiseled, steely reserve' — War of the Worlds was a commercial success. However, Cruise's popularity took a nosedive. His sister was fired. So was a Paramount publicist who booked Cruise on Oprah. The next year, M:I 3 came out, and it was elevated to an 'entirely new level' with stunts that were 'bigger, riskier and bolder' than ever before. His action roles kept coming with more M:I, Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow and Oblivion. When he did press, it wasn't about Scientology, but his on-screen moves, for which he started work with a helicopter coach and motorcycle coach. It also became about his work ethic — being first on set and last to leave. The 20-year-strong birthday gifts he sends costars. The holiday cakes he ships around the world. The mentoring of young actors. On his current press tour, he danced on a tipping chair, perhaps a playful nod to Oprah's couch and his past — but with a new spin. As for spin, a crisis and PR expert who has followed Cruise's highs and lows, calls the star a master of his craft — and image. 'He's the last action hero who actually has the balls to risk his neck — literally — for your ticket price,' Eric Schiffer of Reputation Management Consultants told Yahoo Entertainment. 'Cruise's commitment to practical stunts is a category killer to every CGI superhero in the business. He's also the last of the true movie stars — no Marvel mask required.' Schiffer, who doesn't work with Cruise, said each of the actor's stunts — from hanging off the Burj Khalifa to his wing-walking at 10,000 feet in M:I 8 — is a 'press release shot… The movie is the marketing.' Boosting that is Cruise's 'work-ethic lore,' said Schiffer. Whether it's the '5 a.m. helicopter arrivals [or] birthday cakes flown to crew,' the star 'projects blue-collar glamour: the billionaire who clocks in first.' Plus, personally, Cruise 'guards mystique like IP.' Unlike every influencer, he's not oversharing on social media, has done just a handful of talk shows in the last 15 years and has had 'zero TMZ sound bites. In an age of excess content, scarcity is king.' Yes, 2005 was a P.R. disaster, but his box office wins — especially Top Gun: Maverick, which Cruise confirmed is getting a sequel — have rewritten his story. Cruise's Q-Rating, which measures a celebrity's popularity, 'cratered 40% after 2005,' Schiffer said. He struggled to get it back up, hindered by bad press around his 2012 divorce from Holmes and his legal battle against the tabloid Bauer Media in 2013. He slowly made his way back with 'the final exorcism of Oprah's sofa happening on Memorial Day 2022,' said Schiffer. 'Top Gun: Maverick hauled a pandemic-scarred public into IMAX and rewired Cruise's brand from 'eccentric zealot' to the Saint of Popcorn. Nostalgia is a powerful eraser — [and] Maverick wiped the slate clean.' In February 2023, National Research Group, an entertainment data firm, placed Cruise at No. 1 on the list of Top 25 Theatrical stars using survey data from 3,000 Americans, age 12-74, about which stars they go to the movies to see. In August 2024, he fell to No. 2, behind Denzel Washington. Cruise's media playbook today 'is brutal in its simplicity: talk craft, show stunts, skip faith,' Schiffer observed. 'Interviews storyboarded to redirect any Scientology or private-life detour back to cameras, lenses, and G-forces. Cruise's team knows when to vanish and when to go supernova.' As far as who's pulling the strings? Schiffer thinks it's all Cruise's doing 'with an iron-fisted message discipline wrapped in IMAX spectacle.' And what a spectacle it's been.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tom Cruise joins Cannes masterclass to celebrate 'Mission: Impossible' filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie
The masterclass event at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival became even more special when Tom Cruise made a surprise appearance to celebrate his longtime friend and filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, as per Deadline. The masterclass event at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival became even more special when Tom Cruise made a surprise appearance to celebrate his longtime friend and filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie , as per Deadline. McQuarrie, who is best known for directing several 'Mission: Impossible' films, spoke about how their partnership began and how it shaped both their careers during the masterclass. "When I met him, I was going to quit the business. What I know about working with him for so long is that Tom is always a student. He's eager to learn from the people around him," McQuarrie said. Cruise spoke about how much he admired McQuarrie even before they worked together. "I've studied his career before we met. I read his scripts, and I think that the thing that we always talk about when I read his scripts is that you could hear it. You could see it. And I felt the filmmaker's mind in the story, the craftsmanship of his work, where he's writing it editorially," he said. Cruise further went on to praise McQuarrie's attention to detail and storytelling, calling the Mission: Impossible films "a Swiss watch" for how well they are built. Cruise has worked with McQuarrie on over 11 films, including Jack Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow, and five Mission: Impossible entries. Kickstarted on May 13, Cannes 2025 will take place until May 24.
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Rosamund Pike recalls being asked to 'drop her dress' and ‘stand there in underwear' during James Bond audition
For Rosamund Pike, playing Miranda Frost in the James Bond film Die Another Day was her breakthrough. The 2002 hit gave Rosamund the much-needed boost early in her career, allowing the then 23-year-old to attract diverse roles. However, landing the role wasn't easy for the actor. In a recent interview, she revealed she was asked to strip in her audition. (Also read: Rosamund Pike has a question about Bollywood, asks, 'has any Hollywood actor been cast in an Indian film') In a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar, Rosamund recalled the audition process for Die Another Day. 'In the Bond audition, I was asked to unzip and drop the dress I was wearing, to just stand there in underwear. And I thought, 'Well, no, I'll be doing that if I get the part. I won't be doing that now.' I don't know what possessed me.' Fortunately, Rosamund did get the part. Die Another Day starred Pierce Brosnan in his final film as 007. The film also starred Halle Berry and Toby Stephens. It was a massive box office success, minting $432 million, and paving the way for more roles for Rosamund. Rosamund Pike has appeared in successful films like Wrath of the Titans, Jack Reacher, and The World's End. She received critical acclaim for playing the lead in David Fincher's Gone Girl. In the recent years, the actor has appeared in shows like State of the Union (which won her an Emmy) and The Wheel of Time. In 2025, the actor will be seen in two films - the thriller Hallow Road and the threequel Now You See Me: Now You Don't. The latter sees her share the screen with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, and Morgan Freeman.
