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See - Sada Elbalad
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
"What Lies Beneath" TV Series in Works
Yara Sameh Robert Zemeckis' 2000 supernatural horror thriller "What Lies Beneath," starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, is heading to the small screen as the latest Hollywood blockbuster to be getting a TV adaptation. The synopsis for the movie reads: "It had been a year since Dr. Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford) betrayed his beautiful wife Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer). But with Claire oblivious to the truth, Norman's life and marriage seem so perfect that when Claire tells him of hearing mysterious voices and seeing a young woman's image in their home, he dismisses her terror as delusion. Claire moves closer to the truth and it becomes clear that this apparition will not be dismissed, and has come back for Dr. Spencer and his beautiful wife." Mark Johnson, who is well known for producing features like The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy, Rain Man, The Notebook and more, said the property as one of several projects being considered for TV adaptation. We're very excited about the idea of maybe doing a television show — I'm not sure I should say this but I'm going to — our movie What Lies Beneath, that could lend itself to a very good, perhaps limited, perhaps not, TV show," he told Deadline . Johnson has been part of the production team for some of AMC's biggest hits over the last two decades, and that doesn't seem about to change as he has recently penned a renewal of his first-look deal with AMC Studios. Currently, one of his biggest roles is overseeing the Anne Rice universe that has delivered "Interview With the Vampire" and "The Mayfair Witches", and even as he turns 80 this year, the producer has no plans to step away from making shows he loves. He added in his interview: 'Why wouldn't I be at AMC? They truly celebrate the story. You look at the success they've had, it is still very much the leader and the benchmark: good writing, good characters and good television.' read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Tom Cruise aged into a death-defying symbol of positive masculinity
I pulled a muscle the other day picking up a potato chip off the kitchen floor. As I recuperated on the couch, I clicked on the most recent 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' trailer. I watched him fight off a knife attack, plunge into the ocean and hang off an airplane midflight while thinking, 'This man is 12 years older than me.' The last installment in the nearly 30-year-old blockbuster megafranchise catapults the 62-year-old Tom Cruise onto movie screens around the country on Friday. And I can't help but obsess over Cruise's late-career pivot to glamorous stuntman. It isn't just the perfect hair and ageless skin that draws me in; it's the enthusiasm, the energy. Maybe the secret to eternal youth is playing make-believe? Or being a multimillionaire? Or both? Or maybe it's just being boundlessly, unabashedly passionate. I'm not suggesting the crooked path to happiness is becoming a human crash-test dummy, but perhaps the world would be a better place if men cared about a job, a hobby or a project the way Cruise cares about, to quote the great philosopher-actor Vin Diesel, 'da movies.' Say what you will about Cruise, but he never phones it in. The same cannot be said for an increasing number of people raised in online echo chambers. Instead, I see a veritable generation of men whose ambitions have been stunted by social media-fueled anger and fear, who spend hours listening to other men complaining into podcast microphones. There's a destructive, self-pitying impulse in bro culture that I sympathize with — to a point. But eventually, one must accept responsibility for one's life and stop blaming others. There's a recent meme asking for the cure for male loneliness. I think the cure might be accepting missions impossible — or possible — with your best friends. When it comes to movies, I'm omnivorous. The 'Mission: Impossible' series explores timeless human themes like man vs. death trap. Every movie is a race to defuse something bad. But to be a fan of 'Mission: Impossible,' one must be a fan of its star. There is a distinct lack of heroes, made up or not, in the zeitgeist. Hollywood used to mint all-American heroes who sold solid virtues like courage and honesty and decency. Today, we have superheroes and anti-heroes, and Cruise, whose Ethan Hunt character is manly and also kind of corny. Cruise is not a real-life hero, I know that. But I cheer for him anyway. I'm always happy when Ethan Hunt accepts his next impossible mission and pulls it off, with a little help. The trajectory of Cruise's 44-year career is a fascinating study in endurance and reinvention. He was a grinning hotshot in early movies like 1986's 'Top Gun,' and quickly matured into an actor who could hold his own against acting legends like Dustin Hoffman in 1988's 'Rain Man,' and work with Oscar-winning directors like Oliver Stone. One of his most popular roles was in Paul Thomas Anderson's indie classic 'Magnolia,' in which he played an abrasive motivational speaker. He proved he has a vicious sense of humor in the 2008 dude comedy 'Tropic Thunder,' playing foul-mouthed studio executive Les Grossman. He survived a career pothole in the early aughts when he seemed out of control, speaking out against psychiatry and jumping up and down on Oprah's couch as he confessed his undying love for Katie Holmes (she would later divorce him). That episode happened during a promotional tour for 2005's 'War of the Worlds,' the second of two pop masterpieces he made with Steven Spielberg (the first being 2002's dystopian and arguably prophetic 'Minority Report'). Then, there is his relationship with the influential and controversial Church of Scientology, of which he is a celebrated member — a nigh messianic figure. His public intensity toward that fringe religion almost cratered his career. Almost. But his second act has saved his reputation — and ability to sell movie tickets. The man has outlasted scandals and flops only to emerge in his middle age as a death-defying adrenaline junkie who once trained for weeks to hold his breath underwater for over six minutes while shooting a harrowing scene in 2015's 'Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.' He is a rare and inoffensive example of positive masculinity in the public eye. Tom Cruise isn't sarcastic, nor is he cynical. The man works hard for my dollar, like the guy who works the deli counter down the street from my place. He calls me 'guy,' I call him 'boss.' His Italian subs are out of this world. Are Cruise's action movies great works of cinema? In 'Mission: Impossible 2,' the most misunderstood of the series, directed with chaotic wit by Hong Kong legend John Woo, he hangs off the side of a cliff with Zen-like calm. It's a beautifully shot scene that is simultaneously harrowing and ridiculous. It doesn't matter if these movies are great works of cinema. They rule. Cruise is intense. Too intense? Sure. He's single-minded, but blockbuster filmmaking at that level is collaborative. It takes a team to pull off these kinds of elaborate action scenes. Another skill that has fallen out of fashion in society: the ability to play nice with others to achieve something excellent. I don't think Cruise and the creative teams he's worked with over the years, including directors like Christopher McQuarrie of 'The Final Reckoning' and Brad Bird of 'Ghost Protocol,' are curing cancer, but there's something to be said for a few hours of high-concept, easy-to-understand escapism, especially a movie franchise about someone competent who thinks the world deserves to be saved. I also appreciate that Cruise has morphed from an A-list celeb and gossip mag regular into a humble, hardworking stuntman — one of the entertainment industry's most overlooked and storied jobs. The early days of cinema gave us talented comic stuntmen like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, athletic everymen who risked their lives to thrill silent movie audiences. Cruise is part of that tradition; he just got a late start. A good stunt is no different from a well-choreographed dance; they both require rehearsal and guts. For one of his climactic stunts in 2023's 'Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning,' Cruise trained for months in order to ride a motorcycle off a cliff before parachuting down. According to stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood, Cruise practiced motorcycle jumps 13,000 times and pulled the rip cord 500 times to perfect the skydive. And that's just one stunt. In 2018's 'Mission: Impossible — Fallout,' Cruise practiced his HALO jump from a C-17 transport plane 106 times, from 25,000 feet. I respect that work ethic. I, too, want to be challenged, even if that means being able to bend over without groaning. And who doesn't want to be a hero to a family member? Or a friend? Who doesn't want to be able to do the right things even if it's hard to do? So I bought a ticket to 'The Final Reckoning.' I will see it, like I saw the last one, 'Dead Reckoning,' and the one before that, with one of my best bros. We both like movies that go kaboom. I will enjoy it on a big screen in a fancy theater with a giant bucket of popcorn drenched in butter-flavored oil and a small barrel of diet whatever, the way Tom Cruise wants me to, because Tom loves the movies. And I love Tom. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Fuori' Review: A Writer's Wild Life Gets Tame Treatment in a Serviceable Italian Biopic
It's not generally a good sign when explanatory title cards at the start and end of a movie give you vital information missing from the movie itself. But that's what happens with Fuori, a serviceable account of Italian writer Goliarda Sapienza's years as both a prisoner and ex-con, during which she forged relationships with inmates that inspired some of her best literature. Directed efficiently if too tamely by Mario Martone (Nostalgia), and starring Cannes regular Valeria Golino (Rain Man), the film should find an audience in places where Sapienza's books are popular, mainly Italy and France. The author became famous in her homeland after her novel, The Art of Joy, was published in 1998. It was a critical and commercial success that turned Sapienza, who had died two years earlier, into a major voice in Italian literature. She had led a fascinating life before that, growing up in Sicily with socialist-anarchist parents, fighting in her dad's brigade of partisans during World War II, acting on stage and in films (including a tiny role in Visconti's Senso) and trying to make ends meet during years of impoverishment as a struggling writer in Rome — until she wound up stealing a friend's jewelry and found herself locked up. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'The Disappearance of Josef Mengele' Review: An Artfully Directed, Intellectually Vacuous Holocaust-Ploitation Flick Feinberg on Cannes: Oscar Contenders Emerging From First Half Include 'Nouvelle Vague' and Jennifer Lawrence for 'Die, My Love' 'A Magnificent Life' Review: Sylvain Chomet's Beautifully Animated but Clumsily Scripted Love Letter to Marcel Pagnol For those unfamiliar with Sapienza's life or work, much of this is only made clear through the title cards. Otherwise, the script by Martone and Ippolita di Majo focuses solely on the time Sapienza spent in jail — which seems like months in the movie, but in reality was just five days — as well as the period afterwards during which she befriended an inmate, Roberta (Matilda de Angelis), who was young enough to be her daughter. Set in 1980, Fuori seesaws between prison scenes and life on the outside, where Sapienza, who was already in her mid-50s at the time, is back home in Rome trying to write. When she gets a call from Roberta, who's fresh out of jail and looking to reconnect, she begins to reminisce about their days together behind bars. The cross-cutting can feel a bit systematic, but it also adds something dynamic to a movie that's more of a chronicle celebrating the women's burgeoning friendship than a full-fledged drama. Which doesn't mean Roberta's life isn't filled with conflict: She's a total badass, stealing cars whenever she pleases and shooting up heroin every night. Sapienza seems captivated by the young woman, who can go from hot to cold in a heartbeat, acting all seductive in one scene and then treating the older woman with contempt. The two eventually link up with fellow ex-con Barbara (Italian pop star Elodie), who now runs a perfume shop. Together, they form a unique bond that's far more appealing to Sapienza than all the stuffy writers and intellectuals who populate her bourgeois world. The writer's attraction towards the criminal underclass is what makes her books, especially The University of Rebibbia (named after the place where she was incarcerated) and The Certainties of Doubt, so fascinating, but it doesn't necessarily make for great cinema. Martone favors an academic style that can feel rather stolid, even if the tech credits are polished in all departments. Scenes are handsomely lensed by cinematographer Paolo Carnera (Io Capitano) and the recreations of '80s-era Rome by production designer Carmine Guarino (The Hand of God) are expertly handled. The catchy score by Valerio Vigliar is another plus. But not a single sequence in Fuori manages to really stand out. Golino, who also wrote and directed a six-part TV adaptation of The Art of Joy (the pilot premiered in Cannes last year), convincingly embodies a woman who was a rebel in her own time. The actress literally bares herself in certain nude scenes, whether it's upon arriving in prison or during a cheesy shower sequence in which Sapienza, Roberta and Barbara bathe together at the back of the perfume shop, just like they used to do in jail. De Angelis gives an explosive performance as a girl incapable of settling down, oscillating between playing the daughter Sapienza never had and becoming a potential love interest. Fuori means 'outside' in Italian, and the film professes that life after prison is often a continuation of what went on behind bars, which is why so many ex-cons wind up going back in. Martone underscores these ideas in a story showing how Sapienza's experience at Rebibbia impacted her in the years that followed, even if her famous novel was written beforehand. It's a thought-provoking subject that probably plays better on paper than on screen, urging us to seek out the writer's books once the movie is over. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Who is Tom Cruise's sister? Mission Impossible star name drops sibling who quietly lives in shadow of his dazzling career
While the world knows his every on-screen move, Tom Cruise 's siblings lead much more private and quiet lives away from the spotlight. The cinematic titan, 62 — born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV — has three sisters: Lee Ann Gillotte, Cass Capazorio, and Marian Henry. Speaking at the BFI Southbank on Sunday, Cruise offered a rare mention about Cass, who shares his avid belief in the church of Scientology. The actor — who is currently romancing Ben Affleck's ex Ana de Armas — recalled how his younger sister, who was in the audience, had a hand in helping him land his role in the Oscar-winning film Rain Man. It all happened when Cass spotted Dustin Hoffman at a restaurant ordering takeout in London. Cass encouraged Tom to go over and introduce himself, with the actor recalling her words to the crowd: 'You love him! And you know his career. You go over and say hello.' Cass (R) leads a private life and shares Tom's avid belief in the church of Scientology; She is pictured with her and Tom's late mother Mary Lee and his ex-wife Katie Holmes in 2007 Though Tom was skeptical at first, Cass eventually convinced him. 'She doesn't usually do stuff like that and I don't walk up to people and introduce myself, but she was so pushy,' he added. Cass then told her brother that if he wasn't going to do it, she would walk over to Hoffman herself. Tom worried that Hoffman wouldn't know who he is, joking, 'This is like going to be really humiliating.' But after enough pestering from Cass, he finally approached Hoffman. 'He had his hat on and he was ordering takeout. I stood next to him and said, "Excuse me, Mr Hoffman, I'm sorry…" and he looked at me and said, "Cruise!"' 'And I went "f**k,"' Tom joked, a he released a sigh of relief, happy that the encounter didn't end up being awkward. Hoffman then invited Cruise to come see him on Broadway in Death of a Salesman, and Cruise ended up bringing Cass with him. He recalled: 'As I was leaving, he said, "I want to make a movie with you," and I said, "That would be nice."' After their meeting, Hoffman sent him the script for Rain Man a year later. The 1988 movie marked a breakthrough for Cruise, earning four Academy Award wins, including best actor for Hoffman; they are seen in a still 'A year later he sent Rain Man to me.' The 1988 film marked a breakthrough for Cruise, earning eight Academy Award nominations and four wins, including best picture and a best actor Oscar for Hoffman. Though she helped her brother nab the iconic role, Cass has stayed away from the spotlight herself. She is a director of a company that helps run courses in the religion of Scientology, sometimes referred to as a cult, that was born in America during the 1950s. Though Cruise is not often seen with his siblings, they reportedly share a very close bond. His father, electrical engineer Thomas Cruise Mapother III - dubbed a 'bully and a coward' by the multi-millionaire - left his mother, special education teacher Mary Lee Pfeiffer, in the 1970s, with Tom quickly taking on the role of man of the house, looking after his three sisters. As a result the siblings formed a tight-knit bond, with Tom even declaring a few years ago: 'I would live with all of my sisters if I could. We have always been very close, my sisters and me.' And it appears now that dream has come true, with his family reported to have moved into a luxury Scientology building in Florida just a stones throw away from the church's global headquarters. Tom's other sister, Lee Anne, is a former publicist who now works managing the luxury Skyview building where the quartet live and being treasurer of the he 'Skyview Condominium Association Inc'. According to The Sun, his third sister Marian, her son Cal and daughter-in-law Marjorye, are also all Scientologists. His brother in law Greg, who is married to Cass, is also said to be the head of another company that helps to rehabilitate prisoners using Scientology techniques. It is perhaps unsurprising that Tom has remained close to his siblings after he dedicated much of his younger years to helping raise his sisters as they endured a tough childhood at the hands of their abusive father Thomas. Reflecting on the abuse he endured from his father in a 2006 interview with Parade magazine, he said Thomas 'was a bully and a coward... the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you'. 'It was a great lesson in my life - how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang,' he added. 'For me, there's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him. There's that anxiety.' On the other hand, he described his mother Mary Lee with love and care, calling her a 'very warm, charismatic woman, very kind, very generous'. At the age of 11, Tom and his family moved to Kentucky after his mother split from Thomas in 1974. As a result of the split, his mother was forced to take up three jobs to be able to support her four children, depending on her caring and dependable son who began working himself. The superstar took up a morning paper round, mowed the lawns for his neighbors and even took up cleaning jobs to help his family stay afloat. One of his neighbours Bill Lewis previously revealed: 'No job was too dirty or difficult for Tommy, as long as it paid money to help his mom out.' Lewis added that when his mother slipped a disk in her back from all the work, the star supposedly told him: 'My mom could have sat there every morning and cried and cried.' 'She didn't. My mom was very proud. She had dignity. She's going to work hard.' In light of her injury, one of Mary's friend had to move in with them to help with the workload while the family also lived on food stamps for a period of time. John later divorced Mary in 2012 and he passed away in 2015 at age 89 after a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while Mary died in 2017. She went on to move to New Jersey and marry John 'Jack' South in 1978, when Tom was 16. Both Mary and her husband were supportive of Tom's dreams to become an actor. Mary previously explained how he told them of his ambitions after he starred in a high-school production of Guys And Dolls. She said: 'After the show, Tom came home and said he wanted to have a talk with my husband and me.' 'He asked for 10 years to give show business a try. Meanwhile, my husband's thinking, "What's this gonna cost me? Ten years of what?"' 'Tom said, "I really feel that this is what I want to do."' 'And we both wholeheartedly agreed, because we both felt it was a God-given talent, and he should explore it because he was so enthused about it.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Cruise reveals how he landed ‘Rain Man' opposite Dustin Hoffman
Tom Cruise has revealed the story of how he landed his role opposite Dustin Hoffman in 1988's Rain Man. Speaking at the British Film Institute, which honoured him this week with its prestigious BFI fellowship, the legendary actor shared how a chance meeting with Hoffman at a New York City restaurant led to their collaboration in the beloved dramedy. Having just completed filming on Ridley Scott's Legend back in 1985, Cruise recounted how he was having lunch with his sister Cass when she spotted Hoffman across the dining room. 'She goes, 'There's Dustin Hoffman.' I looked up and there he was, in a hat — he was doing Death of a Salesman — and he was ordering takeout,' Cruise recalled, according to Variety, Entertainment Weekly, Deadline and PEOPLE. 'She goes, 'You go over there and say hello to him.' I was like, 'I'm not going to say hello.' She goes, 'You know him, you know his movies.' And she doesn't do stuff like that. And I don't walk up to people, but she was so pushy.' His sister then gave him an ultimatum: 'My sister says, 'If you don't go up and say hello to him, I'm going to say hello to him,' and I was like 'Oh my god.'' Worried about being embarrassed publicly, Cruise acquiesced and approached the two-time Oscar winner. 'Finally she pestered me so much I said fine and walked over there. He had his hat on and was obviously ordering take out and I said 'Mr. Hoffman, I'm sorry,' And he looked at me and said 'Cruise!'' Hoffman invited Cruise and his sister to watch him on Broadway and afterwards they chatted backstage. 'So we were there, and as I was leaving, he said, 'I want to make a movie with you.' I was like, 'That'd be nice,' ' Cruise said. 'I was very Southern: Yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma'am, no ma'am …. And basically a year later he sent me Rain Man.' The Oscar-winning film cast Cruise as a self-absorbed car dealer who embarks on a road trip with his autistic half-brother (Hoffman) after he learns that their father has left him his $3 million fortune to pay for his medical care. The film dominated awards season that year, winning best picture at the Oscars, in addition to best director for Barry Levinson, actor for Hoffman and original screenplay for Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow. Cruise told moderator Edith Bowman that he shared with Hoffman how his 1967 classic The Graduate was a major influence on his 1983 breakout movie Risky Business. He also shared a piece of advice Hoffman gave him. 'Hoffman and I spent two years working together. One of the things he took me through is everything he did on Kramer vs Kramer,' Cruise explained. 'Dustin told me how he structured the scenes based on the talent of his son in the movie and how to film it so that that actor really was what you needed.' Rain Man was released in the midst of a hot streak that found Cruise appearing in films like Cocktail, Born of the Fourth of July (for which he was nominated for his first Oscar) and a role opposite Paul Newman in The Color of Money. It also followed the first Top Gun, which was a worldwide hit. Cruise said that after that high-flying movie, he withstood calls for a sequel and sought out different parts. 'They really wanted me to make Top Gun over and over,' Cruise said. 'But I wanted to develop my talent in different areas, and I wanted more challenges.' Going forward, after appearing in 2012's adaptation of the jukebox musical Rock of Ages, Cruise said he wants to try belting out more songs on the big screen. 'Definitely a musical. Absolutely, musicals,' the actor said of future films he hopes to be a part of. 'You know, dramas, action adventures. It's endless. My goals are endless.' Cruise is in the midst of a global press tour to support the latest — and supposedly final — Mission: Impossible movie. Set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week, the new adventure finds Cruise's Ethan Hunt trying to stop a terrifying artificial intelligence threat determined to wipe out mankind. Speaking to Postmedia at the red carpet premiere for the previous entry — Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning — back in 2023, Cruise said the nearly 30-year globe-trotting adventure series allowed him to realize his childhood dreams. 'I get to travel the world. I always wanted to go make movies and travel the world,' he said. 'That's what I love doing.' mdaniell@ 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' director says viewer 'almost had a heart attack' watching Tom Cruise stunts Tom Cruise 'passed out' filming new 'Mission: Impossible' stunt
