I’m sure Katie Holmes is breathing a sigh of relief (wink, wink). Her fiancé, Tom Cruise, should be bringing home even more bacon now that he and producing partner Paula Wagner have been put in charge of United Artists, a film studio that was formed by Hollywood legends including Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.
According to news reports, Wagner will serve as chief executive of the company, which is owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., while Cruise will appear in United Artists’ films and also be allowed to star in films from rival studios. Today’s announcement follows Cruise and Wagner’s much publicized “dumping” in August from their 14-year producing deal at Paramount Studios. You’ll remember the news that made headlines: Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount parent company Viacom Inc., blamed Cruise’s controversial public antics (couch-jumping on Oprah, criticizing Brooke Shields) for hurting the box office performance of “Mission: Impossible III.”
Hollywood insiders say the announcement is “a major comeback” for Cruise and Wagner. MGM confirmed the report that Cruise and Wagner had taken an ownership interest in United Artists, but did not specify financial terms. What company executives would say is that the pair will have full control of the production slate, which is expected to be four films a year. You may have seen Cruise during his last appearance in a United Artists’ film–“Rain Man” in 1988, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture.
By accepting their new roles, Cruise and Wagner become part of a studio steep in tradition. United Artists was founded in 1919 by Chaplin, Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith and for decades operated as an artist-centered company. Some of its notable hits include “Some Like it Hot” and a string of James Bond films, starting with 1962’s “Dr. No.” In 1967 the company was sold to Transamerica, which owned it until 1981 when it was bought by MGM.
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