Tom Cruise was in typically rakish form as he debuted red hair and flaunted height-boosting shoes while posing with Prince William and Kate Middleton at the London premiere of his new movie “Digger” this week.
asserted
he → debut → movie
Breaking through the royals’ natural froideur, the Hollywood star got them to crack a smile on Tuesday as part of his p.r. blitz ahead of the film’s opening this coming Friday.
asserted
them → break → opening
But even though Tinseltown remains in his thrall, Page Six can reveal that Cruise’s Oscar hopes for the movie — about a wealthy oil tycoon forced to fix a global environmental catastrophe he caused — have already plummeted.
asserted
he → remain → catastrophe
And the satirical comedy, directed by four-time Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu, is currently on track for a dismal $15 million domestic opening weekend
asserted
comedy → direct → weekend
“There was a press screening in LA last week — and the press reactions were mixed at best,” an industry insider told us.
asserted
insider → be → us
“Then you saw its placement on all the Oscar lists drop after that screening.
asserted
placement → see → screening
Tom is still beloved, but I don’t think people want to see him in a fat suit and makeup — they want to see him as the action hero.
asserted
they → think → hero
Indeed, Debra Birnbaum, editor of leading awards prediction platform Gold Derby, confirmed that Cruise’s Oscar prospects had fallen following last Saturday’s screening at the Steven J. Ross Theater on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, Calif.
“Despite Tom’s full-court p.r. press, they just weren’t jumping on the couch for his performance,” she told Page Six.
asserted
she → confirm → performance
“His odds on GoldDerby.com have tumbled since the embargo [for social media movie reviews] lifted, leaving him a big hole to dig himself out of — he’s dropped among our experts and overall, including users, too.”
asserted
he → tumble → users
According to one person who has seen the movie, “Yes, ‘Digger’ is a massive creative swing.”
uncertain
Digger → accord → movie
Despite his box office hits, from “Top Gun” to the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, Cruise has never won a competitive Oscar, although he has been nominated four times: for Best Actor for “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Jerry Maguire,” Best Supporting Actor for “Magnolia” and Best Picture as a producer of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
However, he was given an honorary Oscar at the 16th Governors Awards last November.
In the upcoming Best Actor Oscar race, Cruise is now languishing behind Andrew Scott for “Elsinore,” in which the Irish actor portrays Scottish actor Ian Charleson, the “Chariots of Fire” star who died from AIDS aged 40 in 1990.
asserted
who → win → 1990
John Malkovich is also ahead of Cruise for “Wild Horse Nine,” along with Matt Damon for “The Odyssey.”
“Tom’s now in fourth place, which still gives him a chance of a nomination, but the Best Actor race is the most competitive of all this year,” Birnbaum added.
asserted
Birnbaum → ’ → all
For years, Cruise has managed the remarkable feat of branding himself as one of Hollywood’s most bankable and beloved stars, largely by keeping the focus firmly on the death-defying stunts and blockbuster spectacle of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise — and firmly away from the Church of Scientology and his fractured family relationships.
But “Digger” presents a very different challenge.
asserted
Digger → manage → challenge
This time, Cruise isn’t dangling from a plane or riding a motorcycle off a cliff.
asserted
Cruise → dangle → cliff
He is asking audiences — and, crucially, Academy voters — to embrace Tom Cruise the actor again.
asserted
He → ask → Cruise
And during his carefully orchestrated return to the spotlight, his famously complicated personal life has once more become part of the conversation.
asserted
life → orchestrate → conversation
Critics online revived questions about his estrangement from his daughter Suri, 20, with ex-wife Katie Holmes, and his long-standing ties to Scientology.
asserted
Critics → revive → Scientology
Cruise remains Scientology’s most famous member and has long been close to its leader, David Miscavige.
asserted
Cruise → remain → leader
“Shoutout Scientology,” read another.
asserted
another → shoutout → Scientology
“You guys must’ve left that part of the podcast off where he tried to convince you to join a cult.”
asserted
he → leave → cult
Another wrote: “He spends more time with the Kelce brothers than his own daughter.”
asserted
He → write → daughter
As part of his “Digger” press, Cruise appeared on the cover of GQ, baring his abs in an open button-up shirt and jeans, with one hand placed near his crotch, prompting an outcry online that it gave people the “ick.”
asserted
it → appear → ick
“Don’t know how to explain it but I find this photo deeply disturbing,” one X user said.
asserted
user → know → it
Despite giving a lengthy interview to the magazine, Cruise — as is his wont — did not discuss his personal life.
asserted
nt → give → life
He did, however, address rumors about his demanding nature, admitting, “Look, I work hard, and people that work with me, they know.
asserted
they → address → me
“I expect a lot and I’m up-front about it.
asserted
I → expect → it
It’s like: ‘The rumors are true.
asserted
rumors → ’ → ?
And do you want this?’
asserted
you → want → this
Cruise is rarely asked publicly about Scientology, but in 2016 he told ITV News: “It’s something that has helped me incredibly in my life.
asserted
that → ask → life
It’s something that is, you know … without it, I wouldn’t be where I am.
asserted
I → ’ → it
So, it’s a beautiful religion.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
I’m incredibly proud.”
asserted
I → ’m → ?
His relationship with the church has long been scrutinized alongside his estrangement from Suri, whom he has not been publicly pictured with since she was a child.
asserted
she → scrutinize → whom
Cruise and Suri were last photographed together at Disney World in the summer of 2012, when she was 6.
Suri, now a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, grew up in Manhattan largely shielded from the spotlight by Holmes and far removed from her father’s life in Scientology.
Cruise remains close to his two adopted children with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, Isabella, 33, and Connor, 31, who are both members of the church.
asserted
who → photograph → church
Yet within Hollywood, there remains enormous affection for Cruise — not least because he was credited with helping lure audiences back into movie theaters following the pandemic.
asserted
he → remain → pandemic
Steven Spielberg famously thanked him for “saving Hollywood’s ass” with 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” which made nearly $1.5 billion worldwide, and Cruise, in turn, has mentored a younger generation of actors, including “Top Gun” star Glen Powell.
asserted
Cruise → thank → Powell
Cruise also keeps an extraordinarily tight circle around him, including his sisters Lee Anne DeVette, who works with him, Marian Henry and Cass Capazorio.
asserted
who → keep → him
He has spent much of the past five years living in the UK, where “Digger” was filmed at Pinewood Studios, and tightly controls when and where he is seen.
asserted
he → spend → Studios
His celebrity friends include David Beckham, whom Cruise honored with a speech when the former England soccer captain received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June.
asserted
captain → include → June
Beckham, 51, and his sons Romeo, 24, and Cruz, 21, were also among those supporting Cruise at the “Digger” premiere in London this week.
And despite the controversies surrounding him, a well-placed Hollywood source who has met Cruise several times said the star remains extraordinarily engaging in person.
asserted
star → support → person
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
