Legendary director Steven Spielberg was all praise for Tom Cruise recently for his role in saving the American movie industry. Hollywood had been struggling of late with a string of flops at the box office.
Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg had earlier collaborated on Minority Report in 2002, and War of the Worlds in 2005. They again reunited at the luncheon of the 95th Academy Awards. Steven Spielberg expressed love and admiration for the milestone success of Tom Cruise’s long-awaited sequel to Top Gun, the 1986 American action drama film starring Cruise, and directed by Tony Scott. The candid moment has gone viral and was extensively shared on Twitter.
In a clip initially uploaded on Instagram by Oscar nominee Kartiki Gonsalves, director of the documentary short movie, The Elephant Whisperers, Steven Spielberg is also heard telling Tom Cruise that he saved theatrical distribution. Cruise looked visibly embarrassed and was left red-faced.
Steven Spielberg Is Not Alone In Praise Of Tom Cruise
Maverick became the 2nd movie to bring in over a billion dollars at box offices worldwide even amid the COVID-19 pandemic after Spider-Man: No Way Home. Even adjusting for inflation, the $1.48B grossed by Top Gun: Maverick places it at number 11 in all-time highest grosser worldwide. At the home box office, the movie comes in as the 5th highest grosser with a total collection of $718M.
The 1986 Top Gun follow-up turned into a rare hit in the old-fashioned mold that slowly moved for a month before becoming a hit based largely on word-of-mouth publicity. It was repeat customers who fuelled the success of Maverick.
Steven Spielberg was not alone in praise of the latest Tom Cruise movie. Baz Luhrmann, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Gleeson, Austin Butler, Paul Mescan, and other celebrities approached Cruise at the event. Earlier, Quentin Tarantino was all praise for the movie while Jennifer Connelly called her co-star Tom Cruise an ‘extraordinary actor.’
