There were few signs that a major blockbuster was about to premiere when \u201cThe Mummy\u201d rolled into Manhattan last week. The marquee of the AMC Loews Lincoln Square Theatres had gone blank. The carpet was totally covered with black plastic. Security only let guests past barricades after quizzing them about what they were there to see, and everybody had to walk through two imposing metal detectors.<\/p>\n
Inside the theater, Tom Cruise was jubilant, as he stood in front of the crowd.\u00a0\u201cHey y\u2019all,\u201d said the 54-year-old actor. He introduced Alex Kurtzman, the film\u2019s director, as well as the cast members, who stood quietly as Cruise delivered a 10-minute improvised speech. \u201cMovies aren\u2019t made by single people,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a team effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in the case of \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d one person\u2013Cruise\u2013had an excessive amount of control, according to several people interviewed. The reboot of \u201cThe Mummy\u201d was supposed to be the start of a mega-franchise for Universal Pictures. But instead, it\u2019s become a textbook case of a movie star\u00a0run amok.<\/p>\n
As Hollywood is playing the blame game on what went wrong on \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d which had a measly domestic opening of just $32 million, many fingers are pointing to Cruise. In the same way that he commanded the stage at the film\u2019s premiere, leaving his cast standing awkwardly by his side, several sources close to the production say that Cruise exerted nearly complete creative oversight on \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d\u00a0essentially wearing all the hats and dictating even the smallest decisions on the set. On stage, Cruise admitted his own perfectionist tendencies. \u201cI don\u2019t just make a movie.\u00a0I give it everything I have and I expect it from everyone also.\u201d<\/p>\n
Universal, according to sources familiar with the matter, contractually guaranteed Cruise control of most aspects of the project, from script approval to post-production decisions. He also had a great deal of input on the film\u2019s marketing and release strategy, these sources said, advocating for a June debut in a prime summer period.<\/p>\n
With terrible reviews, \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d which insiders say cost as much as $190 million to make and more than $100 million more\u00a0to market and release worldwide, may struggle to make its money back. The film is performing much stronger overseas, where it was Cruise\u2019s biggest international rollout with a $142 million opening weekend. It\u2019s not clear if the movie will break even, and it\u2019s cast a shadow on the studio\u2019s plans for a Dark Universe franchise that\u2019s supposed to feature A-list stars like Johnny Depp (as \u201cThe Invisible Man\u201d) and Angelina Jolie (in negotiations for \u201cThe Bride of Frankenstein\u201d).<\/p>\n
A representative for Cruise didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Universal refuted that Cruise had a negative influence on the production.<\/p>\n
\u201cTom approaches every project with a level of commitment and dedication that is unmatched by most working in our business today,\u201d the statement read. \u201cHe has been a true partner and creative collaborator, and his goal with any project he works on is to provide audiences with a truly cinematic moviegoing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cruise\u2019s controlling behavior comes as Hollywood\u2019s star system is in tatters. In the 1990s and early aughts, studios shelled out big money for the likes of Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, and Harrison Ford, confident that their names above the title could guarantee ticket sales. In exchange they were offered big perks, hefty salaries, and a sizable share of the profits. Along with the money came the power to veto key decisions. But as comic book movies and special effects-heavy productions took over, top actors found themselves in less demand and with less influence. Cruise has navigated the new landscape better than some\u2013the \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d franchise still makes money but other efforts such as \u201cOblivion\u201d have disappointed. Going forward, he may have difficulty exerting the same kind of sway over other films.<\/p>\n
It may be the last hurrah for big movie stars, but on the set of \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d Cruise acted like the top gun he once was, calling all the shots. Kurtzman had been in the running to direct the project before Cruise signed on, but the actor gave his blessing for the filmmaker to slide behind the camera. They\u2019d established a comfort level when Kurtzman worked as the screenwriter of \u201cMission: Impossible III.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the wake of \u201cThe Mummy\u2019s\u201d failure, the decision to tap such an untested director on a sprawling action-adventure seems to have been foolhardy. Kurtzman wouldn\u2019t necessarily rank high on a studio\u2019s wish list for a project this big, given that he\u2019s a producer and writer who only helmed one small feature that debuted to mixed reviews (2012\u2019s Chris Pine drama \u201cPeople Like Us\u201d). As Kurtzman struggled to adjust to scope of the project, it felt more like Cruise was the real director, often dictating the major action sequences and micro-managing the production, according to sources.<\/p>\n
There were other ways that \u201cThe Mummy\u201d was transformed from a scary summer popcorn movie into a standard-issue Tom Cruise vehicle. The actor personally commissioned two other writers along with McQuarrie to crank out a new script. Two of the film\u2019s three credited screenwriters, McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman, an actor-writer who played small roles in \u201cThe Mummy\u201d and \u201cJack Reacher,\u201d were close allies of Cruise\u2019s. The script envisioned Nick Morton as an earnest Tom Cruise archetype, who is laughably described as a \u201cyoung man\u201d at one point.<\/p>\n
His writers beefed up his part. In the original script, Morton and the Mummy (played by Sofia Boutella) had nearly equal screen time. The writers also added a twist that saw Cruise\u2019s character become possessed, to give him more of a dramatic arc. Even though Universal executives weren\u2019t thrilled about the story \u2014 which feels disjointed and includes Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll \u2014 they went along with Cruise\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n
And the crew fell in line too, behind Cruise as the boss. \u201cThis is very much a film of two halves: before Tom and after Tom,\u201d said Frank Walsh, the supervising art director, at a London screening of \u201cThe Mummy\u201d this week. \u201cI have heard the stories about how he drives everything and pushes and pushes, but it was amazing to work with him. The guy is a great filmmaker and knows his craft. He will walk onto a set and tell the director what to do, say \u2018that\u2019s not the right lens,\u2019 ask about the sets, and as long as you don\u2019t fluff what you\u2019re saying to him \u2026 he\u2019s easy to work for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once the film was done, Cruise brought in his longtime editor Andrew Mondshein to piece together the final picture. (The film\u2019s credits also list Gina and Paul Hirsch as editors.) He spent time in the editing suite overseeing the cutting, which everybody agreed wasn\u2019t working. On the lot, there were differences of opinions about whether Cruise\u2019s directions were improving a picture that had been troubled from its inception or whether they were turning a horror film into a Cruise infomercial. Some believed that Cruise had no choice but to assert himself. Given Kurtzman\u2019s inexperience directing tentpoles, Cruise, who has carried heavily choreographed action movies all his life, had to try to rally the troops or risk having the production fall behind schedule.<\/p>\n
Universal knew that if it wanted \u201cThe Mummy\u201d to compete against the likes of \u201cWonder Woman\u201d and \u201cGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2\u201d it needed every ounce of Cruise\u2019s waning star power. As the studio scrambled to deal with weak tracking, it released a portrait in late May of Cruise with other actors from the Dark Universe franchise, including Depp and Javier Bardem (who will play Frankenstein). Yet the studio couldn\u2019t even assemble all the actors in the room at the same time, and the image had to be Photoshopped. The Internet reaction to the last-ditch marketing effort was tepid at best. It was another reminder that the big names that once ruled Hollywood are inspiring a lot less love from audiences.<\/p>\n
The reviews may have been brutal, but at the premiere Cruise seemed pleased,\u00a0complimenting everyone involved and portraying the finished film as a team effort. \u201cJake! Jake!\u201d he shouted at one of his co-stars Jake Johnson. \u201cIt was awesome working with you, Jake!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: variety.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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