Steven Spielberg tells Tom Cruise that he “saved Hollywood’s ass”
At an Academy Awards nominees’ luncheon on Monday, February 13th, Steven Spielberg dished out heaps of praise for Tom Cruise in a clip that has been widely circulating on Twitter.
Cruise was in attendance due to his nomination as executive producer of Top Gun: Maverick and Spielberg for directing The Fabelmans, both of which have been nominated for multiple awards, including Best Picture.
In the video, Spielberg can be seen pulling Cruise in close to tell him, “You saved Hollywood’s ass”. The director continues, “And you might have saved theatrical distribution. Seriously. Maverick might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
His comments refer to the fact that Cruise insisted Top Gun: Maverick be held for release until Covid-19 had waned enough for widespread theatre distribution. By doing so, the film because the highest-grossing film of Cruise’s career – his first to cross the threshold of $1billion. So far, the movie has earned $1.489billion worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2022 after Avatar: The Way of the Water.
Spielberg previously shared his thoughts with Deadline on the Oscars’ recognition of multiple blockbusters. He explained: “I’m really encouraged by that. [But] it came late for the film that should have been nominated a number of years ago, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.”
The director continued: “That movie would have definitely garnered a ‘Best Picture’ nomination today, so having these two blockbusters solidly presented on the top 10 list is something we should all be celebrating.”
The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on February 12th. Top Gun: Maverick will compete against the likes of Elvis, Avatar: The Way of the Water, Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Banshees of Inisherin for ‘Best Picture’. The film has also been nominated for five other awards, including ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’, ‘Best Film Editing’ and ‘Best Original Song’ for Lady Gaga and BloodPop’s ‘Holy My Hand’.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.