If anyone has the right to step in and try to talk to both sides of the picket line on the matter of the current SAG-AFTRA strike, it’s the man who risks his very life every time he makes a movie, Tom Cruise. The actor attempted to step in before the strike was underway to discuss certain key issues, including the use of AI and also the ability to promote films during the strike.
Cruise is one of the kings of Hollywood, he has been churning out action film after action film, in what appears to be his own personal quest to have increasingly ridiculous near-death experiences. All jokes aside though, we have a lot of respect for the crazy stunts he pulls off for our entertainment. It isn’t just his crazy stunts that we admire, but his commitment to keeping movies in theatres, such as bringing people back to the big screen after the pandemic with his blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise was working last month to try to bring together the AMTPT and SAG-AFTRA to come to an agreement, imploring the former to understand the concerns that actors and writers have regarding AI, via Deadline. He also pushed on behalf of the proposal which covers stunt coordinators and performers, though the details of this discussion have not been shared. Cruise has worked heavily with the latter and is no doubt very invested in ensuring their needs are met and that they are getting the best representation possible throughout the ongoing negotiations.
Whilst Cruise is attempting to use his influence to help sway the AMPTP, he was trying to persuade SAG-AFTRA to continue letting actors promote movies, something which they are currently prohibited from doing under the strike rules. He was pushing for this back in June before the strike began, as he knows too well the power of actor-driven PR and what it can do for a movie.
As it currently stands, SAG actors cannot engage in any paid publicity for their projects, which can have huge knock-on effects on the film’s performance at the box office. Cruise has consistently pushed to retain the theatre experience in the wake of streaming, and was credited for “saving Hollywood’s ass” (as Steven Speilberg put it) when he pushed for Top Gun: Maverick to open in theatres, which it did to the tune of $1.4 billion worldwide.
His efforts do not stop with his own films, as he has pushed for people to go see the latest releases, posting on his social media, “This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theatres.”
Currently, there are no new developments on the writers’ and actors’ strikes as the creatives and those in charge find themselves at a standstill. Cruise has faced his share of impossible missions, but this may be his hardest one yet.
You can catch him in theatres now in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.