President Tom Cruise In 28th Amendment
Well I guess it was only a matter of time. Tom Cruise is apparently set to star as the President of the United States in the new political thriller “28th Amendment” (not based on the book of the same name). The folks over at Moviehole give us this:
Cruise would play President Ben Cahill in Warners action thriller, which follows the adventures of an American President (Cruise) that discovers the United States is actually being controlled by a super secret organization (run by Denzel Washington) that terminates those that get in its way. The deal should be official in a few days.
Wow… I ummm… wow. The presence of Denzel Washington in there does arouse my interest, but I don’t know. On the one hand, I do think Tom Cruise is a talented actor (As a side note, early word is that he’s terrible in Valkyrie… but I haven’t seen it yet), but with all the stuff going on around Cruise the last few years…. are people really going to flock to the theaters to see him play the President? Wouldn’t that be more like… I don’t know… people’s worst nightmares???
Personally, I still believe Cruise should do some really rich small indie films (in the vein of Magnolia) to rebuild some of his cred… or dive into some mindless fun action or comedy stuff to soften his image among film goers. Him playing the President doesn’t seem like something that will work to me. Denzel or no Denzel, I small a flop in the making.
20 Comments, Comment or Ping
James
Cruise as the President isn’t such a stretch. I mean, it’s not like he is trying to pass himself off as a samurai.
Oh wait….
May 15th, 2008
Chris
Maybe if Denzel was the President and and Cruise was the leader of the secret organization, then I might be interested. Now that would be a perfect role for Mr. Cruise.
May 15th, 2008
Ric Ocasek
John,
From what I hear, Cruise is supposed to be hilarious in “Tropic Thunder”. As far as being a flop, who cares! If the film is good, I could give two shits if the film makes money. Magnolia’s budget was more than Lions for Lambs but no one considers that a flop, even though it only made 20 mil. If Cruise picks quality projects, I think he’ll be fine. Denzel + Cruise and if you add a quality director this film could be good.
May 15th, 2008
John
Hey Ric,
I see where you’re coming from… but understand that if a movie is a “flop” that means people weren’t interested in seeing it. THAT MATTERS. It may not matter to you or me if a movie is a “flop” but it dose matter to the people who pay for those movies… and the more “flops”, the less likely those people will put up money in the future.
Box Office MATTERS. Not just for money, but for measuring people’s interest in a movie. No box office success means no one wanted to see it.
I’ve also heard his cameo in TT is pretty funny. Hope it’s true.
May 15th, 2008
RonSalon
I wished TC would just go away, perhaps to a distant planet.
May 15th, 2008
haole
I think I more agree with Chris, the roles should be reversed…
May 15th, 2008
João Farinha
I really don’t get all this talk about Tom Cruise private life. Although I don’t agree with many of his latest public interventions, I just don’t care about it. What I know is that I love movies and in that regard Tom Cruise as had an amazing carreer, he knows how to surrond himself with the best director’s and rarelly chooses a bad project. Besides Mission Impossible 2, that’s probably the only of his movies I didn’t like, I think he allways does a good job. So yes I am looking forward for his movie.
May 15th, 2008
Meli
I’d only want to see this movie if Denzel’s character wins. hehe
May 15th, 2008
Ric Ocasek
John,
I do agree with you that box office matters, but as far as Cruise goes, I’m not sure why we continue to go to the box office failure card. Four of his last five films have grossed over a 100 mil. domestic(not counting foreign BO), the one flop was Lions for Lambs(In which he only was a supporting actor). The only problem with “Lions for Lambs” was it was the first film his UNITED ARTIST Studio produced. I think your argument will definitely hold up if “Valkyrie” fails. The story sounds good and I like the cast and director, but the delays make me nervous.
May 15th, 2008
John
Hey Ric,
The problem is only his last 2 films have come out since his public image destruction… yes MI 3 made money, but according to the studio itself is made far far far less money than they anticipated prior to Cruises melt down. The next film was Lions for Lambs and it bombed. I suspect the same for valkyrie (not as bad, but still bad).
But who knows? I’m just not optimistic. Could be 100% wrong
May 15th, 2008
chris (the real one)
it sounds like a pretty interesting story….im down to see it, im one of those people who doesnt give a damn what tom cruise does off screen, i think hes a good actor.
and john do u think this will flop just because cruise is playing president or because of cruise’s antics? or do u think people are tired of him?
May 15th, 2008
John
Hey Chris,
I think all three are just ways of saying the same thing really. :P
May 15th, 2008
GODFATHER
I disagree with ya John. I think at the time, people may seem to have cared about Cruise going bonkers, saying what he said about Brooke, etc, but people have short memories and in the end just don’t give a damn. If the movie looks interesting, they will go. If it doesn’t, they won’t. Lions faced a major uphill battle as it wasn’t a widely released film and didn’t have much marketing behind it. If this film does go through, those two major factors will be more of a determinant in the end result. If the major dollars are behind the marketing and release, but the people don’t come, then you can argue that his image is ruined. Until one of his movies plays in every theatre and bombs, he’s got the “Golden Boy” image as a seat filler.
May 15th, 2008
Sound Designer Dan
I have to say that I agree with some of the commenters that Cruise should be the villain and that Denzel should play the President. I’d like to see Cruise play more villain roles. Cuz right now, people just wanna see Cruise as the bad guy. He was great in Collateral as the baddie.
May 15th, 2008
grendel25
John,
Your comment “I smell a flop” is totally unwarranted. All you’ve heard is a synopsis and that Cruise may star, and you’ve already judged the film. Do you just think it’s a bad concept, or do you just have that much contempt for Tom Cruise?
May 15th, 2008
John
Hey Grendel25
Totally unwarranted??? It’s a prediction and it’s based on recent trends on Cruise box office performance. It’s quite warranted. It may turn out to be a big hit… but when I look at the circumstances, my prediction would be a flop.
I have no “contempt” for Tom Cruise. I repeated say how much I like him as an actor. But that doesn’t change the facts. Why are you so biased?
May 15th, 2008
grendel25
How am I biased? I’m not making any predictions of a film simply based on a synopsis. The facts are, Cruise has had only one major flop in his last eight films, and that flop wasn’t even a starring vehicle for him.
May 16th, 2008
John
Hey Grendel25
You’re ignoring the fact that he has only had 2 films since his public melt down. MI 3 made money, but it made almost a full $100 million less than what the studio projected it wold make prior to his melt down, and then his next film flopped. Those are the only 2 that have relevance at this point.
To ignore that obvious fact is either being purposefully bias or unrealistically optimistic.
Look, it’s still possible it could be great and be a huge hit. POSSIBLE. But I look at it, and the facts, and the circumstances and I predict it will flop. I could be 100% wrong… but considering the facts, it’s not an unreasonable prediction.
May 16th, 2008
46and2
CHRIS beat me to the punch with the exact same thought, so I’ll just say I threw up a little in my mouth when I read this post.
May 16th, 2008
grendel25
John,
I’m not ignoring the fact that he made only two films since his meltdown. I just don’t consider them to be enough in the equation that you are already saying that this smells like a flop. I understand that Mission 3 was not up to par of what the studio wanted monetary wise, but it did make almost $400 mil worldwide, and I don’t really consider “Lions for Lambs” because no one wants to see movies about the middle east right now.
I’m just wondering what would you think of the film if you had just heard the synopsis and not who is starring in it.
May 16th, 2008
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