Paramount Severs Ties with Tom Cruise
August 23, 2006

He’s been at the center of a controversial media storm for more than one year now.

And while the world wears tired of Tom Cruise’s couch-jumping love declarations, antidepressant slams and Baby Suri hideouts, it seems the millionaire’s business partners have grown bored with the public spectacles as well.

Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount Pictures' parent company Viacom, announced Tuesday that Paramount has ended their 14-year professional relationship with the mega-movie star, blaming Cruise’s recent controversial behavior.

"It's nothing to do with his acting ability, he's a terrific actor," Redstone said of not renewing its contract with Cruise’s Cruise/Wagner Productions. "But we don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot."

Cruise starred in Paramount hits including “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun” and “Days of Thunder,” and has based his production company on the Paramount lot since 1992.

"As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Redstone said. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

Cruise's agent, Rick Nicita, told the Wall Street Journal that Cruise was "offended" by Redstone's remarks. "This was done in an incredibly graceless way," he said.

Variety Editor-In-Chief Peter Bart explains the split best: "(The split) is a challenge for (Tom) to get on with his career. … It's like a call to arms for him."


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