Cruise Is No Longer Invulnerable

Fact: The weekend numbers for Mission: Impossible: III were not what they should be. The question is, was it because of Cruise's off-camera behavior, or because the franchise was winding down, or because this is not a real holiday weekend? Next weekend will truly tell the tale. But something in the realm of $60 million was what Paramount was looking for. This is not a disaster. Yet. But these tentpoles—entirely paid by the studio—are not supposed to disappoint. They are supposed to pay for everything else. If Paramount already rewarded J.J. Abrams with reinventing the Star Trek franchise—which I think was a brilliant idea—that presupposes that they were not unhappy with what he did here. And did not see this lackluster b.o. performance coming.

Comments

[Alan Green]

anne

i know a woman that had a huge crush on tc. it was one of those jokey things. now, though, she thinks he's 'lost his fucking mind'. she's totally creeped out by him - like 'would not want to be in a room alone with him'. i think this is a common shift among female viewers. not a good thing for the tc choo choo train

this must have contributed to mi3's box office.

z
ps - the people who know say signs are not good for mi3's legs in future weeks.

[Kendall Bruns]

maybe it hasn't done well because people are sick of how silly these films have become...

Mission: Ridiculous
Filmmakers Kendall Bruns & Josh Flowers Predict Summer Blockbuster’s Plot

Cincinnati, OH – May 8, 2006 – In the recently opened Mission: Impossible III, Tom Cruise runs around with a bomb planted inside his head. Cincinnati filmmakers Kendall Bruns and Josh Flowers already explored this territory nearly a year ago in their award winning comedic short film, “Exploded”.

“Exploded”, created as part of last July's 48 Hour Film Project, begins with the main character waking to discover a bomb has been planted inside his head. The same plot point was hinted in some of the Mission: Impossible III trailers but it wasn’t until Kendall Bruns watched the film that it really became apparent.

Bruns says, “I can’t believe it. Especially considering how we came up with the idea.” The 48 Hour Film Project is an international festival and competition where teams have only 48 hours to write, film and edit a 4-7 minute film. Teams randomly draw a genre at the start of the allotted time. “Our genre was Action/Adventure and we tried to think of the most ridiculous idea possible. The fact that what we came up with has now coincidentally been used as a major plot point in what is sure to be one of the year’s biggest movies is pretty ironic. We spoofed the movie before it even came out... by accident.” explains Bruns.

Flowers is equally surprised saying, “I mean come on, a bomb in the head? You wouldn't even see that in a Bond movie. Instead of just shooting the guy you perform surgery and implant a bomb in his head? Their version isn’t even a comedy!”

“Exploded” has been viewed over 10,000 times on popular website, YouTube, and can be also be viewed online at www.pizzainfinity.com.


About Kendall Bruns & Josh Flowers

Recently voted Cincinnati’s “Best Local Artist” by the readers of CityBeat, Bruns is a 2000 graduate from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He met Flowers as a guest on “The Josh Flowers Show”, one of many programs Flowers has created for public access television over the years. In the beginning of 2005 they formed Pizza Infinity, a production company for their film projects.

Recent projects include “Love Me, Don’t Sit on Me”, which was premiered by the Cincinnati Film Society in December, and this summer’s “The Haircut”.

Direct links to view “Exploded” online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doNjFTooEjI
http://www.pizzainfinity.com/video/EXPLODED_web.mov

[janet]

I will admit it...I wanted MI3 to fail. Everytime you turn on the tv there he is, Tom Cruise. There he is smiling, always smiling. It drives me crazy. But only time will tell how well the movie will do. I hope that it was a statement of how people feel about his "I'm right, your wrong" attitude, but the first weekend in May was when many students were getting ready to take finals at college, attending proms, or people in general trying to keep enough money to pay for gas! Time will tell, but I for one don't plan on watching MI3! On many boards, people have commented that they know so much about him, that they only see Tom Cruise in the picture and not the characters that he plays. I agree. All the PR in New York alone bordered on the rediculous. What a waste of money. When I see marketing budgets on these films, all I can think of is that they could have made two really great films or better yet, put that money to good use in a humanitarian way and let the movie sell itself because if a movie is good, it will sell itself!

[Scott]

I have to admit, I can't get enough of the Tom Cruise/MI:III story. I like TC films--a lot, but I can't stand to watch his interviews (I cringe for him). Maybe the stuff Tom spouts sounds really"normal" in the isolated, sheltered, and pampered world he and other big,big (or one-time big,big) stars live in?

I feel sorry for the guy, and I say that knowing he has millions and millions and I have a second mortgage. I wish he'd have stuck with the elusive, mysterious bit and let me project, or assume that he was as superhuman in person as the characters he portrayed onscreen. I don't know...the mystique is gone, man!

Yet, as I said, it's like a train wreck--I can't quit reading all the stories. And, the part of me that likes his films wants there to be another reason for the little b blockbuster opening other than the "Tom's on the way out" slant.

I want to know more, so please, please keep us informed....

Thanks,

Scott