LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tom Cruise opened his extremely anticipated CinemaCon look on Thursday with a shifting tribute to his “Top Gun” co-star, Val Kilmer, who died Tuesday in Los Angeles.
“He loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us with his performances and his films,” Cruise mentioned to a room stuffed with movie show house owners. “I really can’t tell you how much I admired his work, how much I thought of him as a human being, and how grateful and honored I was when he joined ‘Top Gun’ and then came back for ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’”
Cruise referred to as for a second of silence, which stood in stark distinction to the in any other case action-packed presentation of Paramount Photos’ upcoming films.
“Thank you, Val. I wish you well on your next journey,” he mentioned to the silent room.
Cruise was there to hype “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” the eighth installment of the franchise set to hit theaters Could 23.
Provided that the 62-year-old is without doubt one of the uncommon stars who continues to be a near-guarantee for field workplace success, Cruise is an unsurprising darling of the annual conference and commerce present in Las Vegas, the place studios hype up cinemas and search to persuade theater house owners they will lure audiences out of the home.
Cruise’s tribute to McQ
Most superstar appearances all through the conference comprise a couple of minutes onstage. However Cruise gave a considerate, off-the-prompter tribute to Christopher McQuarrie — or as Cruise calls him, McQ — who was honored as CinemaCon’s director of the yr.
The speech, adopted by an extended checklist of thank-yous to colleagues and the viewers, lasted practically 20 minutes earlier than a brand new trailer was launched.
Cruise talked at size about following the filmmaker’s profession after McQuarrie, at 26, received the Oscar for authentic screenplay for “The Usual Suspects.”
“Most people are still finding their voices at that age, but McQ had already written a film that changed the cinematic landscape,” Cruise mentioned.
The pair first labored collectively on the 2008 World Conflict II drama, “Valkyrie,” which McQuarrie co-wrote. “We met in LA in my screening room and we spent hours together talking about movies. And from that meeting, I knew that he was an artist that I was going to work with for the rest of my life. I absolutely knew that he was a creative brother who shares the same love and passion for cinema,” Cruise mentioned.
McQuarrie started directing the “Mission Impossible” franchise with its fifth installment, “Rogue Nation.” Cruise recounted the challenges they’ve confronted with the newest two movies, together with pandemic lockdowns and Hollywood strikes, and credited McQuarrie with making the movies occur.
“He didn’t do it for personal glory, not just to make a film, but truly in recognition of the responsibility that we have for others, for our industry,” Cruise mentioned.
The upcoming movie was the spotlight of Paramount’s slate. To kick off the presentation, 4 motorcyclists flew off ramps as smoke shot from the bottom, earlier than descending from the stage and weaving round via aisles as the enduring theme track performed.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with you, to learn from you, and to place you in harm’s way for other people’s entertainment,” McQuarrie joked to Cruise whereas accepting the award.
Taking large cinematic swings
Although Paramount’s different tasks aren’t anticipated to rival “Mission Impossible” on the field workplace, the studio boasted a handful of films clearly meant to be seen on a giant display.
The primary movie they teased was Edgar Wright’s upcoming “The Running Man,” a dystopian recreation present thriller based mostly on the Stephen King novel of the identical title. To tease the primary footage from the movie, actors Glen Powell, who can also be being honored as CinemaCon’s star of the yr, Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin hyped the movie alongside Wright.
“Now, more than ever, we need movies in the movie theaters that bring people from all different backgrounds and ideologies together, for one simple reason: to be entertained,” Powell mentioned earlier than elaborating on the lengths to which he would go to entertain audiences. “I’ve fallen from buildings, I’ve jumped through explosions, I had my body thrashed and smashed. This is probably what I get for asking Tom Cruise advice on using a stunt double.”
The studio additionally confirmed new footage from its upcoming reboot of “The Naked Gun,” which stars Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson. Channing Tatum, one other CinemaCon honoree for distinguished decade of accomplishment in movie, additionally got here out on stage to introduce footage for “Roofman,” a based-on-a-true-story crime thriller a few man who escaped jail after being convicted of a number of robberies.
The docket was additionally crammed with animated franchises, like “Smurfs,” which stars Rihanna, and “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” which hits theaters in December.
“I actually did an episode of SpongeBob in the fifth season and I did such a good job, they asked me back 18 years later,” mentioned Mark Hamill, who stars within the latter as The Flying Dutchman.
Paramount Photos CEO Brian Robbins painted a rosy image of the studio, however acknowledged the corporate’s merger final yr with Skydance.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished at Paramount Pictures in the midst of all the noise going on at our parent company,” Robbins mentioned.
