The movie chairman who blasted Tom Cruise over his unprofessional behavior last summer now wants to mend his friendship with the Mission: Impossible star. Sumner Redstone, who is chairman of Paramount Pictures parent company Viacom, made headlines in August when he criticized Cruise's behavior after revealing the studio had ended its 14-year partnership with Cruise's production company. He tells People magazine, "I haven't talked with him recently. But who knows, I look forward to seeing him again. He's a great, great actor, one of the best. "He was a great friend. And I look forward to being his friend again." The 83-year-old mogul criticized Cruise for his behavior, which included jumping on talk-show host Oprah Winfrey's couch proclaiming his love for then-fiancée Katie Holmes. Redstone told the Wall Street Journal at the time, "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot. His conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount." Redstone claims he was "surprised" by the way his comments were interpreted, adding, "I didn't know anything was going to be so explosive. "What happened was, I just gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal. In the course of it, they asked me what was going on. I said, you know, he would no longer be in the lot. "They treated that like I was firing him. I didn't fire him! I had nothing to do with it. But they treated it explosively. And I didn't like it."
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Redstone Wants to Repair Relationship with Cruise
The movie chairman who blasted Tom Cruise over his unprofessional behavior last summer now wants to mend his friendship with the Mission: Impossible star. Sumner Redstone, who is chairman of Paramount Pictures parent company Viacom, made headlines in August when he criticized Cruise's behavior after revealing the studio had ended its 14-year partnership with Cruise's production company. He tells People magazine, "I haven't talked with him recently. But who knows, I look forward to seeing him again. He's a great, great actor, one of the best. "He was a great friend. And I look forward to being his friend again." The 83-year-old mogul criticized Cruise for his behavior, which included jumping on talk-show host Oprah Winfrey's couch proclaiming his love for then-fiancée Katie Holmes. Redstone told the Wall Street Journal at the time, "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot. His conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount." Redstone claims he was "surprised" by the way his comments were interpreted, adding, "I didn't know anything was going to be so explosive. "What happened was, I just gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal. In the course of it, they asked me what was going on. I said, you know, he would no longer be in the lot. "They treated that like I was firing him. I didn't fire him! I had nothing to do with it. But they treated it explosively. And I didn't like it."