Will 'Mission' Self-Destruct?


The behavior of Tom Cruise while promoting the June 29 release of the Paramount/DreamWorks' film War of the Worlds has prompted Paramount execs to consider shelving Mission: Impossible III, in which Cruise is also slated to star (and which has seen its anticipated budget climb to over $150 million), the New York Times reported today (Thursday). The newspaper said that in recent promotional appearances Cruise has been spending so much time promoting Scientology and talking about his love for his new girlfriend Katie Holmes that War of the Worlds itself has been getting little attention. The Times indicated that Paramount and DreamWorks execs were particularly concerned about Cruise's odd behavior during an appearance on Oprah on May 23.

IMDB speculation. They don't have correct info most of the time.

An executive for Viacom, Paramount's parent company, said the studio had not yet decided whether to push ahead with production of "Mission: Impossible III," one of the company's most valuable franchises and a project on which tens of millions of dollars has already been spent. Shooting was planned to begin in Italy on July 18 and to continue on location in Europe and elsewhere.

"No definitive decision has been made; it's a discussion," said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared endangering the studio's relationship with Mr. Cruise. Other executives involved in the discussion said the production became an issue in recent days as the budget has climbed well over $150 million. A studio spokeswoman, Janet Hill, declined to comment.

The newspaper said that in recent promotional appearances Cruise has been spending so much time promoting Scientology and talking about his love for his new girlfriend Katie Holmes that War of the Worlds itself has been getting little attention.