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Rock of Ages

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Its exuberant silliness is almost enough to make up for its utter inconsequentiality, but Rock of Ages is ultimately too bland and overlong to justify its trip to the big screen.

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A Smell of Wine and Cheap Perfume

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By Manohla Dargis

• June 14, 2012

“Rock of Ages,” a jukebox musical turned junky big-screen attraction about making it in the music biz back when it still existed, is just entertaining enough to keep you from dark thoughts about the state of Hollywood. The movie is too insipid for such hand wringing, in any event, and the attention-grabbing turns by Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and especially Tom Cruise as a rock-star crazy help enliven its overlong two hours. All singing, some dancing, the movie brings to mind “Glee,” but its truer, superior progenitor is that 1933 Cinderella story, “42nd Street,” the one in which the producer tells the chorine, “You’re going out a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!”

The chorines this time around are Drew Boley (Diego Boneta) and Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough), who early on meet cute on the Sunset Strip, that asphalt ribbon distinguished by its clubs, eateries, high hopes, low prospects and celebrity deaths that winds through West Hollywood. She’s a little bit country, newly arrived from Flyover, U.S.A.; he’s a little bit hair-metal, with a menial gig at the Bourbon Room and dreams of guitar-rock divinity. The make-believe Bourbon sits next to the Whisky a Go Go although in reality it and the rest of the conspicuously faked Strip were shot in a tricked-out neighborhood in Miami. Mostly, though, the whole thing rests on a, er, bedrock of clichés from Hollywood’s favorite genre: movies about itself.

“Rock of Ages,” directed by the former dancer and choreographer Adam Shankman, is based on a musical — nicely described by Lina Lecaro, a Los Angeles scenester, as a “headbangin’-to-the-oldies revue” — that originated in a Hollywood club in 2005 and eventually migrated to Broadway, where it continues to pull in fans at the Helen Hayes. (Mr. Shankman directed the 2007 movie “Hairspray,” which was based on the Broadway musical that was, in another testament to entertainment industry self-cannibalization, based on the 1988 John Waters film.) Like the musical, the movie “Rock of Ages” is set in 1987, the year that “Appetite for Destruction,” the first album from Guns N’ Roses , and Tipper Gore’s book “Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society,” both hit the cultural fray.

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Written by Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo (who wrote the original show) and Allan Loeb, the movie resurrects these two forgotten events through a pair of opponents: an Axl Rose-like rocker, Stacee Jaxx, played with uncharacteristic heat and an undulating bare torso by Mr. Cruise, and a crusading neo-Puritan, Patricia Whitmore, energetically embodied by an underused Catherine Zeta-Jones. Whitmore has vowed, as part of the campaign to have her husband, Mike (Bryan Cranston), elected mayor, to clean up the Strip. In actuality it was Prince’s album “Purple Rain” that triggered Ms. Gore’s outrage over rock ’n’ raunch, an indignation that led to the Parents Music Resource Center, Senate hearings about dirty minds and government regulation, and eventually her wider pop-cultural attacks. Bringing in Prince would have made the movie listenable, but it would have complicated its white-bread world.

That’s less a reference to the picture’s homogeneous racial and ethnic makeup, which debatably reflects that of the music milieu it seeks to replicate. (Mary J. Blige, as Justice, the owner of a strip club, and the character actor Angelo Donato Valderrama, as a club busboy named Chico, are among the movie’s few tokens of diversity.) Rather, this Wonder Bread banality comes from how thoroughly Mr. Shankman has vacuumed his rock-scene simulacrum of anything recognizably rock, including the lust, juice, heat, bad behavior and excesses that characterize its real-life analogue. There isn’t any grit to these people or their art, not a speck of dirt anywhere. It looks like Disneyland and sounds, well, like a bad Broadway musical, with all the power belting and jazz-hand choreography that implies.

To put it another way, there’s way too much Journey on the soundtrack, and Foreigner. There’s also an REO Speedwagon ditty, a few from Twisted Sister, Def Leppard and Poison, and at least two hits that were released after 1987 (“More Than Words” and “I Remember You”). All the songs are sung, mostly without shame or distinction, by the actors themselves, who slide into the warbling as if into a conversation. A grizzled, bewigged Mr. Baldwin enunciates through his songs, in the Rex Harrison mold, to play a rock survivor, Dennis Dupree, who runs the Bourbon with his sidekick, Lonny (Mr. Brand). They make their stale buddy routine and romance amusing and, as with the rest of the adults, make the movie bearable. A whispering and writhing Mr. Cruise makes it watchable.

“Rock of Ages” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). No sex, few drugs, some rock ’n’ roll.

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How Tom Cruise pulled off Olympic Closing Ceremony stunt

For the special moment, the movie star was able to do something that is typically not allowed -- touch a hollywood sign., by robert kovacik and karla rendon • published august 12, 2024 • updated on august 12, 2024 at 8:16 pm.

Tom Cruise’s jaw-dropping stunt during the Closing Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics was the talk of the town as rumors swirled that he had a trick up his sleeve for the big event. What many people may not know, however, is that it was an effort that first took action earlier this year.

It was a “Mission Impossible” Olympic handoff from Paris to Los Angeles as the 62-year-old actor scaled down the Stade de France to carry the Olympic flag to Los Angeles. Part of the handoff included a pre-taped video of Cruise riding a motorcycle to the Hollywood sign, which was recorded back in March.

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But keeping the stunt a secret? It was “Risky Business” to conceal the recording.

“Even our own cameras, our security cameras were turned off and not recording during this stunt,” said Jeff Zarrinnam, Chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust.

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As the camera pans from an up-close shot of Cruise at the Hollywood sign to zoom out for a full view, it’s revealed the iconic sign is decorated with the recognizable Olympic rings in the video.

“They just wanted to do something spectacular, something with the Hollywood Sign because the Hollywood Sign represents Los Angeles,” Zarrinnam said.

Cruise, who does his own stunts, was ready to be on board when he heard of the idea.

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“Because Hollywood means so much to him,” the Chairman said.

For the two-day shoot, Cruise didn’t drive to the location.

“He flew his own helicopter to our helipad right on top … of the Hollywood sign here,” Zarrinnam revealed.

For the special moment, the movie star was able to do something that typically is not allowed.

“Normally when there's filming done up here, no one is allowed to touch the Hollywood sign,” Zarrinnam said. “This was the first time that the Hollywood sign was actually touched.”

The glitz, glamour and over-the-top handoff to Los Angeles served as a preview of what’s to come once the Summer Games arrive in the City of Angels in 2028.

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Tom Cruise Is Planning to Sing and Dance in an Original Movie Musical

He is also keen to revive his 'Tropic Thunder' character Les Grossman.

At the top of the list is an "original song and dance-style musical" which they will write as a starring vehicle for Cruise. While audiences might associate Cruise primarily with dramatic action roles, he has sang on-screen before. And no, that's not a reference to the terrible lullaby scene from the middling War of the Worlds remake. He was critically lauded for his pipes in the 2012 adaptation of the Broadway show Rock of Ages , in which he played a washed-up musician and performed impressive renditions of some hair rock anthems, including "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard and "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi.

No plot details have been announced about this new musical, although given Cruise's propensity for throwing himself into life-threatening stuntwork, it's likely he will train like a professional tap-dancer to get the moves right.

And speaking of stunts, another one of Cruise and McQuarrie's pending projects is the eighth Mission: Impossible movie, which will see Cruise "speed flying." They're also keen to create a brand new action franchise together. Most bafflingly though, they are reportedly excited about the prospect of bringing back Les Grossman, Cruise's scene-stealing character from the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder .

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John cena says filming sex scenes is “really embarrassing” but not as tough as appearing nearly naked at the oscars, tom cruise & christopher mcquarrie plotting new musical, action thriller & more les grossman while speed flying through ‘mission: impossible 8’.

By Mike Fleming Jr

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Co-Editor-in-Chief, Film

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EXCLUSIVE : As Top Gun: Maverick passed $1.3 billion to climb to 13th place on the all time worldwide gross list, star Tom Cruise and producer Christopher McQuarrie are in the early stages of setting up three very different projects. They are still in the thick of Mission: Impossible 8 — Cruise was recently photographed in the UK’s Lake District practicing what appears to be his next death defying stunt, something called ‘speed flying’ — sources said that Cruise and McQuarrie are hatching three new film projects. One is an original song and dance-style musical they’ll craft as a star vehicle for Cruise. They are also setting up another original action film with franchise potential, and they are also fixated on Les Grossman . The latter is the gruff, dance-happy studio executive Cruise played in cameo for Tropic Thunder . It’s unclear if they will create a whole movie around Grossman, or borrow him for inclusion in either of the other vehicles.

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Cruise has long been interested in doing a musical. He learned to sing like a rock star for Rock of Ages , and would dance as well, with all three of these scripts to be written by McQuarrie in collaboration with Cruise.

Watch on Deadline

Also looming large is the untitled film that Cruise intends to make with director Doug Liman and McQuarrie producing. You know, the one they’ll shoot in outer space, with NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Since Deadline broke the story about this plan, Universal signed on to be the studio. As Deadline subsequently reported, they’ve aligned with SEE-1, film producer duo Elena and Dmitry Lesnevsky’s newly-launched Space Entertainment Enterprise (S.E.E.) that will dock with Axiom’s world-first commercial space station Axiom Station, which is connected to the International Space Station (ISS). That one might well come next.

So much for the notion of Cruise slowing down at age 60. If you’ve forgotten his floor moves as Grossman, here’s a reminder:

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James Corden and Tom Cruise perform on ‘The Lion King’ stage for their final ‘Late Late Show’ skit

Tom Cruise has gone from “All the Right Moves” to all the right notes.

Cruise joined James Corden April 27 on the final episode of his “The Late Late Show” by performing alongside him in a production of “The Lion King” at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

The bit opened with Corden recruiting a reluctant Cruise to take part in the show, noting that the two of them had pulled off some amazing stunts together when Cruise has appeared on the program.

“In the eight years that I’ve hosted ‘The Late Late Show,’ we’ve been skydiving, you’ve flown me upside down, and today you’re going to enter my world, alright?” Corden said.

Corden then introduced Cruise to the "Lion King" cast and the pair did some exercises to prepare, including dancing to the “Mission: Impossible” theme song and using some of the character costumes to recreate the famous “You can’t handle the truth” scene from “A Few Good Men.”

Cruise also gave a spirited pre-show speech to the cast. Then, the curtain went up and Corden and Cruise walked onto the stage from the back of the theater. After they finished their part, Cruise thought they were done, but Corden rallied him to keep it up.

The duo then returned to the stage, with the curtain lifting up to show them, prompting the audience to hoot and holler and in delight.

“Hakuna Matata. What a wonderful phrase,” Corden, as Timon, said.

“Hakuna Matata, ain’t no passing craze,” Cruise, as Pumbaa, half-sang, half-spoke.

They then launched into a song and dance of “Hakuna Matata” while the audience cheered and Cruise later tried to hit a high note belting out the line, “When I was a young warthog!”

They wrapped up their song to a thunderous round of applause and a standing ovation from some people in the audience. The crowd went nuts again when they came out to take their bows after the performance ended.

Later, the two had a funny moment when Corden confronted Cruise about how he’ll “find yourself another late night host” to promote his future projects.

“When ‘Mission: Impossible 12’ comes out, you’re not going to think of me. You’re going to be off base jumping with Bowen Yang,” he said in mock anger.

“I’m not the one turning my back on everything that we have, everything that we’ve created,” Cruise fired back. “This is your last show. You did this to us.”

Cruise then went off to have drinks with some of “The Lion King” cast, but as he sat at a table, he began to sing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” with Corden still sitting in the theater, joining in for an unlikely duet. A montage of their moments on “The Late Late Show” played on the screen while they reunited on top of a building, continuing to sing.

As Corden apologized for their tiff, Cruise told him to "shut up" while referencing “Jerry Maguire.”

“You had me at hello,” he said.

“I love you, Tom,” Corden said.

“I know," Cruise said, as he walked away to a waiting helicopter while the “Mission: Impossible” music played, leaving Corden stranded on the roof.

Drew Weisholtz is a reporter for TODAY Digital, focusing on pop culture, nostalgia and trending stories. He has seen every episode of “Saved by the Bell” at least 50 times, longs to perfect the crane kick from “The Karate Kid” and performs stand-up comedy, while also cheering on the New York Yankees and New York Giants. A graduate of Rutgers University, he is the married father of two kids who believe he is ridiculous.

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Tom Cruise Talks about His Work in the Musical ROCK OF AGES

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The 10 best h.p. lovecraft movies, ranked, one of david cronenberg's best movies is actually based on a dc graphic novel.

Tom Cruise 's bread-and-butter is action movies, but every now and then he's willing to try something new like he did with Collateral (the only movie where he plays a villain), Magnolia (the biggest supporting role in his career), and disappearing under the make-up and personality of Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder .  His newest challenge will be playing rocker Stacee Jaxx in Adam Shankman 's adaptation of the rock musical Rock of Ages .  The plot centers on a small-town-girl (Julianne Hough) who falls for Jaxx against the backdrop of 80s rock like Journey, SEO Speedwagon, and Styx.  Cruise recently spoke about what drew him to the project, and how he prepared for his role.

Hit the jump for more.  The outstanding cast also includes Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Alec Baldwin, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Will Forte, Mary J. Blige, and Diego Gonzalez Boneta .  Rock of Ages opens June 1, 2012.

Speaking to 24 Frames , Cruise says his decision to join Rock of Ages came from a combination of his wife's influence and trying to build on his hip-hop work from Tropic Thunder :

"I had started dancing because I was inspired by my wife. She kept saying, 'You've got to do a musical sometime,'" Cruise said. "[ Katie Holmes ] is a dancer, so she would say, 'Let's go to dance class,' and she would take us and that's how I kind of came up with the idea of Les Grossman doing hip-hop. And then to take it to this level with this? It was really fun."

Cruise says he was also impressed with Shankman's previous musical adaptation, Hairspray :

"What he accomplished with 'Hairspray' was amazing. My daughter has seen it 15 times and our whole family has watched it over and over and it's just enormously entertaining. To be able to hold that tone throughout is really something."

Just like he commits himself to the physical demands of acting in an action film (he did an insane stunt off the tallest building in the world for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ), Cruise says he prepped for six months to do Rock of Ages and was working on singing for five hours a day and dancing for five hours a day.  We'll see if it pays off when the musical hits theaters next summer.

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Tom Cruise Crashed The Lion King to Play Pumbaa

You’ve heard of Tom Cruise in a scuba suit . But nothing can prepare you for Tom Cruise in a Pumbaa suit. On February 23, audiences at The Lion King at the Hollywood Pantages Theater in Los Angeles were treated to a surprise couple of understudies, as James Corden and Cruise took the stage in full Julie Taymor puppet regalia to play Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. The two men, who don’t hear the word no nearly enough, sang “Hakuna Matata” and filmed it to be aired on The Last Last Late Late Show prime-time special as Corden’s final late-night bow.

These sorts of pop-up rodent musical performances are expected from Corden at this point; Angelenos stop at crosswalks in fear that he will pop up in a mouse costume and hump their side mirror at any moment. But this was Cruise’s musical-stage debut, and the show allowed people in the audience to film it, meaning you can watch him sing and dance in a warthog suit right now.

The Late Late Show With James Corden’ s official Instagram account posted a photo of the two of them in costume, so you can really make out Cruise in a big warthog mohawk and cloven-hoof Tabis and chaps up close. He and Corden are probably just blissed out on the power of musical theater, but their expressions match their puppets’, and their puppets look like they’ve just popped a couple of weed grubbies . The words “sleep paralysis demon” get thrown around a lot lately, but it really is giving “worries for the rest of your days.”

Audiences at the show were also treated to a curtain call when Cruise took off most of the warthog carcass but left on the padding, making him a dead ringer for Sam Smith at the Brit Awards.

The Last Last Late Late Show airs April 27 on CBS and Paramount Plus.

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