Wow, I’m still alive and contributing to this site. So here it goes, I just finished adding the Arena UK scans of the article and the photos to the gallery. I actually recently added my scans from the Skip issue aswell a couple of days ago. Enjoy.
Cruise has been nominated for Best Actor for AOL Moviegoers award. So for those who have AOL, VOTE FOR TOM!
Also, many people loved Kevin Smith’s interview with Cruise and are asking about the magazine. It’s UK’s ARENA magazine. If you want to get the issue, try here or here. Or you could write to Arena at arenamag@emap.com, Address to the Letters Section: Arena magazine, Endeavour House, 189
Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8JG, United Kingdom.
(Thanks Gracie for the info)
The Last Samurai dominated this weekend, grossing $38.7m from 31 territories, for an outstanding cume to date of $156.1m. In Europe the Tom Cruise starrer rolled out five additional markets this weekend, claiming the No. 1 spot everywhere, with excellent second weekend holdovers. Europe grossed an estimated $25.8m. In Latin America, the film debuted at No. 1 throughout the region, grossing an estimated $3.909m (Note: Argentina opens on Jan 22. and Venezuela on Jan. 28). In Asia (ex-Japan), The Last Samurai grossed an estimated $2.2m in 5 territories.
Seven weeks into the Japan release, The Last Samurai again ranked No. 1 with an estimated $3.7m (¥400m) from 425 screens, for an outstanding cume to date of $83.722m (¥ 9.150b).
In openings The Last Samurai commanded all markets. In France the film grossed an estimated $4.838m (Euro 3.795m) from 606 screens, which nearly doubled the gross of Return of the King, now in its fifth week. The opening was 80%+ better than Master and Commander, Braveheart, The Patriot, and Gladiator.
In Australia The Last Samurai scored a superb $2.652m debut (AU$3.414m) from 274 screens. In Mexico it grossed an estimated $1.928m from 475 screens while in Brazil it scored $910k from 220 screens.
The Oscar contender was also successfull in its second weekends in certain markets. In Italy the film fell just 23% for $4.937m from 610 screens, still No. 1 for a $13.581m total. Spain’s 29% fall led to a $3.798m weekend from 467 screens, which kept it at pole position. Its total there now reached $10.614m. In the U.K. The Last Samurai grossed an estimated $3.828m from 430 screens, which was second again to The Return of the King. Its total there reached $11.194m. In Germany the Edward Zwick helmed production eased just 23% for a $3.747m weekend off 902 screens, which was No. 1 ahead of The Return of the King for an estimated total of $9.972m.
Tom Cruise spoke exclusively to MTV News in Berlin this week about his latest film role. In ‘The Last Samurai’ Cruise plays Captain Nathan Algren, a disillusioned American mercenary who goes to Japan to fight against the few remaining Samurai warriors, but ends up appreciating their ancient way of life.
More at: MTV.com
Tom was interviewed by British Jonathan Ross, for the BBC’s show ‘Film 2004’. Here you can watch 5 video clips; on why Tom made TLS, the action scenes, on making Top Gun, the Mission Impossible movies and whether he is going to direct. (Find out what Tom’s “LTS-list” is?! – good one!) Each clip is about 2-3 minutes long so enjoy! And there’s also a picture gallery.
Action thriller Mission Impossible 3 will be filmed on location in Europe!
Producer/star Tom Cruise and director Joe Carnahan (Narc) have decided to use locations in Antwerp, Prague, Berlin and Ghana. Cruise will return for a 3rd time as IMF agent Ethan Hunt and Ving Rhames joining him again as Luther Stickell.
Oscar winning screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown) has produced the script and production will begin as soon as Cruise has finished with Michael Mann’s thriller Collateral.
Cruise, who previously shared the record with actor Harrison Ford for having 11 films crossing the $100 million, has now surpassed the 61 year old actor, with The Last Samurai grossing $100 million to become his 12th.
TLS also made another $100 overseas. $100,485,345 in 13 countries, $75 million in Japan. It opened in Europe last week, the Pacific countries earlier this week and down under a few days ago.
AFP reports the following:
Actor Tom Cruise plays cupid for Portuguese couple
LISBON (AFP) – Actor Tom Cruise has acted as cupid for a Portuguese couple, appearing on state television to implore a factory worker to marry her longtime cameraman boyfriend, it was reported.
According to the weekly newspaper Tal e Qual, Joao Martins, who works for Portuguese state broadcaster RTP, asked the star to make the plea after he met Cruise while covering the Spanish premiere of his latest blockbuster “The Last Samurai” in Madrid last Friday.
“Sonia, you have to marry Joao. Please marry Joao. He is crying behind the camera,” Cruise said as he looked into the camera. “Name your children after me,” the actor added.
The cameraman was on the telephone with his girlfriend when Cruise’s plea was broadcast on RTP later that same day and Sonia Braz immediately said yes to the marriage request, the paper reported. The couple plans to wed later this year.
Martins said he never imagined Cruise would agree to his request. “All my girlfriend asked for was that I get his autograph,” he told the paper.
Cruise often mingles with fans, and even takes calls on their mobile phones, during walkabouts before his movie premieres.
The same story was reported by Teen Hollywood and BBC
Entertainment Weekly’s 2004 preview:
Collateral
Tom Cruise is a baaaad man. At least he plays one in Michael Mann’s new movie. Grizzled and scarred, Cruise is a contract killer on the hunt in L.A. Mann, who has a history of challenging actors with unexpected roles — Russell Crowe in ”The Insider,” Will Smith in ”Ali” — loved the idea of Cruise indulging his blacker side. ”He brings so much aggression and charged energy to this character and a kind of dark, wonderful humor to it,” says the director.
To get into the head of a hired gun, Cruise became close friends with a firearm, trained in hand-to-hand combat, and dabbled in undercover surveillance. His foil in the movie is Jamie Foxx, who plays a cabbie forced to chauffeur the killer to his crimes. (Rounding out the cast, Mark Ruffalo and Peter Berg are cops, and Jada Pinkett Smith plays a marked woman.)
The story kicks off at dusk and climaxes by dawn. ”The structure of the screenplay, you could tune your piano to it,” promises Cruise. ”It’s that tight and that sharp.” Meanwhile, Mann has turned his cast and crew into a gang of night crawlers. ”The night in L.A. is alive,” he says. ”The whole evocation of life cruising through the night is to me a really interesting odyssey to try to base a film on.” Sounds like we should catch the midnight show.
And of course, a new picture! (click to enlarge)
The Last Samurai picked up three Golden Globe nominations! Tom Cruise is nominated for Best Actor which makes this the seventh time he got nominated (he won three times before; for “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and a supporting actor win for “Magnolia”). Ken Watanabe is nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Hans Zimmer (the music man) for Best Original Score for TLS. People.com has the complete story. About three more weeks and then we’ll know the nominations for the Oscars (27th of January)… Let’s hope Tom and TLS will get lots of nominations and oscars!
The latest slide show from Yahoo! includes 80 pictures of Tom, TLS, premiere pics and even Minority Report-stuff. You check it out here and I also found pics at Getty Images.
Don’t forget to vote for Tom!! and for Penélope if you like.
