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Initially, Cameron Crowe wasn’t on board with casting a Hollywood giant like Tom Cruise inJerry Maguire, which is often considered one of their best works to date. Considering Cruise was known for being heavily involved in the production of his films, theAlmost Famousauteur worried that he would not be allowed to shape the film in his own vision if the MI Star came along.
But to his surprise, Cruise was more than happy to let Crowe steer the ship and use the actor in whatever way he saw fit, and furthermore, Cruise made it his responsibility to ensure the film was a hit.
Tom Cruise Was Ready to Act for Free to MakeJerry Maguirea Hit
After being touched by the script,Tom Cruisecalled Cameron Crowe about his admiration for the story, and instead of assuming right off the bat the part was his, he requested to audition for the role. But the fact that theMIStar was more than thrilled to let Cameron Crowe have total creative control wasn’t the most stunning part of it. Considering both the studios and Crowe were unsure whether the film would pull in the numbers upon its release, Cruise took on his shoulders to ensure the film was a success.
Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise on the sets of Jerry Maguire [credit: Andrew Cooper]
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Crowe recalled that the actor was ready to act for free, and the payment he received was to ensure the film was rightly promoted and would make it big upon its debut. Crowe revealed (viaHere’s the Thingpodcast),
“Tom came from London to New York and said, ‘Boys, I’m gonna do some promotion’.And he started on a Monday, did Rosie, did Larry King, did everything. By the end of the week, our numbers were way high. He basically blew us a kiss, went back to England, and the movie opened”.Crowe recalled Cruise saying,“Guys, I act for free. This is what you pay me for. I’m going to give them everything I’ve got for this movie”.
Thanks to Cruise’s one-man marketing,Jerry Maguirewas indeed a huge success, both critically and commercially, making a massive $273.6M up on a budget of &50M.
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While declining the offer to star in one of Cameron Crowe’s best works wasn’t the brightest decision onTom Hanks‘ part, the acclaimed actor had no regret about passing on the film. TheCast AwayStar later explained that he couldn’t see anyone else helming the part of Jerry Maguire than theMIStar, even though Hanks himself was the director’s first choice for the iconic role. Hanks said (viaContact Music),
“I think you look at it now and it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise. It’s the way the movie’s operated. I don’t think anybody would look at that now and say, ‘That movie was not perfect.’”
“A little too fake for my liking”: Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun 2’ Saved Cinema Only To Ruin It Later For the Rest of the Industry
While Tom Cruise didn’t charge for acting, he was paid handsomely, as he made around $60M following his $20M paycheck and an additional %15 of the film’s total gross.
Jerry Maguireis available to rent on Apple TV.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2542
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
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Cameron CroweTom CruiseTom Hanks
