United Artists to re-emerge...with TOM CRUISE at the helm?

Sometime last week, it was reported that Tom Cruise and MGM had come to an agreement to revive United Artists, the studio originally founded by Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and Charles Chaplin.

My original reaction to this? Well, my original comments aren't suitable for print. However, after curling up (or in this case sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair in the basement of the UWM library) with the latest issue of Variety, I've come to a rather odd comclusion for me:

This may actually work. And, it may not suck too badly.

Don't get me wrong, I still hate Tom Cruise with all the loathing I can muster up from the darkest regions of my soul. But, as bad as some of his more recent films have been ("War Of The Worlds," anyone?), as a producer, Cruise does have a somewhat-impressive track record of success. Take for example, a small snippit of his work (as a producer) between 1996 and today:

• Elizabethtown
• The Last Samurai
• Shattered Glass
• Narc
• Vanilla Sky

Not a shabby lineup, by any means.

Also, Variety has brought to my attention a fact that I was previously unaware of. Apparently, Cruise is not contractually obligated to star in any of these films, only to produce them. This lessens my disgust greatly, as I am generally opposed to much of what Cruise has starred in during the past 5-6 years. Not only that, without Cruise starring in these films, they may be more likely to live up to the legacy of United Artists and what the studio stood for so many years ago in Hollywood.

So, I'll wait to reserve judgement. Until I see UA release Battlefield Earth II.

At that point, all bets are off.