LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tom Cruise, in very Tom Cruise fashion, arrived at Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s doorstep by motorcycle. He’d been wanting to work with Iñárritu for years and, when he got the call about “Digger,” he figured it was the fastest way.
Both Cruise and Iñárritu took the stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday as part of the Warner Bros. presentation to preview the satirical film, which comes out in October.
“The movie is wild, it’s funny,”
said Cruise.
Iñárritu called Cruise’s performance “a high-wire act.” In new footage, he’s sporting a potbelly, a receding hairline and an R-rated vocabulary as the world’s most powerful man.
“We know that he’s fearless, the stunts, the planes, the jumps, but I have to say embodying this character, this is another kind of fearless,” Iñárritu said. “This role could possibly be the most challenging.”
“Digger” was just one part of the massive presentation from the storied studio which is fresh off best picture, best actor and best director wins at the Oscars last month.
Pam Abdy and Mike DeLuca, the co-chairs and CEOs of the studio’s motion picture group, kicked off the presentation reflecting on their successes since coming into the job in 2022 and their vision for the future with a mix of franchises and original films.
“Originality is not risky,” DeLuca said. “Derivative sameness is.”
Abdy noted that not everything is going to work, either, but that just comes with taking big swings. One thing they’re especially optimistic about is Generation Alpha’s enthusiasm for the movie theater experience.
“We are at a crucial, critical moment in time with this audience,” Abdy said. “The Letterboxd generation is only growing.”
They announced that Warner Bros. will be releasing Sean Baker’s follow-up to “Anora,” “TI AMO!” under their new label Clockwork next year.
There was also a breakneck video rundown of their 2027 releases, with stars and filmmakers getting about 30 seconds each, often from set, to tease their films: Margot Robbie on her “Ocean’s” prequel set in 1962; Keanu Reeves, floating in the water in the Dominican Republic, on getting eaten by sharks in “Shiver”; Gollum being, well, Gollum; and Nancy Meyers on the set of her romantic comedy that she called “a bit of a love letter to the world of making movies.”
This year is not just business as usual, with its pending acquisition by another legacy studio, Paramount, looming.
Filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams are expected to make appearances to hype their upcoming films with Warner Bros. Villeneuve has “Dune: Part Three” arriving in December, and Abrams has a Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega sci-fi movie, “The Great Beyond” in November. The two filmmakers also share something beyond fall releases for the same studio: Unequivocal opposition to the merger. They were among the over 1,000 signers of an open letter published Monday to a website called BlocktheMerger.com. Some attendees at the convention have also been wearing #blockthemerger pins as well.
Greg Marcus, whose company's Marcus Theaters is the fourth largest theater circuit in the United States with 78 locations in 17 states told The Associated Press Monday that he was concerned as well for what it means for moviegoers and the price of tickets.
“The concentration of power at the studio level has allowed them to raise the cost of going to the movies to the consumer quite significantly,” Marcus said. “Our margins are no better. We’re not making more money. And yet the cost to the consumer has far outpaced inflation.”
Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the movie theater trade organization, reiterated his group’s opposition to the merger Tuesday morning.
“Consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” he said. “We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire industry.”
O'Leary told reporters that the decision is in the hands of regulators now.
Not everyone in the business of making and releasing movies is opposed to a Paramount owned Warner Bros. James Cameron is, in fact, a supporter. He also publicly opposed the idea of a Netflix owned Warner Bros. because of the possible implications for theaters. But he doesn't have the same fears with Paramount.
Speaking to the AP last week on behalf of the upcoming big screen concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D),” which is being released by Paramount, Cameron said “I’m a supporter of it, I know it’s controversial.”
Cameron worked with Paramount Skydance chair and CEO David Ellison closely on “Terminator: Dark Fate.” Ellison has promised to grow the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. slates to some 30 theatrical releases a year.
“I know David quite well. And I know that he really cares about movies. And he’s a natural born storyteller and thinks like almost an old school entrepreneurial producer that was a storyteller that loves storytelling and loved putting on spectacular shows,” Cameron said. “He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all.”
