Today, it is normal for blockbuster hits to have international premieres, however, four decades ago, no one took this idea seriously, except Tom Cruise. The actor once stated that he came up with and normalized the idea of having international movie premieres and overseas movie promotion.
In the modern age of cinema, it is really hard to see any movie succeeding without having international premieres. Thanks to Cruise, big franchises like Fast and Furious, Jumanji, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe use this strategy in order to promote their films all over the world. This idea came to Cruise when he was Stuck in Paris, France while promoting 1986’s Top Gun.
Tom Cruise reveals how he came up with the idea of international movie premieres
Today, international movie premieres help massively in promoting a movie, however, this idea was completely normalized 37 years ago by actor Tom Cruise. In an interview with Contact Music, Cruise said,
“It took four months (to do) this tour… You’d spend weeks in one place… (Martin) Scorsese was editing The Color of Money, we were at an early draft of Rain Man and I was there in Paris and I was like, ‘I wanna make movies.’ That’s when I kinda came up with the idea of doing a country… in a couple of days. I like premieres… so I came up with the idea of, ‘Let’s have premieres in different countries and then kind of do it that way…’ It took me a few years to get it going.”
At the time, Cruise was stuck in Paris, France promoting his 1986 hit Top Gun, so he was worried about his other projects. That’s when he got the idea of international premieres.
Tom Cruise is a determined actor
Not just international premieres, Cruise has normalized a lot of things. In many ways, the actor has shaped the modern entertainment industry. His discipline and determination are remarkable. The actor once revealed that he does not have day-offs (via Contact Music),
“This is a day off for me because I am not shooting! I’m just chillin’ now. I don’t have days off. Look, I’m fortunate, I’m lucky. I’ve spent my life on movie sets and traveling the world, which is what I always wanted to do. So this is not work – I’m living the dream.”
Over the past 40 years, Cruise has managed to become an icon, inspiring not just his fans but other Hollywood stars as well. With franchises like Mission: Impossible, Jack Reacher, and Top Gun, Cruise has changed the face of the action genre, paving the way for many more action movies.
Source: Contact Music