Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg has praised movie star Tom Cruise over his non-woke, pro-America box office smash hit “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Spielberg told Cruise that he “saved Hollywood’s a*s” with last year’s sequel to the hit 1986 film “Top Gun.”
“Top Gun: Maverick” has grossed $1.48 billion worldwide.
The movie earned six Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture.
Spielberg congratulated Cruise at the 2023 Academy Luncheon and said he single-handedly saved the movie industry.
A video from the event shows the legendary director of “Jaws” hugging Cruise and talking about winning a milestone award before looking the star in the eyes and saying:
“You saved Hollywood’s a*s and you might have saved theatrical distribution.
“Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
WATCH:
Steven Spielberg tells Tom Cruise that “you saved Hollywood’s ass and you might have saved theatrical distribution. Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry.” https://t.co/nPWR5BqiUV
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 14, 2023
Spielberg said earlier:
“The pandemic created an opportunity for streaming platforms to raise their subscriptions to record-breaking levels and also throw some of my best filmmaker friends under the bus as their movies were unceremoniously not given theatrical releases.”
According to Variety, Cruise made the rest of Hollywood act like fans during the Oscars Luncheon:
Tom Cruise stole the show at the 95th Oscars luncheon, the annual gathering celebrating the nominees for the year’s Academy Awards.
…Nominated as a producer for “Top Gun: Maverick,” along with Jerry Bruckheimer, Christopher McQuarrie and David Ellison, Cruise walked the red carpet, greeted his fellow colleagues, and spoke briefly with journalists, doing his first significant awards campaign event of the season.
Cruise could hardly take a few steps without being approached by an industry person, including Steven Spielberg, Brendan Gleeson, Paul Mescal, Baz Luhrmann and Bonnie Arnold.
He even scored a seat at one of the stellar tables with nominated talent like cinematographer Roger Deakins (“Empire of Light”), Daniel Kwan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”).
