Cruise/Wagner Productions

Cruise/Wagner Productions
IndustryFilm
FoundedJuly 1992; 32 years ago (1992-07)
FounderTom Cruise
Paula Wagner
DefunctAugust 2008; 16 years ago (2008-08)
FatePartnership dissolved
SuccessorTC Productions
HeadquartersUnited States
OwnerTom Cruise
Paula Wagner

Cruise/Wagner Productions, also abbreviated as C/W Productions, was an American independent film production company. It was founded by actor Tom Cruise and his agent Paula Wagner in July 1992.[1][2][3] Wagner had been representing Cruise for eleven years before the formation of C/W Productions.[2][3] The company has grossed more than $2.9 billion in box office proceeds since its inception.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Cruise/Wagner Productions was formed to give Cruise more creative freedom over his film projects and to give him the opportunity to produce and direct motion pictures.[3] In October 1992, Cruise/Wagner Productions signed an exclusive three-year multi-picture financing and distribution deal with Paramount Pictures.[10][11] The deal was renewed and expanded several times over the next fourteen years. In August 2006 Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom (parent company of Paramount Pictures) terminated that relationship citing Cruise's comments in the media about psychiatry, anti-depressants and Brooke Shields' handling of postpartum depression, and his taking up Scientology.[5][6][7][8][9][12] However, the termination may have been more about money than anything else.[9][13][14] Within a week, Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins and two hedge funds, secured financial backing to buy the company.[7][12][15][16]

In November 2006, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) came to Cruise/Wagner with a deal that gave them a percentage of the ownership in United Artists (UA) in an effort to revive the floundering production company.[4][9] This deal fell apart when Wagner left the studio in August 2008.[17][18][19][20]

  1. ^ "Cruise makes a picture deal". NewspaperARCHIVE.com. Lima News. November 4, 1992. p. A4.
  2. ^ a b "The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California on July 13, 1992 · Page 152". Newspapers.com. 13 July 1992. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  3. ^ a b c "Tom Cruise forms his own film company". Evening Standard. Newspapers.com. July 14, 1992. p. 12. ISSN 2041-4404. Retrieved 2022-02-26. Scroll down to 'Show 12 article text'
  4. ^ a b "MGM Partners With Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner to Form New United Artists". Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. PR Newswire. 2 November 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008.
  5. ^ a b Paramount: Cruise is risky business - CNN-Money Magazine with Reuters (c/o CNNMoney.com) - 23 August 2006
  6. ^ a b Atkins, Jill. "Sumner Redstone Rebuke of Tom Cruise: Now What? Archived 2007-11-18 at the Wayback Machine - National Ledger - 24 August 2006
  7. ^ a b c Lieberman, David and Laura Petrecca. "Cruise seeks financial backing from hedge funds" - USA Today - 24 August 2006
  8. ^ a b Epstein, Edward Jay. The Financial Times: Paramount vs. Cruise: all down the killer cut - Financial Times - 24 August 2006
  9. ^ a b c d Clark, John. "The business of Cruise control" - New York Daily News - 23 August 2007
  10. ^ "Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England on October 29, 1992 · 19". Newspapers.com. 29 October 1992. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  11. ^ "The Index-Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina on November 4, 1992 · Page 10". Newspapers.com. 4 November 1992. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  12. ^ a b Gardner, Chris. "It's a war of the words" - Variety - August 22, 2006
  13. ^ Kimball, Trevor. "Paramount Gives Tom Cruise the Boot" Archived 2008-01-10 at the Wayback Machine - AnActorsJourney.com - 23 August 2006
  14. ^ Sperling, Nicole. "Biz eyeing economics of Cruise-Par breakup: DVD slowdown forcing restraint" Archived 2009-01-13 at the Wayback Machine - The Hollywood Reporter - 24 August 2006
  15. ^ Olson, Parmy. "Redskins' Snyder Gambles On Tom Cruise" - Forbes magazine - 29 August 2006
  16. ^ Fischer, Martha. "Cruise, Wagner Fight Back" - Cinematical - 23 August 2006
  17. ^ Finke, Nikki. "Tom Cruise's Movie Studio Imploding: Paula Wagner Is DOA At United Artists; But Was It Suicide or Murder By MGM? - Deadline Hollywood - 13 August 2008
  18. ^ Flemming, Michael. "Paula Wagner leaves UA - Variety (magazine) - 13 August 2008
  19. ^ Tom Cruise Splits From Long Time Partner (Sydney Morning Herald newspaper)
  20. ^ Cruise loses studio partner (The Guardian newspaper)