Tom Cruise Career Going Up In Smoke

Bank Contemplating Pulling Out Of Deal

Cruise Sued By 11 Injured Film Extras

August 26. 2008

Tom Cruise

Things aren't going well for actor Tom Cruise. His career has hit the skids and now he is being sued over a film many believe is going to flop anyway, due to him being the star. 11 extras were injured on his film "Valkyrie" and have filed suit against him and the studio.

But there's more bad news. Merrill Lynch is looking for a way out of a $500 million financing deal with Cruise that was to fund 15-18 of his movies over a five year period.

A rep said the company, "Is looking for any event that might trigger a default on the loan and open the door to renegotiations."

He has so fallen out of good graces with the public, they shouldn't hold their breath on seeing that money again if the deal goes through, as his sick Scientology beliefs have made him one of the most disliked and derided stars in the world. You may as well light that money on fire.

Tom Cruise...when he had a career.

Whoever signed the deal with him at Merrill Lynch did not do their homework or were given numbers for his past films,  before his spectacular fall from grace. If it is the latter, that would provide an out clause on the loan.

Hey, Hollywood does it all the time, calling in and promising favors at banks like Washington Mutual, to destroy innocent people's loans and commit property theft. Looks like the tables are turning.

Tom Cruise's "jinxed" WW2 film Valkyrie has been hit with a £6m lawsuit.

A group of extras lodged the claim after they were wounded when the side panel of a Nazi-era truck failed as it rounded a bend during filming of the epic in Berlin last year.

They are suing production company United Studios and Cruise for £6m in compensation. The lawsuit could further delay the project, which has suffered several setbacks and was originally scheduled for release this year.

The extras were injured when they fell out of the side of the truck and on to the street. Eleven extras, still wearing their Wehrmacht uniforms, were sent to the hospital with an array of injuries, ranging from bumps and bruises to broken ribs and pulled ligaments.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Is Merrill Trying to Bail on Tom Cruise's Movie Studio?

Struggling investment bank Merrill Lynch (MER) is examining its contract with United Artists—Tom Cruise's production company—to determine whether it can revise the deal on better terms, reports the New York Post . Last year, United Artists secured $500 million in financing from Merrill to fund 15 to 18 movies over the next five years.

The firm "is looking for any event that might trigger a default on the loan and open the door to renegotiations," according to the Post . (A potential loophole is the recent departure of United Artists' co-owner and CEO Paula Wagner.) To guard against any Merrill moves, United Artists has hired Goldman Sachs (GS) as a strategic adviser, the paper said.

http://www.usnews.com