By all accounts, Tom Cruise is very passionate about acting. Cruise’s desire to do all his own stunts is part of a dedication to the craft that always looks like it borders on obsession. And the more we hear about Cruise, the more obsession might really be turning out to be the right word. The Top Gun star has apparently created a six-hour film to send his friends to “film school.”
Speaking with GQ, Powell, who is now friends with Cruise talked about the time the actor sent him to a theater in Los Angeles to watch a video he had put together. Powell assumed this was something that had been set up for a lot of people, and that he would just be one of several in the theater. Instead, he was the only one there. The entire thing had been set up just for him, and it was six hours long. Powell described some of what he saw, saying…
In the video, ‘[Cruise] is like: ‘Do we all agree that this is what a camera is? This is the difference between a film camera and a digital camera…’ The funniest part is on flying. It was like he put together this entire flight school. So he would literally go ‘OK, this is what a plane is. Here’s how things fly. Here’s how air pressure works.
It is somehow the most Tom Cruise thing imaginable to hear that the actor has filmed a six-hour movie where he talks to the camera about the art of filmmaking, along with how flight works and whatever else was important enough to include. If any actor was going to do that, it would be Tom Cruise. It requires just the right blend of passion and ego to want to do such a thing and to believe you can get people to watch it. But if you’re Tom Cruise people will.
Cruise’s knowledge and dedication on the set is something we’ve heard about from his other co-stars. You don’t become one of the highest-grossing actors of all-time without having a singular focus. Honestly, it sounds like six hours of Tom Cruise talking about making movies was something right up Glen Powell’s alley. He says that a love of movies is what connected him with Cruise on the set of Top Gun: Maverick. He explained…
The one thing I feel we’re kindred spirits in is he’s obsessed with movies. That was our love language on set. I got to watch a guy who knew every department. He was able to clearly interface with everyone, and be so friendly and respectful and be able to communicate that vision.”
Honestly, I would love to sit in a theater and watch this six-hour film. It must be fascinating. Knowing in detail how Cruise understands Hollywood and moviemaking would give a unique insight when watching upcoming Tom Cruise movies. Unfortunately, if you’re like me and want to buy a ticket, we’re all out of luck. Cruise told Powell “This is just for my friends” so there are no plans to release the film in any public way. You have to become friends with Tom Cruise, which doesn’t sound like a terrible idea either. Being Tom Cruise’s friend comes with free cake every Christmas.
It’s unclear if all of Tom Cruise’s co-stars have sat through Tom Cruise Film School, but those who have likely learned something about filmmaking, no matter how much they knew, probably came to understand Tom Cruise in a unique way.