Tom Cruise’s Film That He Still Regrets ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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There’s one movie Tom Cruise wishes he could erase from his filmography—and it’s not the one you’re thinking. Long before Top Gun and Mission: Impossible, the Hollywood superstar found himself in a film so forgettable, even he openly regrets doing it. Losin’ It came early in Tom Cruise’s career. It was an adult comedy meant for teens that landed in 1982. The movie followed a group of boys chasing after the usual coming-of-age plot. The Mission: Impossible star did not like it back then, and the years have not changed his mind. The film did not offer much in the way of substance, and he later admitted it taught him something important: that he never wanted to do that kind of project again.
Why Did Tom Cruise Start Choosing His Collaborators Very Carefully
By the time he appeared in Endless Love in 1981, Tom Cruise was still figuring out where he stood. Unlike many struggling stars at the time, he was lucky enough to have roles come his way, and he took them because saying no was not really an option.
However, after Losin’ It, something shifted inside him and he realised the people calling the shots did not always know what they were doing. That was enough for him to start making different choices. “The quality wasn’t there, nor was the intention to make a great film,” he said on Losin’ It, according to Far Out Magazine.
Soon after that, Cruise began searching out the kind of filmmakers who knew their craft inside and out. He tracked down legendary directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, Tony Scott, and Ron Howard, all who had carved out their own space in the industry. Instead of waiting to be handed a good role, he just went after it, and in that process, he listened, learned, and figured out how to shape his own path.
Steven Spielberg directing Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast during the filming of the jet pack scene in Minority Report. pic.twitter.com/xMaz1OgKz2
The 1990s Cemented Tom Cruise’s Reputation As A Power Player
Cruise’s tenacious mindset kept him going through the 1990s. He worked with Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, John Woo, Cameron Crowe, and Brian De Palma, and each collaboration taught him something. However, eventually, his focus narrowed. Cruise stuck close to one person after his media storm in the mid-2000s, and that is Christopher McQuarrie. For the last twenty years, McQuarrie has been his trusted creative partner.
Christopher McQuarrie, McQ, is not just my dear friend, my creative brother, and director of the year, he is an artist for all time. pic.twitter.com/j5pm5Hd6IS
A Flop That Changed The Course Of A Hollywood Star
You see, Losin’ It may have been a misstep, but Cruise did not walk away empty-handed. That experience helped him set standards. He did not want to be dragged through a project where the goal was to push out a film instead of making a good one.
Curtis Hanson was in charge back then, directing his third feature, and although Hanson went on to win an Oscar for LA Confidential and worked with the likes of Meryl Streep and Eminem, Cruise had already moved on. Because for him, the lesson was clear – that if he wanted to get to the top, he had to be deliberate. He needed to be in control of the work he was doing and who he was doing it with. Losin’ It was forgettable for audiences but for Cruise, it was a turning point.
