Ep. 102 – Tom Cruise: Part III (feat. Cory Everett)

The B-Side: A Film Stage Podcast

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today is part three of our Tom Cruise B-Side investigation. In this episode we dig into what is perhaps the nadir of his career: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, The Mummy, and American Made. Just after Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and right before Mission: Impossible - Fallout, here is our never-ending movie star returning to a character that perhaps never suited him, trying his hand at building a franchise from old IP once more, and going for something more ambitious. Our guest today is Cory Everett, the creator of both Cinephile: A Card Game and all things 'Lil Cinephile. His new set of books My First Movie, Volume 1 “is a trilogy of beautifully-crafted board books that will take readers of all ages on a colorful journey through cinema history.” Cory joins us with a plea to the universe: Tom Cruise please call Martin Scorsese and ask him for his Paul Newman in The Color Of Money role. Conor and I argue that that role is what is in Top Gun: Maverick. We debate whether or not Cruise fits into these three films and whether or not he will ever decide to let himself fully age on screen. If you’re reading this as this episode drops, be sure to say hi to Conor and Cory IN PERSON as part of the Cinephile Game Nights for the New York Film Festival. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!