Tom Cruise is, according to this article in The Australian today by John Harlow, officially unemployed. His contract with Paramount Pictures has not been renewed, and is unlikely to be renewed until he agrees to a substantial pay cut. It is, Harlow says, the latest sign of a struggle between actors and studios that dates back to Charlie Chaplin's decision to set up his own studio in 1919. Harlow writes: "Studios are feeling more bullish because many northern summer hits, from Cars to Superman Returns, have been driven by strong scripts and computer effects rather than celebrities." I would add that many good films would have succeeded without their big-name stars but few films succeed despite a star who puts in a bad performance.
PS: The story says that Cruise's Q Score - a measure of how much audiences like him - has dropped from 30 to 19, and is expected to be even lower when the next survey is released next month.