Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise were among the attendees at this year's Oscar nominees luncheon on Monday, where the director was videotaped giving the Top Gun: Maverick star a huge compliment.
In the video, which was taken by director Kartiki Gonsalves, whose film Who Can Say No to Baby Elephants! is nominated in the best short documentary category, Spielberg embraces Cruise while saying, "You saved Hollywood’s ass and you might have saved theatrical distribution." The clip can be seen by clicking here.
Spielberg added, “Seriously, Top Gun: Maverick might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
Spielberg and Cruise have previously worked together on Minority Report (2002) and War of the Worlds (2005).
Top Gun: Maverick was the highest-grossing film at the domestic box office of 2022, with $718 million, making it the fifth highest-grossing domestic movie of all time.
Both Top Gun: Maverick and Spielberg’s biographical drama The Fabelmans are nominated in the Best Picture category at the upcoming Oscars on March 12, 2023. Cruise's next blockbuster film to hit theaters will be Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One on July 14, 2023.~Alexandra Heilbron
Excellent film