Paula Wagner, Tom Cruise’s long-time producing partner, has decided to step down from her role as CEO and co-owner of United Artists effectively ending her long-time partnership with Cruise.
A lot of speculation has floated in the industry regarding her departure but the strongest seems to be her alleged mismanagement of two movies from Cruise that have attracted a lot of negative buzz. The first was Lions for Lambs, which was a big flop, and the second one is Valkyrie, the troubled Bryan Singer-directed production that has met with a lot of difficulties and delays. Surprisingly, Wagner’s decision came a couple of weeks after her husband, a long-time agent of Cruise’s, also resigned from CAA to join Morgan Creek.
Cruise’s little empire is showing some cracks right now. He should reassess his domain and repolish his tarnished career.