Tom Cruise in crisis talks with Mission Impossible bosses after spending an incredible £290million
HE is the world’s most bankable leading man and my favourite actor.
But Tom Cruise’s A-lister lifestyle is just starting to bite with movie chiefs.
The action hero has spent the past few years shooting some of the biggest blockbusters of the decade, including the hotly anticipated seventh and eighth instalments of Mission Impossible and, even more exciting, Top Gun sequel Maverick.
And he’s still hard at it.
This week Tom jetted to South Africa to continue work on Mission Impossible 8, flying a fleet of kit and his huge entourage from London, including his personal helicopter.
But there is just one issue with the mega-budget films.
None of them have yet made it to the cinema and I’m told costs are spiralling towards the £300million mark, prompting squeaky-bum time at studio Paramount.
Budgets rocketed as the pandemic caused endless delays and shutdowns.
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A planned MI:7 release date of September 2022 has been shifted to July 2023, with a bill for excess costs now thought to be in the region of £50million.
The switch has had a knock-on effect for MI:8, which is under way.
As one source put it: “People are starting to sweat on the costs now.”
A movie mole added: “Nobody could have predicted what has happened but the fact is those delays and extra costs are stacking up now and it’s starting to get noticed.
“Even with someone as big as Tom and these films, it’s the sort of money that has leveraged the studio heavily and bosses are desperate to start seeing things hit the screen.
“Top Gun 2 is the first in the pipeline for release now, two years after it was first supposed to be in cinemas, yet production is carrying on with the latest move to South Africa and those bills are just going up and up by the day.”
Nobody makes action films like Tom, who rightly raged “we are the gold standard” when he clashed with production crew about keeping to Covid rules on set in 2020.
So I’d still bet on him laughing all the way to the bank once he can finally get people to see his films. It’s exactly the kickstart the cinema business needs.
MOLLY STORY A WRITE JOKE
AT the end of any illustrious career, it’s nice to write down the highs and lows for future generations to enjoy and reminisce over in a carefully crafted memoir.
So it’s only right that one-time Love Islander Molly-Mae Hague records her own 11 minutes at the top in her first autobiography, which she somewhat bewilderingly unveiled this week.
Sadly I haven’t managed to read a copy of the 22-year-old’s book yet (I imagine neither has she) but I’d anticipate it having all the gripping insight into her glittering job as a clothes horse as the average takeaway menu.
Hardly Kate Moss or Naomi Campbell, Molly-Mae’s career highs include pompously telling fans they can be millionaires overnight if they just work as hard as she does, and showing off her undercrackers.
An ad for the forthcoming book, available slightly dog- eared by this time next year in all branches of Poundland, tells how the brave little trooper “nurtured her creativity from a young age, took ownership of her body image, battled self-doubt and built a happy life”.
It goes on: “Along the way she shares the moments, relationships and life lessons that have made her who she is.”
Save yourselves a few quid. There’ll be deeper insight in The Beano.
Bizbit
BECKY HILL axed a video after production staff failed to make her set disabled friendly.
The singer, who recovered from her Brits hangover to attend The Green Planet AR Experience, powered by EE 5G, on Thursday, said she was raging on behalf of her friend Sophie Butler.
The disability influencer posted about the lack of wheelchair ramps at venues and how “carrying someone is not access”.
Seeing the post, Becky, left, said: “The amount of cringe I felt at my video shoot, Soph.
“FYI this is the reason I binned that video. I was so ashamed. I’ll never work with them again.”
ELLA ALL BRIGHT ON THE NIGHT
FORGET Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – here’s Ella Eyre and her eye-popping outfit.
The Came Here For Love singer certainly gave her fans a spectacle as she hit the stage at the O2 Forum in London’s Kentish Town for a rescheduled concert.
Ella wore brightly coloured jeans with matching printed T-shirt and denim jacket.
And to make sure the crowd got the full effect, she topped off the look with a see-through coat.
The London-born singer recently returned to the UK following a tropical break.
It’s been two years since Ella’s last EP, Quarter Life Crisis, came out and seven years since her debut record Feline, which got to No4 in the album charts.
Now the gigs and that lengthy holiday are out of the way, I hope she gets back in the studio and starts work on her next record.
EVEREST HIGH ON GRENNAN’S LIST
TOM GRENNAN has his sights set on climbing another mountain after scoring two Brit Award nominations and a No1 album during the past 12 months.
The Don’t Break The Heart singer wants to scale Mount Everest after watching Netflix documentary 14 Peaks.
It followed Nepalese mountaineer Nimsdai Purja conquering all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in seven months.
Tom said: “I’d love to climb Mount Everest. I’ve been watching 14 Peaks.
This guy basically climbs 14 mountains in seven months. The world record for it was 16 years – and he smashes it. I want to climb Mount Everest now and I have been looking into it.
“Not next year because I’m too busy but the year after that I’m going to try and climb it.
“I think it takes five or six days to get to the top.
“It’s a personal goal of mine now, away from music and away from everything else.”
Bizbit
KANYE WEST has threatened to drop out of Coachella following a row with headliner Billie Eilish.
Billie is booked for the LA event in April after Travis Scott pulled out following a tragedy at Astroworld festival in November, where ten fans died following a crush during his set.
Billie recently stopped a gig to help a fan in distress and said: “I wait for people to be OK until I keep going,” which many took as a dig at Travis, who had continued his set.
Kanye said: “I need Billie to apologise before I perform.”
The family of one of the victims blasted Kanye as an “idiot” for his attack on the pop star.”
CHARLI FANS SEEING RED
CHARLI XCX looked red hot in the new video for Beg For You with Rina SawayamaI.
My exclusive snap shows them posing during filming for the song, which dropped yesterday.
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While Charli is on to a sure-fire hit with Beg For You, she has been struggling with fans’ reaction to the rollout of her new album Crash, which is out March 18.
She said: “I’ve noticed lately that a few people seem quite angry at me for the choices of songs.”