In an announcement that stunned Hollywood, Paula Wagner, Tom Cruise's business partner, said Wednesday that she is stepping down as CEO of United Artists in order "to return to my true love, which is making movies." Wagner and Cruise had been recruited by MGM chief Harry Sloan in 2006 to revive UA and disposed a 30-percent ownership of the studio, but the studio's projects have been minimal. It has released only one movie, Lions for Lambs, starring Cruise, which flopped. (Another cinema, Valkyrie, also starring Cruise is due to be released on December 26.) In a statement, MGM said that their possession interest would not be affected by Wagner's decision and that it hoped Wagner and Cruise would continue to work together on future UA celluloid productions. Reporting on Wagner's departure, the Los Angeles Times commented today (Thursday) that it represented "a black eye for Sloan, whose plan for UA is unraveling at a time when he is attempting to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in sorely needed celluloid financing for debt-ridden MGM."
14/08/2008
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