Henry Sloan

Buzz Watch: Tom Cruise’s Vindication is Heading Up United Artists

Authored by Jay Baage on November 2, 2006 - 10:30am.

After being disgracefully fired by Viacom and Paramount Pictures owner Sumner Redstone this summer, Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner return as new part-owners and studio heads at United Artists, a film studio that was formed by a group of Hollywood actors, including Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.

The announcement was made earlier today by Harry E. Sloan, CEO of MGM, the company that used to control United Artists. He stated that Cruise and Wagner will have "substantial ownership" of the revitalized banner and have nearly complete control—budget permitting—over greenlighting and developing new productions, but did not specify financial terms. Cruise and Wagner had previously announced that they had secured financing from two unidentified hedge funds to back future projects.