Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg bring about end to 20-year-long feud; here's what led to the rift

Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg seem to have ended their almost 20-year-long feud. The Top Gun Maverick star had not been on speaking terms with Spielberg since at least 2005, when their movie War of the Worlds released. However, Cruise and The Fabelmans director seem to have buried the hatchet at the Oscars lunch earlier this month. At the luncheon, which was attended by celebrities like Austin Butler, Angela Bassett, Guillermo del Toro and Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg hugged and interacted like old friends. The Schindler’s List director also complimented Cruise on his movie Top Gun: Maverick and how it brought people back to the theatres after the coronavirus lockdowns.

“You saved Hollywood’s a***, and you might have saved theatrical distribution,” Spielberg told Cruise, as per a Daily Mail report. As the two seem to have ended their decades-long feud, let’s take a look at what went down between Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg:

Why did Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg fall out?

As per reports, Cruise and Spielberg’s relationship deteriorated during the promotions of their film War of the Worlds. Cruise, who went on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show in 2005 to promote the sci-fi actioner, jumped on the couch and ended up proclaiming his love for then girlfriend Katie Holmes. The Mission Impossible star kept talking about Holmes instead of his upcoming film. At one point, Cruise told Oprah, “”Yes, we’re talking about War of the Worlds,” leaving her surprised.

Spielberg believed that the Jerry Maguire star’s antics on the show led to War of the Worlds losing $30 million in box office takings. The movie was still a hit and grossed over $600 million.

Another bone of contention between the two were Cruise’s comments on Brooke Shields. The actor, who is against psychiatric therapy due to his beliefs in Scientology, slammed Shields for taking antidepressants to tackle her postpartum depression. Spielberg was incensed by the incident and tried to make Cruise change his way of thinking.

As per a Daily Mail report, Spielberg tried to talk to Tom Cruise about a doctor who prescribed psychiatric drugs like Ritalin, but the conversation worsened their bond. The doctor, who was Spielberg’s friend, saw his office being picketed by Scientologists soon after the director’s conversation with Cruise.

This led to the rift between Cruise and Spielberg further widening. The two did not work together after the War of the Worlds. Whether the thawing of the relationship will lead to Cruise and Spielberg working again is yet to be seen.

Tom Cruise has earned his fourth Academy Award nomination with his recent hit Top Gun: Maverick. The sequel to the 1986 hit Top Gun grossed about $1.5 billion at the box-office. The film has been nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year at the Oscars. Spielberg’s latest movie The Fabelmans has also been nominated for the top honours at the Academy Awards this year.

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