Does he or doesn’t he? Even his lawyer doesn’t know for sure. Media reports earlier this week indicated that actor Tom Cruise, parting with Paramount and an annual $10 million payday for developing films for the studio through his own production company, had lined up hedge funds with $100 million in backing. That prompted a lot of media coverage of HFs in pictures and the associated risks. Well-respected Los Angeles attorney Bert Fields, Cruise’s legal counsel, at first told The New York Times that he was “unaware” of such plans. Which, apparently, was not exactly what he said. According to Media Bistro, the Times editor’s paraphrased the real quote given to reporters, who protested the excision, prompting the quote’s restoration in the online version of the piece. Fields had told the reporters, “I don’t think Tom has raised $100 million in a hedge fund. And I know nothing about any such thing. I think that’s just talk.” And bizarre talk is just one of the strange behaviors that allegedly got Cruise booted from Paramount. The truth is that studios have reeled in a number of hedge funds to back certain films, some with disastrous results. And given Cruise’s erratic behavior, The Wall Street Journal reports, hedge funds may be a bit more leery engaging the actor.
