Tom Cruise, in a masterclass, defends “films for the big screen”

In a masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday May 18, Tom Cruise made a plea for cinemas: “I make films for the big screen. My films will not be released directly on the platforms. Going to the cinema is sharing an experience, whatever our culture or language. I will see the films in theaters when they come out. I put on my cap (to not be recognized). I like to see the trailers”, declared the Hollywood star in front of 1000 people who gave him a long ovation, a few hours before the presentation of Top Gun: Maverick.

“It is together that we will get out of this situation”, he continued, referring to the drop in cinema attendance, between the explosion of platforms and the global health crisis. The stainless actor of Impossible mission and Top Gun took the opportunity to talk about his passion for cinema. “Since the age of 4 I have wanted to make cinema. I grew up with the films of Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin. Making cinema has been a great journey for me”, he confided.

Follow our live. Cannes: Tom Cruise arrives by helicopter on the red carpet

At 59, the great regular in blockbusters, who does his stunts himself, returned to this particularity. “Is it like asking Gene Kelly why he dances? (laughs). I was 4 and a half years old. I had a parachute toy. I wanted to do the same. I made myself a parachute with my sheets, I climbed on the roof.” “When I started, I said to myself: it’s not a good idea… (laughs) I hit the ground so hard that I saw stars for the first time in broad daylight. I said to myself : it’s interesting”, he said, all smiles.

The actor must climb the steps at the end of the day to present Top Gun: Maverick, 36 years after the first opus. The Patrouille de France, which he met on Tuesday, must fly over the steps at the same time. The film will be in theaters from May 25 in France, from May 27 in the United States.