Tom Cruise: All the World's a Stage
Encyclopedia
Tom Cruise: All the World's A Stage is an authorized biography
of actor Tom Cruise
, written by British
film critic Iain Johnstone
. The book was first published by Hodder & Stoughton
in a paperback format and an audiobook in 2006, and then again in a hardcover format on March 1, 2007, and a second paperback release, on May 1, 2007.
in 1981, his breakthrough in Risky Business
, and other popular films such as Top Gun
, Jerry Maguire
and the Mission: Impossible
films. He cites Cruise's role as "Frank Mackey" in the film Magnolia
as one of his best performances. Johnstone also writes about Cruise's relationships with Mimi Rogers
and Nicole Kidman
, and the luxurious lifestyle maintained by Cruise and Kidman during their relationship. Johnstone puts Kidman in a sympathetic light regarding their 2001 divorce.
The book discusses Cruise's relationship with Scientology
, and controversy in the media, including his public criticism of actress Brooke Shields
, and his "TV sofa-bouncing." He also discusses the lengthy production of director Stanley Kubrick
's Eyes Wide Shut
, noting the fact that Universal Studios
and Paramount Pictures
allowed representatives from the Church of Scientology
to frequent the film sets during production.
called the book "an unpretentious model of clarity and humility, simply rounding up the known facts." In his review of the 2006 edition of the book, Bradshaw wrote that Johnstone had presented a neutral overview of events in Cruise's life, and did not offer any strong opinions of his own in the book. He criticized the work for being "incurious about what it is like" to be Tom Cruise. In his review in The Independent
, William Cook described the tone of the book as "respectful not reverential". Cook also wrote: "Johnstone's businesslike biog feels as if written at arm's length - but this distance allows him to state some awkward facts about Cruise's Scientology. It's hard to believe he could have been quite so frank in an authorised biography."
The book received a critical review in The West Australian
, and a review in Australia
's The Daily Telegraph
thought the book was almost "dull". Christopher Bray of London's The Daily Telegraph
also criticized the work, and wrote that the book failed to answer any of the "interesting questions", commenting: "You will read this book in vain for any suggestion that what we think we know of Cruise's real life might be no more than PR smoke and mirrors." In a review in The Spectator
, Roger Lewis was critical of the book, and wrote: "The eulogies Johnstone collects are endless." Barbara Chabai of the Winnipeg Free Press
also criticized the lack of depth to the work, writing that Johnstone "has simply repackaged facts from Cruise's interviews with other reporters into a neat but unfeeling tome that offers all the depth of an Entertainment Tonight feature." Both The Guardian and the Winnipeg Free Press noted the absence of any discussion or mention of the controversial 2005 episode of South Park
which spoofed Cruise, "Trapped in the Closet".
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of actor Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
, written by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film critic Iain Johnstone
Iain Johnstone
Iain Johnstone is an English author and broadcaster.In April 2010 he published two books, 'Streep: A Life in Film' a biography of Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep and the novel'Pirates of the Mediterranean'....
. The book was first published by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
in a paperback format and an audiobook in 2006, and then again in a hardcover format on March 1, 2007, and a second paperback release, on May 1, 2007.
Contents
Tom Cruise: All the World's A Stage details some of Cruise's early life, and his role as head of the family after his father left to become "an itinerant hippy in California." The author chronicles Cruise's film career, including his first role in Endless LoveEndless Love (film)
Endless Love is a 1981 romantic drama film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt. The screenplay by Judith Rascoe was adapted from the novel by Scott Spencer...
in 1981, his breakthrough in Risky Business
Risky Business
Risky Business is a 1983 American teen comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The hit film launched Cruise to stardom.-Plot:...
, and other popular films such as Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
, Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
and the Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible (film)
Mission: Impossible is a 1996 action thriller directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise. Following on from the television series of the same name, the plot follows a new agent, Ethan Hunt and his mission to uncover the mole within the CIA who has framed him for the murders of his entire...
films. He cites Cruise's role as "Frank Mackey" in the film Magnolia
Magnolia (film)
Magnolia is a 1999 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, narrated by Ricky Jay, and starring Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Jason Robards in his last feature film appearance...
as one of his best performances. Johnstone also writes about Cruise's relationships with Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.-Early life:Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C...
and Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
, and the luxurious lifestyle maintained by Cruise and Kidman during their relationship. Johnstone puts Kidman in a sympathetic light regarding their 2001 divorce.
The book discusses Cruise's relationship with Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
, and controversy in the media, including his public criticism of actress Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
, and his "TV sofa-bouncing." He also discusses the lengthy production of director Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
, noting the fact that Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
and Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
allowed representatives from the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
to frequent the film sets during production.
Reception
Peter Bradshaw of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called the book "an unpretentious model of clarity and humility, simply rounding up the known facts." In his review of the 2006 edition of the book, Bradshaw wrote that Johnstone had presented a neutral overview of events in Cruise's life, and did not offer any strong opinions of his own in the book. He criticized the work for being "incurious about what it is like" to be Tom Cruise. In his review in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, William Cook described the tone of the book as "respectful not reverential". Cook also wrote: "Johnstone's businesslike biog feels as if written at arm's length - but this distance allows him to state some awkward facts about Cruise's Scientology. It's hard to believe he could have been quite so frank in an authorised biography."
The book received a critical review in The West Australian
The West Australian
The West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...
, and a review in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
thought the book was almost "dull". Christopher Bray of London's The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
also criticized the work, and wrote that the book failed to answer any of the "interesting questions", commenting: "You will read this book in vain for any suggestion that what we think we know of Cruise's real life might be no more than PR smoke and mirrors." In a review in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, Roger Lewis was critical of the book, and wrote: "The eulogies Johnstone collects are endless." Barbara Chabai of the Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
also criticized the lack of depth to the work, writing that Johnstone "has simply repackaged facts from Cruise's interviews with other reporters into a neat but unfeeling tome that offers all the depth of an Entertainment Tonight feature." Both The Guardian and the Winnipeg Free Press noted the absence of any discussion or mention of the controversial 2005 episode of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
which spoofed Cruise, "Trapped in the Closet".
See also
- Being Tom CruiseBeing Tom CruiseThe Church of Scientology Presents: Being Tom Cruise, Why Scientology Isn't In Any Way Mental is a satirical spoof documentary from the series Star Stories, parodying the life of Tom Cruise and his relationship with the Church of Scientology. It is episode 2 of the second series of Star Stories,...
- Relationship of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
- Trapped in the Closet (South Park)
- Tom Cruise: UnauthorizedTom Cruise: UnauthorizedTom Cruise: Unauthorized is a non-fiction biographical book about Tom Cruise, written by Wensley Clarkson. The book was published by Hastings House in 1998. The book discusses Tom Cruise's early life, his rise as an actor, involvement with Scientology, and past relationships with Mimi Rogers and...
(1998) - Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized BiographyTom Cruise: An Unauthorized BiographyTom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography is a biography of actor Tom Cruise, written by Andrew Morton. The book was published in the United States in hardcover format on January 15, 2008 by St. Martin's Press, with a first printing of 400,000 copies, and an audio format on five CDs by Macmillan Audio...
(2008)