Harvey Weinstein was allegedly up to no good when Tom Cruise intervened to put a stop to him. Harvey Weinstein is now synonymous with being a convicted felon for years of abuse against up-and-coming actresses in the industry, and his children have reportedly shunned him. However, he was once renowned as a producer with a strong hand when it comes to editing projects. As a result, those who refused to follow Weinstein’s instructions saw their film shelved, while those who accepted to the modifications found their film was nothing like the initial idea on which they committed to work. Todd Field was one of these directors. Field began his career as an actor but soon realized that directing was his true calling. Field pursued his passion and made his directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival, thanks to the encouragement of friends like Tom Cruise, who has been known to irritate many in Hollywood. Weinstein attended the festival and purchased the rights to Field’s film. Field approached Cruise because he was concerned that the film would be a shell of itself when Weinstein was finished with it. To Weinstein’s anger, Cruise refused to allow Weinstein wreck Field’s project. Todd Field and Tom Cruise met on the set of ‘Eyes Wide Shut’. Field and Cruise met on the set of Eyes Wide Shut, a film in which actress Eva Herzigova refused to appear after being offered the role of a minor character. Field had been a practicing actor for over a decade when he earned the role of Nick Nightengale, the figure who introduces Cruise’s Dr. Harford to the masked society in the film. He was gradually achieving success in his acting profession and was getting placed with A-list performers. Field and Cruise became friends as a result of the 400 days it took to shoot Stanley Kubrick’s film, a record for the longest film shoot in history. This bond led to the two sharing meals and discussing their job ambitions.
Given that Field lacked a substantial acting career and had no directing experience, it appeared that his ambition to become a filmmaker was doomed. However, after expressing his intention to work behind the camera rather than in front of it, Cruise was one of the first to encourage Field to pursue his aspirations. Tom Cruise Encouraged Todd Field To Become A Director Given the lengthy process of filming Eyes Wide Shut, Field had the opportunity to speak with Kubrick about the art of directing. Kubrick was generous in explaining his shots and his artistry, but it was Cruise who recognized that Field had the talent to be a director if he would just stop getting in his own way. Because of this, Cruise encouraged Field to take on his first project as a director. Field told Cruise over dinner one night that he had an idea for a film based on a short story by Andre Dubus. Field’s issue was that he had no idea where to begin in acquiring the rights to the narrative in order to construct a script around it. Never one to back down from a challenge, Cruise provided Field some basic advise that forever altered the course of Field’s career. “You’re just making excuses,” replied Cruise. “Figure it out.” Field acquired the rights to the story and finally made In the Bedroom because of this tough love. The film was a commercial and critical triumph. It went on to win multiple honors and be nominated for five Academy honors, including Best Writing, which was ascribed to Field. However, the picture premiered at the Sundance picture Festival the year prior, and Miramax picked it up for distribution. Weinstein, on the other hand, wanted to make significant adjustments. Field was terrified that his passion project would be ripped to bits as a result of this.
As a result, he approached the most powerful person he knew in Hollywood, Cruise, who knew just how to stop Weinstein in his tracks. Harvey Weinstein threatened to destroy Todd Field’s film unless Tom Cruise intervened. When Field discovered that his picture had been picked up for distribution by a studio, it should have felt like a dream come true. Instead, it became a nightmare when Miramax was chosen as the studio. Weinstein was a producer known for removing films from their original state and editing them down to the point where they were unrecognizable. Field did not want In the Bedroom to be changed from what it was. “I was weeping in the bathroom,” Field told The New Yorker. “I called Tom Cruise and told him, ‘Something terrible has happened.'” ‘This is how you’re going to play it,’ he basically said. It will take you six months to beat him, but you must do exactly what I will teach you to do, step by step.” Cruise devised a scheme in which he would let Weinstein do whatever he wanted with the picture. Knowing that it would not fare well with audiences in the state in which Weinstein would leave it, Field would then “suggest that he release it exactly as it was when he bought it.” Field did precisely as Cruise instructed, and In the Bedroom was released exactly as it debuted at Sundance. It would also go on to gross “more than twenty-five times its budget” and be nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. While the acquisition of In the Bedroom by Miramax appeared to be a death sentence for the film, thanks to Cruise, Field emerged victorious. His directorial debut established him as a legitimate director, and he would go on to direct several more films throughout the course of his career, the most recent of which being Tár, which was released in 2022.
