All the Wrong Clips

For days now we’ve been subjected to endless repeats of clips from films such as Risky Business and Top Gun – plus the lame puns (like the title of this post) stemming from said movies’ titles – all in an attempt to illustrate the Paramount/Tom Cruise split, which may not be a real firing but a case of Paramount beating Cruise to the punch. The spin that came out of the Cruise/Wagner camp is that they were poised to being able to finance their own productions, eliminating the need for Paramount’s financing.

Unfortunately, I have yet to see any news, entertainment or talk show use the most apt Cruise clip: the scene in Jerry Maguire immediately after sports agent Maguire has just lost his remaining star client – a high school quarterback expected to go number one in the NFL draft -- to the sports management firm that just fired Maguire. This occurs on the eve of the NFL draft. A clearly panicked Maguire is shown asking aloud “How do I spin this?” His soon-to-be ex-fiancée, played by Kelly Preston, scoffs: “Oh honey – it’s spun.”