Tom Cruise is one of the last real movie stars in cinema. Say what you will about him, but the guy takes his movie-making seriously, to the point of hanging off planes and all other kinds of crazy stunts.
Cruise has been nominated three times for an Academy Award, but never won one; his movies have, not him personally. He has given amazing performances, Magnolia, Jerry Maguire, and Born of the Fourth of July, all nominated, but never won.
This weekend, Cruise was presented with an Academy Honorary Award. He was presented with the Oscar by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. They have just worked on a, yet untitled movie together for 2026.
Cruse took the chance to thank everyone who makes the movies with him, and what an experience going to the cinema can be. He said:
“The cinema, it takes me around the world. It helps me to appreciate and respect differences. It shows me also our shared humanity, how alike we are in so, so many ways. And no matter where we come from, in that theater, we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together, and that is the power of this art form. And that is why it matters, that is why it matters to me.”
“So, making films is not what I do, it is who I am.”
It’s alright for you, Tom, you can afford a ticket with the millions you make!
Love of Cinema
Cruise went on to say where his love of cinema came from:
“My love for cinema began at a very early age, as early as I can remember. I was just a little kid in a darkened theater, and I remember that beam of light just cut across the room, and I remember looking up, and it seemed to be just exploded on the screen.”
“Suddenly, the world was so much larger than the one that I knew. And entire cultures and lives and landscapes all unfolded in front of me, and it sparked something. It sparked a hunger for adventure, a hunger for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell a story, to see the world.”
“It opened my eyes. It opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the boundaries that I then perceived in my own life. And that beam of light opened a desire to open the world, and I have been following it ever since.”
Fair play to him, as I said, the man makes a damn good action movie! It’s good to see that his love of it has carried him through to today, and he’s still knocking them out of the park.
Present
It wasn’t just Cruise that got an honorary Oscar at the presentation. Choreographer Debbie Allen, production designer Wynn Thomas were presented with lifetime achievement awards.
Dolly Parton was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, but sadly wasn’t able to attend because of health concerns, so she sent a pre-recorded speech.
The Oscar presentation was attended by all of the popular people in Hollywood; Jennifer Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Sydney Sweeney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson, Emma Stone, and many more.
The cast and crew of GDT’s Frankenstein were there. The Last Movie Outpost was told “Your invite is in the post”, but it seems to have turned up late.
