S15.E09: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron, Seth McFarlane, Coldplay

[Kromm]

Graham's sofa is full of stars - Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, starring in new sci-fi thriller Edge Of Tomorrow, his co-star, actress Emily Blunt, Oscar winner Charlize Theron and Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, promoting his new film A Million Ways To Die In The West. Plus music from Coldplay, who perform A Sky Full of Stars.

 

So the rule is that Tom Cruise (and probably John Travolta) can only appear on non-US talk shows now, for fear of public mockery/The Emperor Has No Clothes phenomenon, right?

[sum]

He's scheduled to be on Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday, The Tonight Show on Wednesday, The Daily Show on Thursday this week. There seems to be a pattern that Hollywood actors make an appearance on GN show first and then on US talk shows in a week or so.

[Kromm]

He's scheduled to be on Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday, The Tonight Show on Wednesday, The Daily Show on Thursday this week. There seems to be a pattern that Hollywood actors make an appearance on GN show first and then on US talk shows in a week or so.

Wow.  There must have been some fierce behind the scenes negotiation for all of those with promises to avoid talking about anything other than his new movie.  I mean even Jon Stewart agreed to it?

Edited June 1, 2014 by Kromm

[solotrek]

There seems to be a pattern that Hollywood actors make an appearance on GN show first and then on US talk shows in a week or so.

 

Edge of Tomorrow was released in the UK last week. It gets released in the US this week. Probably explains it.

 

Wow.  There must have been some fierce behind the scenes negotiation for all of those with promises to avoid talking about anything other than his new movie.  I mean even Jon Stewart agreed to it?

 

Must be some negotiation because Jon Stewart barely watches any of the movies unless they have a chance of being Oscar nominated.

[Kromm]

So did you know that Tom Cruise, and his Assistant Xenu, invented the Press Tour?  

 

Wanker.

[dubbel zout]

Stewart doesn't get into stuff like that with guests. That's not what he does.

[sum]

Edge of Tomorrow was released in the UK last week. It gets released in the US this week. Probably explains it.

 

Must be some negotiation because Jon Stewart barely watches any of the movies unless they have a chance of being Oscar nominated.

First part, yep, good point!

 

As for the 2nd part, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Daily_Show_guests_(2014)

There are fair share of actors on the list that I think have no chance of being Oscar nominated, though I admit I haven't seen all of them myself. Also according to IMDB last year when Oblivion was about to be released, Cruise made a similar talk show tour (JL, JK, JF and JS). So it's hardly something new for either parties. Anyway enough off-topic chat from me.

[solotrek]

So, maybe it's because I watch Graham Norton sporadically. But doesn't he usually have all the guests out on the couch at once? What was with the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt interview first and then having Seth and Charlize out later? It was a pretty funny interview when all 4 were out on the couch even though I have no interested in seeing the 100 ways to Die in the West movie. I'm not much of a Family Guy fan anymore and kind of think Seth McFarlane has written a ton of crap - he's a very talented voice actor.

 

Did Coldplay have a player piano so Chris Martin could just bounce around?

[Kromm]

He often does the interviews in two waves like this when it's a larger number of guests, especially if there's a big star who's ego might be hurt if they were less focused on during at least part of the show.

[dubbel zout]

And sometimes the guests are going to/coming from a premiere, and the timing doesn't work otherwise.

[JeanneH]

This episode is on BBC America tonight (Saturday, June 7). My listing has it tagged as "New" so I guess it must be the BBCA premiere.

[peeayebee]

I thought that was a decent enough show. I don't think Tom Cruise tells stories very well. I loved Emily Blunt. I also thought Charlize Theron was pretty funny. I've never watched Family Guy, and I don't like McFarlane; however, I did like when he explained where he got the voice for Quagmire -- not that I know the character, but I like behind-the-scenes stuff. Oh, and I also enjoyed Kermit doing the Taken speech.

 

Very funny when Seth said that at the Tonight Show there are only five people in the audience, then Charlize said, "That's only when you're there, darling." Very quick.

[theatremouse]

I thought Charlize was great, but also, it was super obvious how much of a bomb that movie was from about 8 seconds of the interview. Charlize couldn't think of a way to describe it so that it'd sound like a movie with a plot. She was so grasping at straws and twice had to ask Seth to just describe it himself...Graham basically said "if you like MacFarlane's jokes, it's 2 hours of 'em" and then devolved into Graham just having him do the voices. They both sort of seemed embarrassed trying to describe the movie. I wonder what PR mastermind told Charlize it'd be a good move for her to even do that flick.

 

I think Tom is sort of purposefully guarded these days, but he has also sort of always been an awkward anecdote-teller. But he also sort of sounds like he lives in a bubble when he talks. There were a couple of moments when Seth was doing seriously old hat schtick and Tom was cracking up like it was the first time he'd ever heard of it, because it probably was. That whole thing Emily Blunt was saying about she'd say "it sucks" and Tom said "it's challenging". That was like...Tom Cruise in a nutshell. He has his Tom Cruise face+voice on, and a good anecdote it does not make. He's so intentional.

Edited June 8, 2014 by theatremouse

[heebiejeebie]

The most amusing and enthralling aspect of the show for me was seeing the carefully constructed 1 and 1/2 inches of non-fillered and botoxed strip of Cruise's forehead to show two rows of lines as false evidence he is all "natural".  As if the over filled cheeks, pulled to breaking point temples and what had to be an entirely botoxed to the point of toxic death scalp didn't scream he apparently still shares a plastic surgeon with Vladimir Putin.  But just watching those two lines crease while the rest of his head seemed to actually tighten before my very eyes was a grotesque bit of fascination I could not shake.   Emily was a bit better than the carefully picked female co-star of the last two films..but still.  It is so sad this little man in every way needs to come on a show like this and be coddled and basically have to have his ego craddled and stroked like it is a baby bird that just fell out of the nest. 

 

The second funny thing was now as a third show veteran, Cruise understands the whole placement hierarchy element of the couch.  And he was guarding his first place spot when Charlize and Seth came out like a goalie with two minutes on the clock and a penalty tie breaker taking place.  Little wee tool was not giving up his place no matter what. 

 

I'd love to know what the highly irreverant Theron and McFarlane had to say in the back as they were watching Tom Cruise attempt to pull off the always difficult role of being a human being. 

[peeayebee]

I just shook my head at Cruise as he stayed in the no. 1 spot on the couch. Yet I find it fascinating to watch him. It's a weird dichotomy. On the one hand, that's a reveal of ego, and yet on the other he seems very pleasant and unaffected. And yet… as the previous two posters said, there's something very practiced about it, too. Like I said, it's just interesting to watch. Also, even though he laid claim to the first position on the couch, he did it like it was just how things were done, like how royalty assumes certain privileges, and everyone accepts it. I don't think anyone on the couch thought that Cruise should not remain in that seat. 

 

As far as McFarlane's film goes, I haven't seen it and won't, but I did see a trailer at the movies a couple of months ago, and there were a lot of very funny scenes. However, I'm not a fan of scatological humor, and I'm not a fan of McFarlanes, so this is just not for me.

[walnutqueen]

I found myself unintentionally enjoying this show - must be Graham's mad skills, because it did have a decent balance, and the guests seemed to enjoy themselves.  I laughed my ass off at Kermit doing the Taken phone call

[attica]

He's so intentional.

 

Rob Lowe tells a story in his first memoir about the experience of doing The Outsiders. Only one of the cast had a significant credit (Matt Dillon); everybody else was really a newbie. At one point during auditions, director Coppola flew the LA-based kids to NYC for more auditions with the NYC-based kids. Without chaperones, they were all put up at the Plaza Hotel. Upon checking in, they discovered they were doubled-up in their rooms. Cruise bolted to the phone bank and called his manager to confirm that such an indignity was legit. She had to talk him down that it was essentially ok for his 15-year-old self to share a room. So he's never not been completely focused on his spot on the couch, as it were.

[peeayebee]

Interesting, attica. I just assumed his ego got big as he became a huge movie star.

[dubbel zout]

I just shook my head at Cruise as he stayed in the no. 1 spot on the couch.

 

It was so odd.

 

Cruise always tries so hard to be likable. In some ways I feel a little sorry for him. His life is so beyond normal.

 

The Red Chair stories were good.

[Kromm]

I'd love to know what the highly irreverant Theron and McFarlane had to say in the back as they were watching Tom Cruise attempt to pull off the always difficult role of being a human being. 

I know people don't always respect McFarlane's comedy, but at the very least he's not typically tolerant to fools (at least in his references and jokes--and there are few people out there as foolish as Tom Cruise), so I assumed the whole time Seth was biting his tongue, controlling himself so he didn't start jumping on the couch in imitation of Cruise's Oprah funtimes, and screaming out "Xenu is gonna get you Tom!  Xenu is coming to collect your thetans!"

Edited June 8, 2014 by Kromm

[Mumbles]

I think Seth McFarlane is a smarmy hack (I liked Graham's little dig that the movie, unlike "Family Guy", had a plot) but boy was his and Charlize's appearance on the show like a breath of fresh air and lightened the mood of the rest of the evening.

[TexasGal]

This was the most normal Tom Cruise has ever seemed to me in an interview. Maybe because everyone was suitably sucking up to him?

[Kromm]

This was the most normal Tom Cruise has ever seemed to me in an interview. Maybe because everyone was suitably sucking up to him?

On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being normal for everyone else, and 10 being bugnuts, Tom is usually a 9, and maybe he was a 7 this time.  So yeah.  Normal for HIM.

 

I don't quite know if the others were quite sucking up, but just being around Cruise and not cringing is akin to sucking up, IMO.

[TexasGal]

Agreed, Kromm.  It made me wonder if Emily Blunt is a scientologist.  Which would make me very sad because I generally like her, but it would explain why they seemed to get along so well.

[attica]

Well, she is an actor...

[catray]

I didn't think this was a bad episode, but it just kind of "was" if you know what I mean. Not very remarkable in any way. Emily Blunt was charming and nice and it was fun to have Seth flex his voice acting skills (the movie looks terrible)... but I wasn't really wowed by anyone on the couch.

[fastiller]

Rob Lowe tells a story in his first memoir about the experience of doing The Outsiders. Only one of the cast had a significant credit (Matt Dillon); everybody else was really a newbie. At one point during auditions, director Coppola flew the LA-based kids to NYC for more auditions with the NYC-based kids. Without chaperones, they were all put up at the Plaza Hotel. Upon checking in, they discovered they were doubled-up in their rooms. Cruise bolted to the phone bank and called his manager to confirm that such an indignity was legit. She had to talk him down that it was essentially ok for his 15-year-old self to share a room. So he's never not been completely focused on his spot on the couch, as it were.

I recall reading that during the filming of TAPS, all the cast (the kids anyway) stayed on base and TC insisted on being put up in a hotel.  Can't find it online, but sounds very similar to your story.  

[paramitch]

I really enjoyed this show, which surprised me because Cruise can be uptight on Norton, and I really dislike Seth Macfarlane, who is just kind of a sleaze in real life. But his performance of the Kermit the Frog "Taken" speech was absolutely hilarious, and everyone was charming and fun (especially Charlize -- I love how quick and witty she can be, and here it just seemed like she did not give two fucks about anything, which was awesome).

 

And I thought Cruise was okay, for the most part, and he and Blunt seemed to mesh well together (she seemed almost maternal with him). And I did think her anecdote from filming was a really charming one -- Cruise may be bonkers, but he's supposed to be a supportive member of a cast/crew in general. And to echo theatremouse, it was actually funny to me to see how hard Cruise was laughing on the couch -- I agree that it emphasized how sheltered his life must really be in an odd way. (I kept thinking, "Does he never, like, have dinner parties?")

attica

: Rob Lowe tells a story in his first memoir about the experience of doing The Outsiders. Only one of the cast had a significant credit (Matt Dillon); everybody else was really a newbie. At one point during auditions, director Coppola flew the LA-based kids to NYC for more auditions with the NYC-based kids. Without chaperones, they were all put up at the Plaza Hotel. Upon checking in, they discovered they were doubled-up in their rooms. Cruise bolted to the phone bank and called his manager to confirm that such an indignity was legit. She had to talk him down that it was essentially ok for his 15-year-old self to share a room. So he's never not been completely focused on his spot on the couch, as it were.

 

 

I love that you brought this up -- it was such a wonderful memoir. And what I found interesting about the event Lowe described was, to me, that it seemed to be more complex than just Tom Cruise pulling an infant-actor-ego-tantrum thing. He rather just seems to have always been fanatical on the subject of "what's appropriate" -- like, in the anecdote you describe, once Tom ascertained that it was simply the way things had been arranged for all of them, he was absolutely fine, and went back to everyone else to reassure them: "Paula says it's okay, it's all okay." When of course they were all looking at him like... "...?"

 

I like Cruise as a performer (and while I hated Oblivion, I flat-out LOVED Edge of Tomorrow despite the awful title), and find him driven and dependable and often better than expected performance-wise, but I do find his Scientology fanaticism to be really unfortunate and disturbing -- I keep hoping he'll wake up one day and run back to civilization. I thought Lowe was really perceptive about Cruise in his book -- giving the impression that he seemed pleasant and polite, but that he was so hyper-focused and driven that there was no room left for humor or personality or a sense of fun. I found it really believable based on Cruise's public persona, and it made him a stark contrast to Swayze, who was adored by everyone during filming for his exuberance and life experience -- it was like Cruise was missing the entire point of what was so cool about the experience they were all having on the movie.

 

Meanwhile, I always watch Graham closely when people like Cruise come on, and it's kind of fun, because Graham (who can be divinely caustic with guests who can dish it right back) really comes off as rather Mother Hen-like and very sweet and supportive with the perhaps more difficult mega-stars -- he was a genius with this couch and keeping things light, funny and moving right along. 

Edited November 20, 2014 by paramitch