Hollywood's latest break-up involves movie star Tom Cruise and his studio, Paramount Pictures.


Though he's largely been out of the spotlight for a few months since the birth of his daughter, Cruise has not escaped fallout from his bizarre behaviour over the past year.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, the head of Paramount's parent company, Viacom Inc., announced the studio was ending its relationship with the Mission Impossible star. Paramount has maintained a contract with Cruise's film production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions, for 14 years. The latest contract is set to expire Aug. 31.

"As much as we like him personally… we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Viacom chair Sumner Redstone told the Journal.

"It's nothing to do with his acting ability. He's a terrific actor," Redstone continued.

"But we don't think that someone who effects creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot."

Outrageous behaviour led to public relations fiasco

After years of being guarded about his personal life, Cruise appeared to explode out of his shell last year.

He engaged in a whirlwind public romance with younger actress Katie Holmes, began vocally promoting his Scientology faith, leaped onto talk show host Oprah Winfrey's couch on-air while proclaiming his love for Holmes and, in interviews, criticized actress Brooke Shields for taking prescription drugs to treat her postpartum depression (Scientologists denounce psychiatry and its medication).

The media frenzy over Cruise and Holmes intensified when they announced they were expecting a child together. In April, Holmes gave birth to Suri Cruise — coincidentally, the same day as Shields gave birth to her second child. The couple has been maintaining a lower profile since.

Nevertheless, Cruise's star power was seriously damaged by his public outbursts. Though he recently topped Forbes magazine's annual list of powerful celebrities, the ticket sales for his last film, Mission: Impossible III, were lower than expected. Around the time the film was released in May, a Gallup poll found that more than half of the respondents surveyed had developed an "unfavourable" opinion of the star, whose credits include Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Magnolia, War of the Worlds and Born on the Fourth of July.

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Cruise's longtime business partner Paula Wagner shot back at Redstone's announcement later Tuesday, saying it was Cruise/Wagner Productions that decided against renewing the contract with Paramount in favour of seeking independent financing.

Wagner added that Redstone's pronouncement was "surprising."

"For some reason, Paramount has chosen to negotiate in the press," she said. "It's not really the most businesslike approach."

According to Wagner, Paramount's collaboration with Cruise/Wagner Productions has produced $2.5 billion US worth of business. Still, she says, she and Cruise have considered seeking independent financing "for a long time."

Viacom and Paramount have declined further comment.