Extras seek $11 million from Tom Cruise after accident
Tue Aug 26, 1:50 PM ET


BERLIN (Reuters) - Twelve movie extras are seeking $11 million in damages from Tom Cruise and his production company after suffering broken bones, cuts and bruises in the filming of World War Two picture "Valkyrie" in Berlin last year.

The extras were injured on August 19, 2007, when the side panel of a period German army truck burst open as it drove around a corner in central Berlin.
A lawyer for the extras told Reuters Television on Tuesday that witness statements indicated the truck's side panel had not been properly secured.
Cruise was not on the set at the time.
"A new letter has been sent to Tom Cruise, (business partner) Paula Wagner and United Artists, in which we set out the facts of the case again and put a figure on the legal demands of our clients ... of $11 million," said lawyer Ariane Bluttner.
"Valkyrie" is named after the codename for a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler concocted by senior German military officers during World War Two. Cruise plays ringleader Claus von Stauffenberg.
The film's original release date has been postponed to December 26 from July 4 this year.
The German government initially banned the production from shooting on location at the Berlin site where the plot was hatched and the conspirators executed.
It later changed its mind after months of national debate that focused in part on membership of the Scientologist spiritual movement, of which Cruise is a member.
Germany does not recognize Scientology as a religion and regard it as a cult masquerading as a church to make money -- a view rejected by Scientologists.
The movie is being produced by MGM's United Artists banner, which Cruise runs with business partner Wagner. UA's debut release under the new regime, the Cruise vehicle "Lions for Lambs," bombed at the box office last November.
Bluttner said if her clients do not receive a satisfactory out-of-court settlement, she would seek to submit a claim to courts in the United States, where United Artists is based.
The level of damages reflected similar cases in the past and there was a risk that a U.S. judge could order punitive damages for negligence if the case went to court, Bluttner added.
(Reporting by Inke Kappeler, writing by David Milliken, editing by Madeline Chambers and Mary

Extras seek $11 million from Tom Cruise after accident - Yahoo! News

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Perhaps the next war film can have seat belts, shoulder harnesses & airbags and filmed atop a big fluffy mat in a foam rubber truck.
Ever see the "Cowboy" after OSHA ?
The box office receipts for that PC poof-a-thon ought to net the suers about twelve bucks.
Didn't you sign a release form, and don't you get bragging rights, your name in the credits, and medical care, or did they just let you lay there, or run you over again and again ?
Buff up "Twinkies".
Suing Sams with their passive aggressive, PC, powder-ass ways. The ruination of now ... everything ...

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There's one way to find out if a man is honest-ask him. If he says "Yes", you know he's a crook. Groucho Marx

More Valkyrie Woes, Extras Sue Tom Cruise

Today 3:05 PM PDT by Gina Serpe
Phil Bray/MGM
Another day, another bout of negative publicity for Tom Cruise's beseiged Valkyrie.
A dozen extras who worked on the WWII-era film last summer have filed an $11 million lawsuit against Cruise and his production company, United Artists, over injuries allegedly sustained while filming what should have been a less-than-action-packed sequence in Berlin.
The 12 actors reportedly suffered several broken bones, cuts and bruises during the Aug. 19, 2007, incident, when the side panel of their German Army truck burst open as the vehicle turned a corner.
Cruise was not on set at the time.
As a result of the on-set mishap, 11 extras were taken to a nearby hospital, for injuries that included broken ribs and pulled ligaments, and discharged, while the 12th was kept in the hospital for four days on suspicion of more serious internal injuries.
The actors' attorney, Ariane Bluttner, told Germany's Spiegel Online that UA was negligent and that the vehicles were not up to snuff.
"The studio knew the trucks were not safe. There had even been an internal memo about the railings."
"A new letter has been sent to Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner and United Artists, in which we set out the facts of the case again and put a figure on the legal demands of our clients...of $11 million," she told Reuters.
Cruise and Wagner had been running United Artists together under the supervision of MGM. Wagner announced her departure from the company earlier this month.
Meanwhile, United Artists maintains that the responsibility for the extras' welfare lays with the German studio that brought them onboard.
"While United Artists did receive a letter, the extras were not employed by United Artists but by a contractor hired by the German co-producer of Valkyrie, Studio Babelsberg," a rep for the studio said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
"It is their lawyers and insurers who must handle this matter under German Law. While United Artists supports and encourages a settlement, we are in fact not responsible for its negotiation. Studio Babelsberg has been an excellent partner throughout the production of the film and we are confident they are doing all they can to handle this matter."
Bluttner said that if her clients' monetary demands are not met, she will submit their claim to a U.S. court, where punitive damages are often more exorbitant.
As for Valkyrie, after numerous production fiascos and several schedule changes, the film is now slated for release Dec. 26.
(Originally published Aug. 26, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. PT)



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• Tom Cruise's Production Partner Bows Out

More Valkyrie Woes, Extras Sue Tom Cruise - E! Online

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

It really sounds to me like some entity is trying its best to keep this film outta the damned Bijou Picture Houses!!! Also, those actors suing Tom Cruise are just trying to get more pay than they were supposed to get by suing him for such a little crap thing.

Damn it ticks me off to hear about all of this. If the stupid F*****s keep the movie outta the theaters, then NOBODY makes any money.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

LOL Probably true there . They seem to be out for the money. Or the movie is cursed LOL. The odds are for me Ill just wait till it comes out on cable LOL.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Me too. I'm going to make a concerted effort to go to the theater to see "Defiance", but Valkyrie? Not so much. I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan anyway, not since he became such a schmuck anyways....

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Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow"
~Elie Wiesel~

Valkyrie looks awesome just because Tom Cruise is a douchebag in real life doesn't mean you shouldn't see the movie, that's what I believe.

After watching the trailer Im still not impressed with Cruise's acting. But then again I never have been over the years. Ill wait till it come out on cable. Funny it seems that all the others have some kind of accent yet Cruise doesn't. LOL

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I did not get the idea why Tom Cruise wanted to do this in the first place. He definitely needs a big buck film under his belt and playing Stauffenberg won't give it to him...

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Did you base that on the movie trailer? Ive seen quite a few trailers that looked great yet when I saw the actual films they turned out to be crap.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Extras got injured. If you were driving a car recklessly, and injured people, a personal injury lawyer would have a bailiff visit you with a piece of paper.

I write often for a celeb site. Tom Cruise would do himself a HUGE favor if he took five years off and stayed on a remote ranch, away from cameras-and people. His name doesn't carry the cache it used to just a few years ago. His last two movies didn't do well at the box office and the Scientology stuff, along with a fear that he has somehow brainwashed Katie Holmes, or holds her captive, has damaged his reputation-BIG TIME.

Usually, production companies are careful to follow OSHA regs, but I fear this accident has more to do with the "blockbuster era", than anything else. Hollywood is taking unnecessary risks to include eye popping effects in movies.

For years, I've written about the dumbing down of movies because Hollywood focuses so hard on making movies that cost 100 million to make, with all kinds of visual noise, that completely lack substance. Book inspired epics aside, decades from now, is anyone going to remember
any of the huge budget movies? I don't think so.

What movies endure? Movies with excellent writing, like Casablanca, Meet John Doe, and The Guns of Navarone. George Lucas pretty much ushered in the blockbuster era with the first Star Wars trilogy. They were whiz bang movies, but the writing was excellent. The second trilogy, made a decade and a half later, were left wanting because of very poor writing and extremely poor casting.

I've become a huge proponent of euro movies because they are made with much smaller budgets, and they concentrate on the quality of writing and acting. I often use this euro movie as an example because it is a masterpiece, but The Memory of a Killer cost only four million to make and in terms of writing and acting, it is superior to anything Hollywood has cranked out in 25 years. Hollywood has virtually lost the art of good storytelling, and we, the fans of cinema, have suffered for it.

Since this is a WW2 forum, let's compare movies about D-Day and Pearl Harbor.

Tora Tora Tora-(1970) excellent movie, gripping, very close to the truth, endlessly interesting.

Pearl Harbor-(2004)Didn't get anything right, and invented history.

The Longest Day-(1965)Not graphic, but accurate. Excellent writing, and the fact that actors in this movie had actually participated in D-Day made the difference.

Saving Private Ryan-(2003) the first ten minutes are superb, after that, it turns into a long anti war chant. Truly sad, so much wasted potential.

My point, because today's Hollywood celebs have pretty much come from privileged backgrounds, they aren't common people, never have been common people, and don't begin to understand common people. The Celebs of yesterday were common people, who stormed the beaches of Normandy (Eddie Albert), flew B-17's (Jimmy Stewart), and served in support (Don Rickles). These celebs understood what people really liked because they made the movies they wanted to watch. The movies cranked out today are made by elitests who make movies for elitests, and the public who subsidize their crap have fallen victim to Dudester's Axiom.

Dudester's Axiom-fed garbage long enough, people will aquire a taste for it.

I mourn for tomorrow's children because of the legacy handed them and I pray they develop a taste for retro movies (movies reliant on writing and acting intead of CGI).

Really? So just because it looks like a cool movie I should give him my money? No way man, when it comes on HBO, I'll watch it then. Same thing with Spike Lee's movie.

I'll pay to see "Defiance" , and I'll pay to see "No Better Place to Die", but I wont willfully and knowingly give Tom Cruise my money.

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Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow"
~Elie Wiesel~

It's a minor thing; but I really dislike that all the pictures Ive seen so far, Cruise didnt even have the dedication to get that "high and tight" that most soldiers wore -including all the pictures Ive seen of Von Stauffenberg- in the 40's

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Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow"
~Elie Wiesel~

so I guess you didn't see Indiana Jones 4 because certainly Harrison Ford doesn't need any more money getting 30 million for each movie. Actually that goes for just about every movie doesn't it? all the actors are way over-payed these days but you know what I am still going to pay to see this WWII movie because I love WWII and I like the storyline. Just to let you know I rarely go out to the movies these days because the price for a ticket is outrageous but for a WWII movie Tom Cruise or not I will.

Well thats your opinion and well all have one. Just because it is about WWII is no reason for me to pay to see it. Nore will I base how "awesome" it looks like from a few pictures and a few minutes from a trailer. And since it is a movie made to entertain and make money not as straight historical fact we will have to wait and see how accurate it is. And those flaws are already showing up. As to Cruise I could not care less how much he makes and still think he is a so-so actor. They could have picked from a slew of others that would have been more believable as Stauffenberg and do a better job.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

"Just because it is about WWII is no reason for me to pay to see it."

Truer words have never been spoken JC. It can be the greatest war epic of all time, but if it's got crappy actors, it's gonna suck. Besides, I don't "love" WWII, I am keenly interested in it, I have a passion for learning about it,and it fascinates me to no end, but I dont "love" it.

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Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow"
~Elie Wiesel~

No, I'd go see that, it's not about how much money they have, though i truly think they have been given so much money they all suffer from some delusion that we need them to think for us, tell us who to vote for or what books to buy. No, I wont go see Operation Valkyrie because Tom Cruise is a complete and utter braying jack-ass..

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Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow"
~Elie Wiesel~

I would go and see Indy 4 too .And because I know it will be just for entertainment and not for seeing something that is BASED on some event that actually happened. I try not base anything I know or learn on Hollywood movies. The movie will be made to be more exciting then what it really was like. People expect that.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Tom Cruise alias Stauffenberg

how more ridiculous can Hollywood get?

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Davy Crockett? wouldn't want to miss the racoon cap with an Austrian slang. "Hei de Mexicaaans ore cohming"

Regards
Kruska

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The world is grey - not black and white

ROTFLMAO!!! Damn Kruska, you made me choke on my coke!! Funny!! Thanks for the laugh.

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Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow"
~Elie Wiesel~

"Hei de Mexicaaans ore cohming" He is probably saying this already LOL.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Hello JCFalkenbergIII,

Yes I guess you are correct on that one

Regards
Kruska

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The world is grey - not black and white

Hi Lias, i'll have to get back with you on the reply above-not time enough to post that today ;-))

In short though, I fully agree with you about Tom Cruise.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Tom Cruise movie release dates set

14th September 2008, 5:14 WST


The release of Valkyrie, a controversial World War II movie starring Tom Cruise, has been set for December and January, Twentieth Century Fox said in Berlin.
The movie tells the true-life story of one of Germany's few war heroes: Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944 and was executed by the Nazis when the coup attempt failed.
Many Germans were not only unsettled by the return of swastikas and jackboots to Berlin streets during the 2007 filming, but also by the casting. Cruise has been widely criticised in Germany because of his Scientology beliefs.
The distributor, Twentieth Century Fox, said the German release had been set for January 22, 2009.
The US release would be on December 26, allowing the movie to play to holiday season crowds and to maximise the opportunity for an Oscar nomination.
Completion of the movie, directed by Bryan Singer, had been repeatedly delayed, but the distributors have always maintained this was purely so they could choose a profitable date for first release.
DPA

Tom Cruise movie release dates set : thewest.com.au

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Good to see it´s finally coming to the theaters.

Wonder if it´s bound to end like "Pearl Harbor"...

Some interesting figures from the past though:

Mission: Impossible - $180 million, A Few Good Men - $141 million, Rain Man - $172 million, Top Gun - $176 million, Jerry Maguire - $158 million, The Firm - $158 million, Mission: Impossible 2 - $215 million.

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