All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S10E04.The.Mentor.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTN_track4_[eng]

Tom Cruise entered the 1980s
as an aspiring actor.

-
- No, I'm serious.

And Tom would
leave the decade as one of
Hollywood's biggest stars.

Even though he had yet
to win an Academy Award.

And the Oscar goes
to Daniel Day-Lewis
in My Left Foot.

So as the 90s kicked off,

Tom Cruise wanted
nothing else but to be on top.

- Days of Thunder.
- A Few Good Men.

- The Firm.
- Jerry Maguire.

But to get there,
he'd have to rely
on some unproven talent.

He goes,
"Have you ever acted before?"

Like, " No."

Here's my entire acting process.

Not my turn. Not my turn.

There was concern...

But with
a little perseverance...

[Frank Capra Iii] Jack would come in
and he would deliver

what you saw in the movie,
every single shot.

A little ingenuity...

He had an offer out
to Jason Alexander,

but if Seinfeld gets picked up,
he won't be available.

And the help from
a very luxurious pen.

"It's a pen, Tom, I mean how...
Oh, my God."

Ah, insanity.

Maybe, just maybe,
Tom would get his Oscar.

They were making a classic.

No, it's not a leak,
I'm sweating.

You'd hear Robbie, "Cut! Cut!"

Entering the 90s,

Tom Cruise was looking
to get back to
a winning formula.

Days of Thunder, obviously,
a very deliberate attempt

to recapture
the magic of Top Gun.

This is basicallyTop Gun in a race car.

It's a Tony Scott movie.
It's exciting.
There's a certain machismo.

- What the hell is going on?
- Just a little rubbing, Harry.

But the transition to
cars proved difficult

as production faced
a bumpy road.

You know, they would have
eight cameras
running on Days of Thunder,

and there was no way
for them to see

the eight cameras
running together.

It makes filming of Top Gun
look like grade school.

[Eddie] So they would have
eight Steenbecks going
all morning looking at dailies.

And Tony Scott
would just point any time
there was something interesting

and they would stab the film
running through the Steenbeck.

But rather than
return to a "Danger Zone,"

the film ended up in
a slightly more "Unsafe Zone."

It wasn't nearly
as successful as Top Gun.

The film's haul was just
under 158 million dollars.

While profitable, it was
nowhere near the success
of Top Gun. Nevertheless...

It did it bring him
Nicole Kidman.

The whirlwind romance gave Tom
a wife and his next costar.

Far and Away, this was
the movie that Tom went off
and did with Nicole

under the direction
of Ron Howard.

Hopes were high
the Ron Howard film

would help Tom snag
the Oscar that got away.

It was this big sweeping,
you know, epic...

And although Far and Awaywasn't an epic disaster,

didn't quite do for his career
what I think he was hoping for.

Unfazed,
Cruise continued to seek out
Hollywood's top directors,

and next on his list
was a real meathead.

Rob Reiner, he was a huge
director you know,
He'd done The Princess Bride.

Truly, you have
a dizzying intellect.

Stand by Me.

I'm never gonna get out
of this town, am I Gordie?

When Harry met Sally.

Yes! Oh! Oh!

Some of the most
quintessential American
comedies

and dramas of the 1980s.

I'll have what she's having.

But perhaps Tom Cruise
was more interested

in Rob Reiner's
more recent success.

He'd just done Misery,
which had brought
Kathy Bates an Oscar.

I know that, Mister Man.

Actors really
wanted to work with him.

They knew that he could get
a great performance out of them

while also telling
a really good story
and a story that is commercial.

The cocktail of Oscar
and box office was just what
Tom Cruise was looking for.

And it just so happened
Rob Reiner was about
to take on a new project.

And one of the first
to find out was Kevin Pollak.

I was working
on a television summer series,

six episodes, that Rob Reiner
and Christopher Guest

had created,
called Morton and Hayes.

Every day I would have lunch
with Rob in his trailer,

and one day he waved
his sizable finger in my face
and said, "You know,

this next movie I'm doing
was a big Broadway hit
called A Few Good Men.

The play had been
the brainchild of a young
up and coming writer

named Aaron Sorkin,
who had been
inspired by a family member.

Aaron Sorkin's, sister

was in the military for the DOJ,
the Department of Justice.

Impressed by the play,

Reiner recruited Sorkin
to write the screenplay.

The story followed the military
trial of two Marines accused
of murdering one of their own.

Did you assault Santiago
with the intent of killing him?

- No, sir.
- What was your intent?

To train him, sir.

A morality tale about honor,
loyalty and obedience.

We follow orders or people die.

But just like in the military,
to bring this story to life,

Rob Reiner would need
an assistant director
to execute his orders.

It's Frank Capra III...

And if that name sounds
familiar, there's good reason.

I think people are very well
aware of Grandpa's movieIt's a Wonderful Life.

That's what I was sent down for.
I'm your guardian angel.

And just like his grandpa,

Frankie was working his way
into the family business.

And it was my second film
as the first assistant director.

But Frankie wasn't
the only one at Castle Rock
working his way up.

I started
at Castle Rock in the mailroom.

Then, after years
of paying his dues,
Wolfgang got his big break.

Rob Reiner was doing Misery
and they asked me if I would be

his personal assistant,
which was like,
you know, amazing.

And then for
Rob Reiner's next movie...

I was hired as a location
manager with A Few Good Men.

Where Wolfgang had a front-row
seat to the creative process.

Aaron Sorokin was
there a lot with Rob
and they were going through

changing it from
a theater play into the movie.

And one of
the biggest changes would be
the Colonel Jessep character.

In the play, the Colonel,
he's nuts from the beginning.

I'm a fair guy
but this fucking heat
is making me absolutely crazy.

But it was decided for the movie
to make the colonel
seemingly maybe a hothead,

but smart enough
to keep his composure
in front of others.

Until that giant moment, he got
to make him break on the stand.

With the script in place,

Wolfgang began his new role
as location manager.

It was my first big project
being the head guy,
a lot of stress.

We knew we had to go to DC
to shoot for a couple of weeks,

exteriors that
set up that world.

But Washington wasn't
Wolfgang's biggest concern.

Figuring out what they wanted to
do with the Guantanamo section.

Apparently we wanted to shoot
at Guantanamo Bay,

the script was sent to
the Marines there for approval.

A script that included this...

and this...
Not to mention this.

I'm gonna rip the eyes
out of your head
and piss in your dead skull.

You know, that was
squashed pretty quickly.

A representative of the Marine
Corps read the script and said,

"No. No, we're
not going to approve this

and you're not going
to shoot at Guantanamo Bay."

Which meant it was time
for Wolfgang to get creative.

You know, I've visited
a lot of places here locally
that were very interesting.

Old kind of barracks situations
from World War II.

Meanwhile, Rob Reiner
began filling out the cast.

Obviously, we know
Tom, Demi and Jack.

And then, of course,
you have Kevin Bacon.

That's going to be entertaining.

Kiefer Sutherland.

I can handle
this situation, sir.

All great actors.

And he even had a little
surprise for his pal Kevin.

There's this part
of Tom's co-counsel
that you're perfect for.

There was just one snag.

He had an offer out
to Jason Alexander,

but if Seinfeld
gets picked up for Season 2,
he won't be available.

You're a backup.

You're a second line.
A just in case.

After that, I immediately
in my mind started praying
for Jason Alexander's success.

I would say it worked out
very well for both of us.

Everything was coming together.

We started to hear some
of the names that were gonna
be included. Pretty exciting.

The cast was almost perfect.

There was just one
casting hurdle Rob Reiner
couldn't seem to clear.

A Marine corporal named Dawson.

Yeah, Rob was having
a horrible time trying to find
who's gonna play that part.

But once again,
the answer

would come in the form of
someone close to Rob.

I was out scouting
one day, and then
came back to the office.

I bumped into Rob Reiner,
and out of the blue,
he just looks at me,

he goes, "Have you
ever acted before?"

I was like, "No" I mean,
he knew I wanted
to write and direct,

and he was like,
"Well, you know the role
of Dawson in the movie?"

He said, "Uh, just,
you know, read for it.
Just see how you do."

I was like "Oh, okay."

And so Wolfgang
read for the role
of Lance Corporal Dawson.

I went back to running around
stressed, trying
to find these locations.

But Wolfgang was having
trouble focusing on his work.

They kept bringing me back,
okay, and so, you know,

we're getting
further down the line,

I went in, and I remember
the last reading that I did.

Rob stands up and he goes,
"Well, I have a big decision
to make."

I was thinking "Okay."

But casting was the least
of Wolfgang's concerns.

And I run off again because
I mean, I'm like, stressed
about this location job.

Then, a few days later, Rob gets
on the phone and he says,
I remember the words,

he says, " Welcome
to the movie business."

And you know, it was a shock.

He took such a big chance.
With the stars
that were in that movie,

in such a high-profile film,

to ask someone
to play such a pivotal role,
who's never done it before.

I was terrified, to be honest,
having never acted before.

And on Wolfgang's first day,

he was thrown
right into the deep end.

Of course, I'm early, early.
Then suddenly, you know,
in walks, Kevin Bacon,

Demi Moore, Kiefer Sutherland,
Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.

Welcome to the big time.

Wolfgang wasn't the only one
feeling out of their depths.

It was giant movie stars
everywhere, and then me.

I have no responsibilities
here whatsoever.

I kept waiting for someone
to tap me on the shoulder

and say "We've made
a horrible error."

But at least Kevin
was a working actor.

Talk about overload.
It's not even just meeting them.

It's like meeting them now
with the expectation I got to do

the work that
they are known for doing.

No longer
taking notes for Rob Reiner,

Wolfgang was now on the other
side of the notepad.

And they start reading
and I'm like, got my finger
where my lines began.

And I'm just like, "Okay, five
more pages, four more pages,

three more pages."
I was terrified.

Location manager turned
movie star Wolfgang Bodison

was struggling
with his new role.

And I say my first lines
and I just like, explode.

Lance Corporal
Harold W. Dawson, sir.

Rifle Security Company Windward,
Second Platoon, Bravo.

And they're all like,
"Who's... what's going on here?"

[Kaffee] Do what I'm telling you,
you'll be home.

Some water drips on my thing
and I'm like,
"Oh, man there's a leak."

No, it's not a leak.
I'm sweating.

Noticing Kevin
and Wolfgang's nerves,

one of the top billed stars
decided to reach out.

[Wolfgang] Tom Cruise was like, you know,
"Hey, whatever you need,

let me know, if you want
to rehearse, pull me aside."

And he doled out
that generosity to everyone.

Tom Cruise treated me
like an equal from the jump.

Certainly wasn't
what I expected.

He really helped me feel
really comfortable.

Tom treated me
so much like an equal,

I felt the need to give him shit
about whatever I wanted.

After sizing Tom up,
Kevin found his hook.

He was making
a note in his script,

after we rehearsed the scene,
but he was using this giant pen.

It was so ridiculous, I said,
"Tom, they don't
make a bigger pen."

"Really? I bet
we could find one."

And he laughed the first
11 times I gave him
shit about the pen.

But Tom decided,
enough was enough.

And finally, he said, "Yeah,
but write with the pen. Try it."

"It's a pen, Tom.
I mean how... Oh, my God."

It was like an angel wing
floating on a cloud.

Pretty impressive, huh?

It was a magical path.

But that's when Tom
let him in on a little secret.

"Pen cost $500."

"Five hundred dollars?"
Well, that was the exact number

that told me
I will never own this pen.

So now the pen's dead to me.
For the same reason

I don't window shop
or go to a strip club.

If I can't have it,
meh, no interest.

Principal photography
began in Washington, DC
in October of '91.

So the very first
day of shooting
is at the softball game.

Excuse me.

I wanted to talk to you
about Corporal Dawson
and Private Downey.

When we were scouting,
none of us realized

we were in the flight path
for Washington National airport.

So to keep shooting...

[Frank] Guess where Frankie was?

On a 24-step ladder sitting
on top, watching the planes.

Once in a while,
they couldn't get through
all the dialog,

you'd hear Robbie, "Cut! Cut!"

And then there were the scenes

that definitely were not shot
in Guantanamo Bay.

That was down in Long Beach,

out on the peninsula
where the Coast Guard is.

A brilliant fix,
that only worked if you could
see the Coast Guard.

We get there, of course,
the first day in months,

all fog.

The only solution was patience.

And then Rob sees
a couple of seagulls.

And he's like, "Hey, Frankie,
check with craft service,

do they have some bread,
so that in the wide shot
we have some seagulls?"

Crafts service,
comes running up,
with a whole bag of bread.

-
- Now there was 50.

And now you hear
the director saying,

"I can't shoot with
all these seagulls in the shot.
Somebody do something."

Uh, well, you're gonna have
to wait till they eat.

Because there's no way
to get rid of them, unless...
that I don't want to say.

And if they thought
the Long Beach birds were bad,

when it came time to film
at the Coast Guard
headquarters,

there was a much bigger flock
to contend with.

As soon as the dorms heard,
Tommy was on the streets,

Aah... Insanity.

All of a sudden, there was like
10 girls, then 50, then a 100,

then thousands of people
screaming, "Tommy, Tommy."

The mobs of fans did little
to calm Wolfgang's nerves,

who still had to shoot
his big scene with Tom.

I had to kind of
deliver everything

that was bottled up,
to make him understand.

That was probably the one
I had a little bit more anxiety

about, just the worry
of being able to deliver that.

In the beginning,
Wolfgang struggled.

We did a few takes and Rob comes
out from around the camera,

and, you know, "Don't do that."

Don't worry about
trying to act this thing.

You've done all the work,
just really talk to him.

Thankfully, there was
one person on set that wasn't
bothered by his inexperience.

Tom goes
"Okay, come on, let's go."

Like "All right,
just you and me."

Sit down.

[Wolfgang] And so he kind of
helped focus me.

He said, "That's it.
Walk back around the corner."
All right. Action.

I believe I did my job,
and I will not dishonor myself,

my unit or the corps
so I can go home in six months!

So he kind of
brought me to here.

And he did it
with that sort of Tom's,

you know, that energy that he
has, the intensity that he has.

And while Wolfgang was learning
that a little went a long way,

Kevin was having
the opposite problem.

I remember going
to JT Walsh's trailer,

who played Markinson,
and confessing to him,

this is the movie I found out
that I have no training,
that I don't belong.

You know, I'm just wondering
if you still need me.

He said, "You're doing
a type of acting technique

that actors will train
their whole lives to learn.

It's called less is more."
And I realized I was doing less

just because I never wanted
to get caught acting.

So I was trying to do nothing.

But sometimes
less is just less.

There was one day onA Few Good Men

that I was having
a very, very difficult time.

It's when in the courtroom,
Demi's character, asks...

Why do you hate them so much?

And I have to turn on her...

They beat up on a weakling.
That's all they did.

[Kevin] But it had to have such
intensity, that I couldn't,

as they say, "Get there."

I'm gonna go call my wife.

And after too many takes,
Rob said, "Walk with me."

We took a little walk
so that we could have this
conversation away from others.

And he said, "So what's
going on? It seems
like you're struggling today?"

I said I turn around,
I'm supposed to yell at her
and I see Demi's face,

and she's so sweet and I just
can't be angry with her."

Because I had no technique...
to act... angry.

I'm sorry.

[Kevin] And he said, "Yeah, well,
she's very sweet,

but it's not Demi.
It's Jo Galloway."

And so the two began
to flesh out the character.

A little bit of a background,
why I might find...

the outrage.

And after his walk
and talk with the director...

They didn't like him,
so they killed him.

...Kevin found
the outrage he needed.

They tortured
and tormented a weaker kid.

But while some members
of the cast and crew

took motivating strolls,
others weren't walking at all.

One day I was walking
from my trailer to the set,

walking leisurely 'cause
I thought that's what one did,
and Tom ran past me.

And Kevin
couldn't help but comment...

"Tom, where's the fire?"

And he said, "Come on, buddy."

You know, he was...

And then I found myself running.

He is work driven to the max.

But not everyone
can keep up with the
human equivalent of caffeine.

Tommy would show up
30 min early every day,
gets everyone worked up.

However,
Tom wasn't the only one

wreaking havoc on
the schedule.

Day one. "Guys, is Jack here?"

Nope, thirty minutes late.
Um...

Although A Few Good Men
was a star studded cast,

there was one
particular actor who was in
a different league altogether.

Jack worked 10 days total.
I found out he made
five million dollars.

And I've often joked,
"When you make
half a million dollars a day,

do you hit the snooze alarm?"

The short answer?

Yes.

So Frank was forced to make
some calculated adjustments.

I gave him
a half-hour earlier call.

Tom a half later,
Jack a half earlier.

They both were on time
every day. Worked perfectly.

For some, adjusting to working
with Tom, Jack and Demi

wouldn't be as simple
as moving a call time.

It was the first time I'd worked
with that many big stars,

but also that many big stars
that wanted
to hang out together.

"You heard about
Vegas night on Saturday?"

"I... What... No."
"Okay, here's the plan."

The next thing,
Kevin finds himself on a jet
with the Hollywood elite.

There's Rob Reiner and his wife,
Tom and Nicole, Bruce and Demi,
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.

And last but not least,
was Kevin and his...

Longtime girlfriend.

Who suddenly
found themselves at the center
of the flight's conversation.

During that flight,
it is discussed that Bruce
and Demi had married in Vegas,

and it was discussed
that my, then-not-even fiancee,
and I were not married.

So then they decided
we should get married
in Vegas on this trip.

I beg your pardon.

Now I've got Bruce and Demi,
Tom and Nicole, Kevin and Kyra,

chanting in our faces,
"Do it! Do it! Do it!"

And I finally turn to her
and say, "Should we?"

And she says, "Yeah, no, we're
not getting married in Vegas

just because these famous people
are yelling at us.
That's not happening."

Now, speaking of yelling...

Defense calls
Colonel Nathan Jessep.

When they
came to the day they shot

one of the most iconic
yelling scenes
in movie history.

- I want the truth.
- You can't handle the truth.

There was a lot more yelling
than necessary.

For the soliloquy on the stand
Rob Reiner had to say to Jack,

"Do you want us to start
with cameras facing you?"

What do you want to discuss now?

"Or cameras facing
the lawyers coming at you?"

And Jack chose to be
off camera to ramp up.

However, Jack didn't need
much time to ramp up.

Jack would come in and he'd sit
in that witness box off-camera,

and he would deliver
what you saw in the movie,
every single shot.

- You want answers?
- I think I'm entitled to them.

He kind of just
sort of called it in.

I have a greater responsibility
than you can possibly fathom.

But man, did he not give
that same performance.

You weep for Santiago
and you curse the Marines...

For everybody, so they had
something to work off.

You have that luxury.

[Kevin] That soliloquy asks a lot
not only of one's energy,

but of one's vocal strength.

We use these words
as the backbone of a life
spent defending something.

Which could be taxed.

I don't give a damn what
you think you are entitled to.

But letting Jack
go 1000% off camera,

those reaction shots
and you see it in their eyes,

you're seeing what he's saying
at the top of his voice.

- Did you order the code red?
- You're goddamn right I did.

After about five or six takes
of Jack giving 100% off camera,

Rob went to Jack and said,
"Okay, Jack, I gotta remind you,
you're off camera,

and I'm sure the actors
appreciate you giving 100%,

but I need you to give 100%
when we come back to you
after lunch on camera."

And Jack agreed and said
"Yeah, yeah, no, of course.

Of course. Sorry, Robbie, I...
What can I tell you,
I just love to act."

But after lunch, Rob Reiner's
fears would be confirmed.

His voice is cracking
and it's starting to go.

Well, Rob realized "Okay,
we can't get through
this whole speech with him.

We'll just do it in pieces."

And Rob said, "Frankie,
I learned something today.

We should have
started with Jack."

With the end
of principal photography,

Rob Reiner moved his attention
to post-production,

where he soon realized
the ending that was shot...

It cuts to the exterior
of the courthouse
for a little jovial recap.

...wasn't a very good ending,
and so that scene was out

and Wolfgang would be
back in to shoot a new scene

despite having been
rapped for months.

That was a little stressful,
you know, Rob was helpful.

"Don't try to make it happen.
Don't try to act it.

Just speak out of yourself.
That work is still there."

- We did nothing wrong.
- Yeah, we did.

We were supposed
to fight for people who
couldn't fight for themselves.

We were supposed
to fight for Willie.

I think it
came across pretty well.

And with that final
pickup, Wolfgang returned
back to civilian life.

Everyone kind of had a sense
of what the film might be.

But he wouldn't really know
until A Few Good Men

premiered on December 2nd 1992.

I remember going to the premiere

and who's sitting
behind me is Morgan Freeman.

I mean, God, what is happening?

We premiered that movie,

and on that standing ovation,

you knew.

The film's
41-million-dollar budget,

saw a domestic return
of 141 million.

I remember
just getting the chills
constantly all the way through.

And while the film received
four Academy Award nominations,

including Best Supporting Actor
for Jack Nicholson,

unfortunately,
none were for Cruise.

As good as
Nicholson is in that scene,

it only works as well as it does

because of what Tom Cruise
is bringing to the table.

[Kevin] That's the kind of
exceptional actor that Tom is.

He can be
the best thing in the movie,

and you don't even
emotionally take that in,

until you stop
and start to think about

"What did take me
on this journey?"

Meanwhile, the film
would cement Demi Moore

as one of the most
bankable stars of the 1990s.

I were to offer you
one million dollars

for one night with your wife.

Following it up with
Indecent proposal
Disclosure and Striptease.

As for Kevin,
the comedian turned actor

walked away from the film
with a very special souvenir.

[Kevin] They were shooting the movie,

I'm sitting on my butt
in the trailer,
knock at the door, open it up,

there's Tom's assistant
handing me a wrapped gift.

I open it up
and it's one of these pens.

And the story
should have ended there. But...

Later that day, I'm
making a note in my script.

Using a different pen.

And Tom sees me and says,
"Kev, where's the pen?"

"Oh, Tom,
I can't use the pen.

Because if I use the pen,
I might lose the pen.

And that can never happen."

We kind of went back and forth
for a couple of days
on the pen.

A week or so later, I was
sitting in the trailer again,

knock at the door, open it up,
there's the assistant
with a similarly wrapped gift

and says,
"Tom wants you to use the pen"

And so Kevin now had two
ridiculously expensive pens.

That's the pen I use every day.

It sort of reminds me of
the ridiculous generosity

and the spirit
of one of the greatest

"Lead by example"
movie stars I've ever
worked with or got to know.

As for Tom, A Few Good Menwould introduce Cruise

to a very important
future co-star.

Corporal Hammaker, were you
in Dawson and Downey's

barracks room
ten minutes after this meeting?

No, sir.

Having failed to even be
nominated for an Academy Award

for A Few Good MenTom Cruise was dead set
on taking another swing at it.

He made The Firm in ' 93.

Do you think I'm talking about
breaking the law?

No, I'm just trying
to figure out
how far you want it bent.

He showed his ability
to hold his own
with the likes of Gene Hackman.

And with another
A-list director.

Sidney Pollack
did a cracker job.

Right down to the penny,
pound, franc and deutsche mark.

And then Tom Cruise
would take a real big swing

playing the villain
in his next film.

Interview With the Vampire.

You've been a very, very
naughty little girl.

That's career strategy,
and that's one thing

I don't think he gets
enough credit for

is the actual
projects that he chooses

and the career that
he's built for himself.

Anything is possible.

Interview With the Vampire,
you know,
he was allowed to be sexy.

Between him and Brad Pitt
and Antonio Banderas,

it just becomes like
this stud soup, if you will,
like a stud souffle.

And so for his next film,

Tom would once again
take a big swing.

[Jerry Maguire] I'm the one behind-the-scenes.

In a film called
Jerry Maguire

inspired by
this very sports agent.

My name is Leigh Steinberg,

I've been representing
professional athletes
since 1975.

The film would be written
and directed by Cameron Crowe,

who shadowed Lee
while writing the script.

I was a big fan
of rock music, so I had read

some of his
Rolling Stone articles.

But Cameron Crowe had given up
his rock music roots,

to become a filmmaker
under the tutelage of legendary
filmmaker James L. Brooks.

And I went back and watchedSay Anything and Singles.

Both produced by Brooks.

And thought, "Well at least
it will be interesting."

With that, Lee Steinberg
pulled back the curtain,

allowing Cameron Crowe
into the high-stakes world
of sports management.

I told him about drafts.
I told him about
the perils of recruiting.

I told him how
nasty other agents are.

But there was one thing
that set Lee's practice apart.

A critical key to our practice
was one on one relationships.

And that in their own time,
and their own way,

they have a platform
and they can make a difference.

[Jerry Maguire] With so many clients, we have
forgotten what was important.

Inspired by
Lee's approach to the industry,

Cameron wrote
the character with Tom in mind.

Only, it wasn't that Tom.

The original thought for
Jerry Maguire was Tom Hanks.

Tell me he didn't sign.

He did not. As he was busy
directing That Thing You Do.

[Lee] And then there was
some thought of Winona Ryder

as the woman,
but that didn't happen.

Which brings us
to Renee Zellweger,
who had done a handful of films

but nothing
on the scale of this.

I think Rene
was a little nervous,

you know, Tom Cruise,
you know, he's a star.

But a solid
screen test gave producers

hope that she could
handle the likes of Tom.

Also auditioning
for a role in the film,

was 5-year-old
Jonathan Lipnicki.

So my
experience level at age five

before I did Jerry Maguire
was kind of minimal.

Take your film to Osco,
where special moments
get special care.

[Jonathan] And then I had this
audition for this thing

called Jerry Maguire.
My mom explained

that this
big movie star was in it,
and she showed me Top Gun.

Which I loved, so I really
wanted to get it so that
I could hang out with Maverick.

And so Lipnicki approached
the audition with confidence.

I told my mom from moment one
that I was gonna get it.

And she's like,
"Well, a lot of kids
are auditioning for this,

so, you know, I believe in you,
you know, but..."

And then I said, "No,
you don't understand,
I'm gonna get this role."

And she's like,
"Honey, I really hope you do."

And as fate would have it...

I auditioned for it,
and they cast another kid.

So with dreams dashed...

[Jonathan echoing] I'm gonna get this role.

...it was back
to school for Jonathan.

Meanwhile, comedian
Jay Mohr wasn't going
to take no for an answer.

I was ready to do anything.
If I had to play a valet,
I was down.

I just knew I wanted in.

I don't think in my life
there's been a bigger,

the more enormous,
more all-encompassing,

fantastic opportunity
that's laid before me,

where just, it's blinding,
like, whatever it takes, I'm in.

But finding
the right fit was tough.

My audition process
was so circuitous.

Up first, it was the role
of Cush, the quarterback.

That was the one day in my life
I had no idea
how to do an accent.

So he tried
auditioning for the babysitter.

There was
a weird silence afterwards.

And it was beginning to look
like a lot of these roles

were a little
outside of Jay's range.

You have to understand
I'm a stand-up comedian,

and acting is a byproduct
of doing standup comedy
exceptionally well.

Here's my entire acting process,
and I'm not lying.

Not my turn. Not my turn.

Not my turn.
My turn's coming up.

Words. Right, guys? Words.

That's my entire training.

Just waiting to talk.

And despite
his acting handicap,

the head of Gracie Films,
the legendary James L. Brooks,

saw something in Jay.

Jim Brooks said,
"What about Sugar?"

And everybody went,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."

I was like... I knew
that was the one I wanted.

The role of the morally
bankrupt sports agent,

had Jay Mohr
written all over it.

I knew I could be
this, like, slimy, guy.

That's my job, to remember
the names of skanks
that you bang on the road?

Jay Mohr seemed
like a natural fit, except
there was one little problem.

Because there was already
an offer out to Owen Wilson.

But Brooks and Crowe
still wanted
to see the comedian

read across from
Tom Cruise himself.

- Hey.
- Hey, buddy.

[Jay] When I first read
with Tom, I walked in
and he was eating lunch.

And they were like, "Tom,
this is Jay." And he had to
like, finish chewing,

wipe his mouth, wipe his hands,
and I was like,
"Oh, there's strike one."

I remember when we got going,
it was obvious to me right away

that he knew every line
and he tried to kill me with it.

So for a comic
whose acting method was...

Not my turn, not my turn.

...Jay Mohr was going to have
to act his way out of this one.

When I first read with Tom,
there's a part
in the firing scene where I have

two lines in a row, but there's
a pregnant pause in the middle.

Came here to fire you, Jerry.

And I'm watching him thinking,
"This guy is amazing."
And I'm waiting.

And then I realized,
"Oh, I think they think
I forgot my lines."

And I thought, "Oh."

And he realized they were
all hanging on his next word.

The game for me was,
how long can I not talk,

before somebody says
the line to try to help me out.

And it got really long,
really uncomfortable.

Until...

It's real, you should
say something.

I felt all the energy
in the room just... Ooh,

I knew I kind of tricked them.

Jay Mohr ended up
stealing the role.

But he, too, wonders
what it could have been.

Owen Wilson
as Bob Sugar, like,
that would've been amazing.

Repeat what you just said.

"I'm uh, I came here
to fire you, Jerry.

It's true, it's real
you should say something."

Meanwhile, there was one
important role left to cast.

Talk, we're gonna do
the talk now.

Cuba Gooding Junior
would audition three times
for the role of Rod Tidwell.

All right, are you listening?

For the first round,
Crowe asked famous friends
to sit in as scene partners.

The process was so casual,
Cuba wasn't even
aware he was auditioning.

I didn't even think they were
considering me for the role.

I just thought I was doing it
as a favor for the studio.

But he proved
to have the right charisma

to play the confident
and brash Tidwell.

Jerry! Does that make you
feel better to hear that shit,
Jerry?

And won the role
opposite Tom Cruise.

And to better
know the character,

Cameron sent
Gooding to the Super Bowl

to hang out with some
of Lee Steinberg's clients.

And I made him pretend
he was a wide receiver all week.

And part of being
a professional athlete
is the nightlife.

We were out partying
and drinking and everything else

and every athlete
by one o'clock is like...

And Cuba is up
tap-dancing on the bar.

Come on,
and talk to me, brother.

With an energy that Cuba would
soon use to take over the film.

If Rod Tidwell's
was the A story, it was because
of the amount of electricity

that Cuba and Tom
had on screen together.

But where the spark
between Tom and Cuba...

Help me... help you.

...had delighted everyone,

the lights were about to
turn off for a different actor.

One day, Jim Brooks
was sitting at his desk

and he showed me
a couple of head shots.

Joe was looking
at the headshot of none other,
than Jonathan Lipnicki.

I said, "But we
already have a Ray.
We've already shot his scenes."

He said, "Maybe we'll
replace him." I went, "Oh."

Meanwhile, there was
a little boy in Los Angeles

who had a feeling
this might happen.

I said, " No, you don't
understand, I'm gonna get it."

So there was
no surprise to Jonathan when
his agent gave him a call.

Who is it?

And she said, "Would you like
to fly today to meet Tom Cruise

and Cameron Crowe
and read for them?"

And the tiny actor made
the most of his opportunity.

I actually read
in Tom's trailer with him.

I told him
I feel the need for speed.
Thought it was hilarious.

And I had a little like,
leather jacket,
I was so into it.

And just like that,
the Lipnicki prophecy
came true.

[Joe] He's just sensational.

So much of Jerry Maguire is
about reactions and looks.

And just when you first see Ray
and he gives that big grin,
with those glasses...

Which naturally,
had people wondering.

Glasses are real.
They were really mine.

And the glasses
weren't the only thing
that was Jonathan Lipnicki's.

Jerry, do you know the human
head weighs eight pounds?

That was his line.
He just came up with it.

Those all came from
joking around on set.

I was with one
of the assistant directors.

We had a walkie talkie.
They were having me say
some funny things over them.

You know bees
and dogs can smell fear?

And then the next day
they were in the script.

I can't compete with that.

While Lipnicki was a natural,

Jay Mohr was working
a little bit harder to fit in.

When I was doing Bob Sugar,
I'm always looking down
at whoever's across from me.

That was the whole game for me.

But in the restaurant,

Jay found himself struggling
to get into character.

My chair was really low,
and I felt like a little kid,

and I'm just sitting there
like a liar, like,
"I came here to fire you"

and I was just
kind of looking up,
and it was just, it felt awful.

Even Tom Cruise
could tell something was wrong.

Tom goes, "You okay?"

I said, "Well, you know,
in the auditions
I had a high chair,

and I could always
look down at you.

And now my chair..."
And before I got it out he goes,

"Cameron, Jay
needs a higher chair."

And they ran over and they
put things under my chair,

and then...
Then I was firing Tom. Come on.

And then he leans across,
he goes, "Don't ever

underestimate how
important every thing is
for your performance."

I went, "Okay, I won't."

And as they started rolling
on the scene, Jay got to see

the Tom Cruise
experience firsthand.

It's a close-up of Tom
and I'm next to the camera.

And you want to stay as close
to the camera as possible,

so that person's eye line looks
like they're looking at you.

So while he was being
fired by me and having
starting his meltdown,

I had gotten away from
the camera, by like this much.

So as he's talking to me...

You, ungrateful...

He starts going like this,

with his finger,
like down by his belly.

So he's acting here,
saying, "You, ungrateful, ugh--"

But he's going
like this, with his hand.

And then when I get
close again, he goes like this.

He never stops talking,
acting, and he has
a whole separate existence.

There are monks
that meditate in caves,

for years to get
that level of presence.

It's like, wow.

While Jay and Tom
were hitting it off,

the editors were
preoccupied with properly
setting up their leading lady.

I know who you are.
Dorothy Boyd,
you're in accounts.

She was a relatively
unknown commodity.

Studio people say, "Well,
are they gonna connect with her,

is she gonna work"
and all that stuff?

And to make matters
worse, Renee's first scene
was off to a rocky start.

There's a scene
on the airplane, with Renee
peering down the aisle,

of the airplane towards
Jerry Maguire,
sitting in first class.

And I decide,
I'm not gonna propose.

The stewardess comes up
and snaps the curtain closed.

And thus, their two worlds
were established very early on.

But the more Crowe
watched the film,
the less he liked it.

Cameron goes, "Let's just
look at it without it.

Let's just see
how it feels and how
Renee's character feels.

And how the story progresses."

But when Crowe showed
the cut to James L. Brooks...

He hated it.

He didn't just hate it.

[David] He was so thrown off
by it that he actually asked to
have the screening stopped.

And said, "I can't
watch the movie like this.
Why is that gone?"

Basically, wow,
that scene's not working.

After watching an early cut,
Jim was furious

that a Dorothy Boyd
scene was missing.

It could be tense.
Jim Brooks can be a very
direct producer in his notes.

I mean, the guy has done Taxi
and Mary Tyler Moore,

The Simpsons,
who was I to question this?

So we put it back.

But wait.

Not only did they
put her back, but they even
gave her a little more.

Do we play this reaction shot
to what Tom is saying

longer on her to take that in?
Yes, absolutely.

And she just delivered
the hell out of that stuff.

She was
a brilliant find in the end,

and just you can't stop
watching her on screen.

With the film complete,

it was time
to see how it played
in front of fresh eyes.

The first time I saw the movie
was at the premiere,

it was in New York
on a giant cruise ship.

Massive.

Even with a movie likeJerry Maguire,
you're still going to go,

"Oh, God, I just hope
it goes well, man."

Who's coming with me?

[Joe] And right away it was working.

Who's coming with me?

You could just feel it.
It all worked.

[Jay] And my name was on the screen.

It took every... cell in my body
to not burst out crying.

I just got, like, teary-eyed
and I was like...

You had me at "Hello."

And while Jay couldn't believe
what he was seeing,

little Jonathan Lipnicki
struggled to see anything.

I wasn't allowed to watch,
uh, some of that movie.

You know, I don't think
we need to do the thing

where we tell
each other everything.

You know, hands were over my
eyes and ears at the premiere,

and then they came off when
it became appropriate again.

But soon all eyes
were on Jerry Maguire.

When it arrived
in theaters December of 1996,

earning 17 million
in its opening weekend.

But perhaps
more valuable to Tom
was this incredible news.

And they called me
and said, "You got nominated."

Your movie got,
Cuba was nominated, you know,
Cameron was nominated.

The film received
five nominations in total,

making it the second Oscar
nomination of Tom's career.

But would it be his first win?

And the Oscar goes to
Geoffrey Rush in Shine.

Not this time.

Tom missed out again.

But just like last time...

Tom Cruise,
with a huge grin on his face...

And there was still
a lot to smile about.

And the Oscar goes to
Cuba Gooding Junior
in Jerry Maguire.

When Cuba Gooding Junior
won best supporting actor.

Tom Cruise, I love you, brother.

He's incredible.

Also winning
Jerry Maguirethe unofficial title

of that year's most memorable
moment of the Oscars.

But awards are one thing.

Show me the money.

All in all,
Jerry Maguire would go on

to earn over
150 million dollars
at the US box office.

You're loving me
now, aren't you?

I'm not about love, I'm about
showing you the money.

Beyond money,

the legacy of Jerry Maguireand A Few Good Men lives on,

as the films launched
a handful of careers,

including Renee Zellweger's.

Who went on
to an illustrious career
winning two Academy Awards,

as well as Jay and Kevin,
who never forgot
their experiences with Tom.

I was changing out to go home,
my clothes were on the floor

and he walks past my trailer
and goes, "See you later"
I go, "See you, buddy."

And he comes back and he goes,
"You don't hang up
your clothes?"

And I was a jerk,
I was like a 25-year-old kid.

And I go,
"I don't work in wardrobe."

And then he goes, "These girls,
they bust their ass."

And I was like...
Lesson learned.

He's right. They're there
before I'm there, making sure
my clothes are ready.

I learned so much from that guy.

But not everyone was as lucky,
as Jonathan and Wolfgang

struggled to get back
to the heights of
A Few Good Men

and Jerry Maguire.

Then it was trying to live up to

a lot of expectations that
I wasn't really prepared for.

Then I hit a certain point.
I went to public school
and was still auditioning.

But I didn't work
for about five years.

A lot of that is because
I didn't really love myself
and I didn't know who I was.

And I tried to be
like everybody 'cause I just
didn't want to be me.

And when you lose touch
with who you are

and you don't bring that
individuality to your work,

then you lose
everything that was special
about you in the first place.

But through
perseverance, they've both
fallen in love with the craft.

I mean, now I teach acting.

A guy who comes off the street
never doing it, now teaching.

And still finds the time
to act in a few films as well.

My first job back,
I remember crying because
I was so excited to work again.

I've done a lot of
movies since then.

Some are good and some
are incredibly bad, you know.

But I got to find out
what I wanted to do

for the rest of my life
when I was five years old.

And I don't know
what I'd do without that.

And despite
the Oscar loss, even Tom Cruise
kept marching forward.

I'm on to another movie now.
That was back then.

Reinventing himself yet again.

I feel like maybe
the next big swing that he had

was to see what
he could do as a producer.

Partnering with
his agent, Paula Wagner,

Cruise Wagner Productions
would literally
explode right out the gate.

As Tom was
on a mission to redefine
who he was as an actor.

Well, I guess if you're
an executive producer,
you can do anything you want.