Cruise/Wagner Productions

Background

This was the film production company of actor Tom Cruise and his former agent Paula Wagner, formed in July 1992 and often known as C/W Productions. At the time the company was formed, Wagner had been representing Cruise for 11 years. The company was formed to give Cruise more creative freedom over his film projects and to give him the opportunity to produce and direct motion pictures.

The company signed an exclusive three-year multi-picture financing and distribution deal with Paramount Pictures in Octoer 1992, and would renew and expand that deal several times over the next 14 years. The deal was terminated in August 2006 by Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone. Within a week, Daniel Synder, owner of Washington's NFL team (then known as the Washington Redskins) and two hedge funds, secured financial backing to buy C/W Productions.

That November, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios came to Cruise/Wagner with a deal that gave them a percentage of the ownership of United Artists in a effort to revive the company. The deal fell apart in August 2008 when Wagner left the studio, effectively ending the company. Cruise later formed TC Productions.

1st Logo (December 14, 2001-February 1, 2008)

Visuals: On a black background, there's a white box with the outstretched letters "C|W" inside. "P R O D U C T I O N S" is seen below fitting the width of the box.

Technique: A still image.

Audio: None.

Availability: It appeared at the end of Vanilla Sky, War of the Worlds (2005), Elizabethtown, Ask the Dust, and The Eye.

2nd Logo (May 5, 2006)

Visuals: Over a black background, there's the crystal blue text "CRUISE|WAGNER" with "P R O D U C T I O N S" below.

Technique: A still image.

Audio: None.

Availability: It only appeared at the end of Mission: Impossible III.