The Playlist

Christopher McQuarrie To Write & Direct Remake Of '60s Thriller 'Ice Station Zebra'

By Ken Guidry
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May 7, 2013 12:47 PM
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1 Comment

News

For a guy who claimed to have once alienated himself from the film industry, Christopher McQuarrie now seems to have a couple of options on his plate. While he’s still trying to decide whether or not to helm “Mission: Impossible 5” that just saw Tom Cruise officially sign on, Warner Bros. has now given McQuarrie the chance to write and direct a project that’s long been gestating at their studio.

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It's Official: Tom Cruise Will Be Back For 'Mission: Impossible 5'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 6, 2013 6:17 PM
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4 Comments

Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

News

While the varying results of "Rock Of Ages," "Jack Reacher" and "Oblivion" may suggest that Tom Cruise isn't always a guaranteed box office draw, at least within the franchise of "Mission: Impossible" he's unstoppable. "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" was the highest grossing of the bunch, reaching nearly $700 million worldwide, almost $150 million more than the next most successful effort, "Mission: Impossible II." Naturally, Paramount didn't waste any time in putting a sequel into development, and while that was over a year ago, the project is now beginning to come back to life.

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Christopher McQuarrie Wishes He Could Remake 'Way of the Gun,' Admits He "Alienated" Himself From The Film Industry

By Charlie Schmidlin
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April 26, 2013 10:43 AM
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6 Comments

News

Last year's Tom Cruise actioner “Jack Reacher” held a trifecta of curious elements: The controversial casting of its star, Werner Herzog's brief villainous turn, and, most importantly, the return of Christopher McQuarrie to the director's chair. After helming “The Way Of The Gun” in 2000, McQuarrie shunned the spotlight to serve as script doctor to Hollywood's elite, but after his latest film experience, he's re-emerged to comment on his career in his typically candid manner.

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Christopher McQuarrie Still Undecided On Whether He Should Direct 'Mission: Impossible 5'; Should He Be?

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 6, 2013 11:42 AM
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2 Comments

News

It's probably safe to say that "Jack Reacher" didn't quite do the business that Paramount was hoping for. After Tom Cruise took "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" to nearly $700 million worldwide, we can't blame anyone for thinknig that the actor had rebounded from bad publicity and middling efforts like "Knight & Day." So he was put in the lead of "Jack Reacher," a potential franchise starter that will likely wind up with nearly $200 million worldwide. Profitable for sure, but with Asian audiences essentially deciding if the series lives or dies, it's not the outing everyone involved was hoping for. Which brings us to Christopher McQuarrie...

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David Oyelowo Talks The '70s Influences Of 'Jack Reacher,' Says Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' Is 'Forrest Gump'-Esque

By Drew Taylor
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December 21, 2012 12:24 PM
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1 Comment

Interviews

David Oyelowo is one of those actors who has had a very, very good year. He started off 2012 by being a part of George Lucas' World War II epic "Red Tails," made a splash with the Cannes debut of Lee Daniels' pulpy "The Paperboy," and is closing out the year with two high-profile performances – he can be seen briefly at the start of Steven Spielberg's beloved "Lincoln" and stars as one of the heavies in the hotly anticipated "Jack Reacher," where he stars alongside Tom Cruise in the first adaptation of Lee Child's wildly popular book series.

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Christopher McQuarrie Says He Was In "Director Jail For 12 Years"; Talks Casting Tom Cruise & Werner Herzog In 'Jack Reacher'

By Edward Davis
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December 19, 2012 3:00 PM
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10 Comments

News

Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie has an Academy Award for writing "The Usual Suspects" and he’s kind of become Tom Cruise’s go-to scribe having penned “Valkyrie,” this week’s upcoming “Jack Reacher” and even tweaking several scripts that Cruise considered starring in (but not before McQuarrie tailored them for his needs). Recently he’s written “The Wolverine,” “Jack The Giant Slayer,” “All You Need Is Kill” and may even pen “Mission: Impossible 5” for Cruise ("Top Gun 2" seems dead now that Tony Scott passed away earlier this year).

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'The Wolverine' Scribe Christopher McQuarrie Pitched Fox On Curating Their X-Men Universe

By Charlie Schmidlin
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December 19, 2012 9:05 AM
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2 Comments

News

Given Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie's duties on “The Wolverine” -- a gig that stuck even after Darren Aronofsky's departure from the director's chair last year -- it would make sense that in 20th Century Fox's aims toward building a consistent franchise, discussions between McQuarrie and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” director Bryan Singer would occur. And according to the director, that's exactly what transpired, with some surprising additional results.

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Review: 'Jack Reacher' Is The Rare Franchise-Starter That Makes You Hungry For More

By Drew Taylor
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December 17, 2012 1:15 PM
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6 Comments

Reviews

Much of the hoopla surrounding "Jack Reacher," the first adaptation of the insanely popular series of Lee Child-penned thrillers, has had to do with the casting of the diminutive Tom Cruise in the title role. As described in the novels, Reacher is, physically speaking, a brute – close-cropped blonde hair, nearly seven-feet tall, well over 200 pounds. In one of the novels he literally crushes a dude's skull with his bare hands. By comparison, Tom Cruise could fit snugly into a standard-sized teacup, is slimmer than an iPhone 5, and has muddy brown hair. But one of the more miraculous things about "Jack Reacher," an altogether entertaining and completely surprising pulp romp, is how Cruise embodies the Reacher character in the way he moves, the way he glances, and the way he talks (or doesn't talk). It doesn't matter that Tom Cruise is the tiny, snuggly version of Jack Reacher. He is still, very much, Jack Reacher.

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'Jack Reacher' Helmer Christopher McQuarrie Likely To Reteam With Tom Cruise For 'Mission: Impossible 5'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 14, 2012 12:35 PM
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1 Comment

News

The last few years have marked something of a comeback for writer-director Christopher McQuarrie. He was the toast of the town after penning one of the more acclaimed screenplays of the 1990s with "The Usual Suspects," winning an Academy Award for his trouble. But he found it tricky to follow that success; his directorial debut, 2000's "The Way of the Gun," wasn't nearly as well received, and finding it difficult to get his work greenlit, was on the verge of quitting the business. Still, he got there in the end, reuniting with 'Suspects' director Bryan Singer for 2008's "Valkyrie," and that turned everything around.

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Will Tom Cruise's 'Jack Reacher' Kick Ass Or Jump The Couch?

By The Playlist Staff
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October 18, 2012 1:00 PM
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19 Comments

Features

Last Christmas, Tom Cruise proved, after a difficult few years, that he's still got it with "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," a surprisingly thrilling actioner that proved to be, by some distance, the best film of the franchise so far, which further paid off by becoming the biggest movie of the season.

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