By Lindsey Bahr
Tom Cruise is getting his first major honor of awards season. In February, the "Top Gun: Maverick" star will receive the David O. Selznick Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America, the group said Thursday.
Cruise may not be best known for his behind-the-scenes work on movies, but he has been producing films since 1996's "Mission: Impossible." In addition to that ongoing franchise, including installments seven and eight which are scheduled to come out in 2023 and 2024, Cruise has producing credits on many of his own films, like "Vanilla Sky," "The Last Samurai" and "Top Gun: Maverick," and some that he didn't act in, like "Elizabethtown" and "Without Limits."
"Beginning with 'Mission: Impossible,' Tom Cruise has developed a talent for producing to match his extraordinary talent as an actor. Tom approaches producing with the same meticulous attention to detail he brings to all of his professional endeavors," said Producers Guild Presidents Donald De Line and Stephanie Allain in a joint statement. "His commitment to telling bold, cinematic, and entertaining stories has elevated the global theatrical experience and has resulted in some of the most popular motion pictures in history."
The Selznick Award has gone to some of the biggest names in Hollywood moviemaking including Steven Spielberg and Kevin Feige. Last year's recipient was "Dune" producer Mary Parent.
Cruise is expected to accept the award in person at the untelevised ceremony set for February 25 at The Beverly Hilton.
Lindsey Bahr is an AP film writer
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More