THR’s resident Oscar watcher Scott Feinberg had a peculiar tweet last night regarding Tom Cruise’s performance in “Top Gun: Maverick.”
“Denzel won for TRAINING DAY. Al won for SCENT OF A WOMAN. Paul won for THE COLOR OF MONEY. John won for TRUE GRIT. Let’s be very clear: Tom can win for TOP GUN: MAVERICK. Let’s see what the rest of 2022 brings, but right or wrong, when the Academy decides it’s time, it’s time.”
First things first, let’s be clear here, Cruise should’ve gotten nominated for Collateral and (don’t shoot the messenger) “Tropic Thunder.” He also should have WON for the best performance of his career in “Magnolia.”
However, Cruise being nominated (or even winning) for his work in “Top Gun: Maverick” is laughable. It would be akin to a lifetime achievement award, and I do believe Cruise has plenty of great performances left in him these next few years to actually merit an Oscar statuette.
With that being said, Cruise is having one heck of a year with “Top Gun: Maverick.” He also won an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes a few weeks ago. He’s getting butts back into movie theatre seats and for that we should be very grateful.