Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes pose on the red carpet as they arrive for the Japan premiere of “Valkyrie” in Tokyo.
PHOTO BY JUN SATO

Cruise has the Reich stuff

By Chris Betros

TOKYO —

Here’s something you don’t see every day in Tokyo. Last week, Tom Cruise, his wife Katie Holmes and their daughter Suri turned up in Hibiya Park after having lunch at a sushi restaurant. While Suri, who turns 3 in April, played with Japanese children, Cruise chatted with their startled moms. Afterwards, the 46-year-old star took his family to a baseball game.

Cruise loves Japan and the Japanese certainly love him. After being mobbed at Narita airport, he and his family were flown to Roppongi by helicopter. Following countless interviews and walking the red carpet at the Japan premiere of his latest film, “Valkyrie,” Cruise took a chartered flight, the “Sky Cruise,” from Haneda to Osaka with 40 fans selected from 3,000 applications. “It’s exciting to be here with my family for the first time,” said Cruise, fulfilling a promise he made when he was last here, in 2006. The total cost of his visit reportedly cost promoters 200 million yen.

Japan is the last stop on Cruise’s worldwide tour to promote “Valkyrie.” Directed by Bryan Singer, it tells the true story of a plot by senior German officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler in the summer of 1944. Cruise, sporting an eye patch, plays Col Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the chief conspirators.

“I didn’t know this story,” admitted Cruise. “When I first read about it, I was fascinated. It has action and suspense, but it is really about how a man is called upon to make sacrifices in extreme circumstances. As an American, I never learned about World War II history from that perspective. I hate the Nazis but I never realized that there were Germans within that world, who were against the Nazis and who were willing to try and end the atrocities. Maintaining one’s integrity against great odds is a timeless theme.”

Cruise said that as a father, he could identify with the decision that Stauffenberg chose to make. “Fortunately for me, I don’t have to make such choices, but as a parent, we have to look at how our actions will affect the world our children live in. Stauffenberg couldn’t even discuss what he was planning with his wife and children.”

Not knowing much about the protagonist, Cruise said he read numerous biographies and was astounded at the man’s life. “He was in hospital with shrapnel in his back and had lost his eye, yet he never took painkillers. Everything I learned about him told me that he loved his family and country. For him, the Nazis were the antithesis of what he wanted for Germany and the world.” Wearing an eye patch was cool, he added. “I always wanted to wear one since I saw John Wayne in ‘True Grit,’” he joked.

Making a movie about the plot entailed an extra challenge since we know that the assassination attempt failed. “When I make movies, first and foremost, I want to entertain audiences,” Cruise said. “Even though the outcome is known, this story works as a conspiracy thriller set during World War II. When I made movies like ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Minority Report’ and ‘War of the Worlds,’ we had to sit down and come up with drama and suspense. With this, we just had to pick up the history books. Bryan and I sneaked into a early preview for an audience. I was ready to take notes, wondering if they would get what we were trying to communicate. It was great when the audience stopped moving. Nobody left the cinema and at the end, there was a standing ovation.”

The biggest reception was in Berlin where the world premiere was held. “I‘ve been to Berlin several times,” said Cruise. “I went rowing on the lake at Wannsee one afternoon, and got to thinking that this is where so many atrocities originated and wondered how they could have happened in such a beautiful and cultural city.”

At first, the city authorities had been reluctant to let the film be made on location, but finally agreed. There was also early talk that some Germans objected to Cruise being cast as Stauffenberg. However, Cruise said he was embraced by the family. “They all came to the premiere. I signed at least 60 posters for Stauffenberg’s nieces, nephews and grandchildren. It’s a big family. I was in London one day and two of his grandnieces came up to me on the street. They’re everywhere.”

Despite the serious subject matter, Cruise said that everyone had fun on the set. “Usually, the more intense a scene is, the more laughter there is afterwards. I work very hard on each scene and I expect a lot from everyone else too because I want to give audiences the best possible movie. During the shoot, we went camping in the desert and got to fly the old warplanes.”

Cruise said that he has been to many countries to promote “Valkyrie,” meeting people and learning about their cultures, lifestyles and concerns. “For modern audiences, I hope the message of this World War II story will be that next time, everyone will stand up to tyranny and it won’t happen again.”

During his 4-day visit to Japan, Cruise took time out to appear on the “SMAPxSMAP” TV program and dined on tuna and Kobe beef, prepared by the boys. Looking ahead to his next project, Cruise said he has started working on a script for “Mission: Impossible 4.”

“Valkyrie” opens in Japan on March 20.

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Latest 15 of 37 Total Comments Show All

Sarge at 11:36 PM JST - 16th March

"Mission: Impossible 4"

M:I3 was good. But I liked these lines from M:I:

Luther: "You really think we can do this."

Ethan: "We're going to do it."
PaulieWalnuts at 12:33 AM JST - 17th March

Cruise has the Reich stuff

really? okay then. I'll heil a taxi and march to the nearest cinema as soon as it opens since I hear the film is a real gas.
BurakuminDes at 01:07 AM JST - 17th March

really? okay then. I'll heil a taxi and march to the nearest cinema as soon as it opens since I hear the film is a real gas.

PaulieWalnuts, why aren't you working for a tabloid writing this stuff? Or are you? Brilliant!
winniebhoy at 02:03 AM JST - 17th March

hahahaha walnuts. good bhoy
herefornow at 06:42 AM JST - 17th March

winnieboy -- mate, I am not "on about" anything. What is your problem? Respectfully, this is not a WW2 "action movie". It is a WW2 drama about a real incident, mostly focused on the drama/tension/intrigue of the incident. The only real "action" is at the start when he is in the desert, and the end. Unless you are interested in the subject matter it is pretty much a yawner, since everyone knows the outcome anyway. Not excatly the right formula to attract a large male audience in Japan.
Brainiac at 06:58 AM JST - 17th March

I saw him on the SMAP show last night (yes, I tune in most weeks to see what celebrities order for dinner). I wonder if the stars all warn each other before they come to Japan that they will have to go on SMAP x SMAP. Still, Cruise was good-natured and enjoyed the cuisine, though I find it hard to believe that the SMAPsters did the actual cooking in that short time.

I don't know how well "Valkyrie" will do in Japan. As a World War II history buff, I enjoyed it. Even though the outcome is well known, as Cruise said, it's still a pretty good conspiracy movie, that just happens to be set during World War II.

By the way, I don't know why some readers are complaining about the headline. I've worked in the media before and those sort of puns are commonplace. Considering the subject matter of the film, I don't see anything offensive about the term "Reich." That's my two Deutsch marks' worth, anyway.
winniebhoy at 09:20 AM JST - 17th March

No disrespect mate I havent seen the film just the adverts but its not exactly a romantic comedy is it. JUst by that it is more a film I would be dragging me missus to see thats all.
imacat at 10:41 AM JST - 17th March

Obviously it's all business but I think the way Tom Cruise goes the extra mile to make his fans happy is really cool. You can say what you like about him but it seems he always has time for fans and is more than happy to spend hours with them, posing for mobile phone cameras, giving autographs, etc. In this respect he's a model for other hollywood stars who might have delusions of grandeur...

Again on SMAPxSMAP last night he was good-natured and gracious. It must be a kind of torture for foreign stars who go on there, to be confronted by these 5 guys who collectively seem like a bunch of idiots. One thing that I noticed last night was how, when Cruise was giving out presents to the Smap boys (his pen, sunglasses, etc), none or almost none of the SMAP-pers said thank you. They merely looked at the objects or tried to make a stupid joke. Basic good manners and pleasantness were only in evidence from Tom Cruise... and good for him.
jessssicaaa at 02:59 PM JST - 17th March

japan is my favourite country ;D, and tom cruise even with all the hype about his religion is a pretty down to earth guy and a great actor ;]

I havent seen the movie yet, and i probably wont due to it being about the nazis and im not into movies about them.. but it does look good ;]
sf2k at 08:26 PM JST - 17th March

What's with the headline? Quite a tasteless joke to refer to anyone as a Nazis. Surely tasteless puns for entertainment-brain-dead people can be avoided on the backs of 6 million who died.
kanadamanada at 02:37 AM JST - 18th March

Completely wrong. The movie so far has grossed more than 182 million dollars. Production cost 75 million dollars. Maybe that is not a huge success, but very far from 'complete failure'.

NO. With a 70million dollar promotion budget, it is hardly a success and has not made money, once distribution is factored in.
blvtzpk at 09:23 AM JST - 18th March

I see the tacky headline remains.

Such titling does not reflect well on yourselves, JT.
am1301 at 12:08 PM JST - 18th March

imacat, it was sort of an odd scene though, first time I've seen a tie and he was just handing out his personal belongings when there wasn't enough gifts.
jessssicaaa at 01:56 PM JST - 18th March

You guys who dont like the title.. get over it.. its clever, wheres your sence of humor? sheesh. xD
nylex4 at 01:37 PM JST - 20th March

Tom Cruise is a fantasy character with no credibility .. i have seen blocks of wood express more emotion than he has... Tom Cruise as a Nazi?? give me a break.