What's up with UA, lately?

Tom Cruise may be one of the biggest stars and movie makers in Hollywood, but right now he's finding that trying to bring a legendary studio back to prominence is not easy.

He and his studio, United Artists, are currently filming "Valkyrie" under "Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer, about a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, it is the latest in a series of bad luck runs for the nearly 90-year-old studio, the very studio whose existence got turned upside down by the legendary 1980 flop "Heaven's Gate". First, some film that had been shot was said to be damaged during processing. Then, the film got delayed several times--it had been scheduled for release this fall, but has recently been moved up to February of next year. And all this coming off the heels of last year's "Lions For Lambs", another box office flop.

UA has had a rich, rich legacy since it was founded in 1919. However, recently it has been difficult to find the right chemistry to produce a film that audiences will remember, and the award community will recognize. True, such UA films as "Around The World In 80 Days", "Rocky", and "Rainman" (which, incidentally, co-starred Cruise) have gotten the Best Picture Award honors, but time and fate have not been kind to UA since it started up again last year.

It can be safe to say UA does have some tough competition out there...and it is those very studios that are trying to be the next UA. How about Lionsgate, the independent studio founded in an earlier form by late director Robert Altman? Lionsgate has the same motives as UA, but they have found a way to make money by not investing so much in their pictures, yet keeping the studio quality values to make a box-office hit.

If UA is to be on the same level as Lionsgate and other major studios, they should evaluate their pictures before they are made, to map out the kinks, attract both top and raw talent, and create a smooth production free of trouble before even one frame of film is shot. UA has to have a definitive plan of action. Maybe then people will start going to see UA movies again, and the studio will once again find its once former glory.

OK, Mr. Cruise, that is your mission. This blog will self-destruct in five seconds.