Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible 4 | featured news

Tom Cruise appears to have left behind his weird period, at least at the North American box office. “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” which features the 49-year-old Mr. Cruise scaling buildings and sprinting through sandstorms, repeated as the No. 1 attraction at movie theaters over the holiday weekend, taking in about $31.3 million for a three-week total of $134 million. “Ghost Protocol,” directed by Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”), has sold over $200 million in scattered release overseas.

Tom Cruise’s latest mission has won a holiday weekend that’s shaping up with some silent nights at movie theaters as business continues to lag. Studio estimates Sunday place “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” a solid No. 1 with $26.5 million domestically over its first weekend in full release.

This week at the movies, we've got a brilliant detective (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law), secret agents (Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, starring Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg), singing rodents (Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, starring Jason Lee and David Cross), and a prodigal daughter (Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt). What do the critics have to say?

Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams successfully restored Ethan Hunt to big-screen glory with "Mission Impossible III," but when "Ghost Protocol" comes our way this December, Abrams will be stepping away from the director's seat in favor of a producer role. But don't worry: the mission is in the very capable hands of Brad Bird, the man ...

The tallest building in the world casts a long shadow on downtown Dubai, as seen in this picture from the GeoEye-1 satellite. But this is no Tower of Babel: Its 2,717-foot height comes nowhere close to reaching the satellite's 423-mile-high orbit. The $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa building made its Dubai debut in January, and recently served as the setting for scenes filmed with Tom Cruise for the upcoming movie "Mission: Impossible 4." Check out our story about the building's opening for additional background and visual perspectives.

With Jeremy Renner on board to star in what may or may not be called Mission: Impossible IV we're pretty much set on the male roles for the film, if you include guys like Ving Rhames, etc. But what about the female roles? Deadline is reporting on which Hollywood actresses are up for roles in the Tom Cruise action-fest:I'm told that Lauren German and Paula Patton are testing for the job. UPDATE: I'm told that Kristen Kreuk will also test for the role....

Paramount Pictures announced Tuesday that Cruise will be back in front of the camera for "Mission: Impossible IV," due in theaters over Memorial Day weekend in 2011. Cruise and "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams previously agreed to produce a fourth movie in the action franchise. But it had not been known if Cruise would star again.

MTV recently asked genre-specialist extraordinaire J.J. Abrams about Tom Cruise's involvement in the upcoming "Mission: Impossible 4." Here's what Abrams said:
"The goal would be for that to occur," Abrams said, skirting around actually mentioning anyone or anything by name. So Josh pressed him a little."If I say the words though-- I've seen what you do," the "Star Trek" director said with a smile. "You warp and twist, you make me say things that just break me down." Turning serious again, Abrams acquiesced.