COME ON. I’m pretty proud of myself for that title. I’ve been googling, nobody else has thought about this yet, it’s mine! Sorry, sorry, sorry, this isn’t about my ego, but since I’m writing about someone with such a huge ego, might as well borrow some of that energy.
TMZ broke the news yesterday: Tom Cruise will be part of the Closing Ceremony at the Olympics on August 11. We’ve seen Tom at several Olympic events over the last few days. Turns out he’s a not just a fan of the athletes but the Chef de Mission for the traditional handover that happens when the current host city passes the honour over to the next host city – in this case Paris to Los Angeles. The Olympics are going Hollywood so, I guess, it’s fitting that Mr. Hollywood himself will set the tone for the proceedings.
Before we get into what Tom will be doing, let’s revisit how they did this three years ago, when the Olympics were passed from Tokyo to Paris. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo received the flag at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo and waved it as the National Orchestra of France played the French national anthem over a video that featured well-known Parisian landmarks. Then they cut back to a live shot of Paris where a massive Olympic flag was unfurled from the Eiffel Tower with a crowd of people cheering in celebration.
That scene set the precedent for what they’re trying to produce this time around. TMZ has good sources on this and they’re pretty specific about what’s going to happen. The plan is for Tom to be at the Closing Ceremony next Sunday and charged with the responsibility of taking the Olympic flag from Paris to Los Angeles. Then they’ll cut to a video of Tom with the flag skydiving, naturally, and eventually landing at the Hollywood sign in the Hills. At which point he’ll pass the flag to athletes who will then take the flag around city. Deadline’s sources are now saying that we should “expect a major Hollywood production”. I mean, if Tom Cruise is involved, it’s not going to be modest. The man only knows one speed: go big or go home!
But it remains to be seen what exactly will happen in Paris on Sunday. They already shot the LA video at the Hollywood sign in March. So the question is more about the beginning of the handoff. LA Mayor Karen Bass will be in Paris to accept the Olympic flag from Mayor Anne Hidalgo. So at one point does Tom Cruise come in?
Per TMZ the “plan… involves Tom rappelling down from the top of Stade de France ... landing on the stadium field and carrying the official Olympic flag”. However, “logistics for the stunt portion in France are still being worked out ... this is all very complicated, and Tom might have a stunt double do the actual rappelling to kick this all off”.
A stunt double?
AS IF.
This man does not want a stunt double to do this job. Apparently he’s the one who pitched himself to the IOC to create this moment. And I would not be surprised if his original vision was for him to RUN across the top of the Stade de France, like the dome part of the roof, and do some kind of crazy ass slide, hang off the edge, then rappel down to the field, sprint up to Mayor Karen Bass, and fly his own f-cking helicopter out of the stadium on his way to Los Angeles.
It's just a matter if they let him. The IOC, the studios, the insurance company…
And also, like, if he does get his way, will he be able to rehearse it? They have a week to figure this out. But the fact that this is leaking now, it feels like it’s strategic. They’re building anticipation for the Closing Ceremony, particularly on the American side, to pump up the ratings potential. These Games have already been a smash for NBC, they’re aiming to go out on a mega-high with the Hollywood star who only knows how to do the most.
