As some of my readers know, I spent quite a bit of time in LA and Hollywood this past spring in discussions with the leadership of the Screen Actors Guild about various issues. The major collective bargaining agreements between the unions representing entertainment industry workers and the major employers expire seriatim over the next two years and so stories like this one about the recent split between Tom Cruise and Paramount Studios take on a certain salience. There are various theories advanced in this particular story but the collective bargaining angle is ignored. Sumner Redstone, of course, is a savvy business man and what better way to try to scare the rank and file working actor than to pick on a major, if not the major, star of the last decade? Of course, arguably, Tom Cruise left himself open to attack with his rather unorthodox public appearances of late, not to mention what I thought was the weakest of the three Mission Impossible movies.

Criticism of Tom Cruise stirs Hollywood debate�|�Entertainment�|�Entertainment News�|�Reuters.com