by Maria DeBlassie
Daily Lobo
"Idiot!"
No, that's not Jon Heder. It's Tom Cruise doing an impression of "Napoleon Dynamite," one of his favorite movies.
"I saw that film three times," Cruise said. "It was just hilarious. It was so much fun. I loved it."
As for summer movies he'd like to see, Cruise said it was hard to pick just one because so many great films are coming out. He did say he is looking forward to seeing the new "Star Wars" movie and the next Batman movie.
"I'll be there the opening weekends for those movies," he said.
Cruise is starring in Steven Spielberg's remake of the film based on H. G. Wells's sci-fi classic, "War of the Worlds." Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins and James Dumont are also in the movie.
The movie is about humankind fighting alien invasions as seen through the eyes of one American family trying to survive it all.
As for his fellow child co-star, Dakota Fanning, Cruise said he had great respect for her as an actress. He said Fanning is enormously talented and he tries to be protective of her and any young actor making their way into the business.
Although there have been many remakes and adaptations of classic films in Hollywood, Cruise said the trend is not a bad thing.
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"A remake is an interpretation of an original piece of something that inspires you," he said. "It doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't have originality to it. You take it and make it your own."
He said this is especially true with someone like Spielberg.
"Steven is totally original," he said. "For anyone who really understands movies and storytelling, it's undeniable."
He also said Spielberg has a unique, punchy way of directing and a certainty with what he is creating.
"With Steven, the speed and accuracy of his creative ability is very, very exciting," Cruise said.
Before Cruise starts working with any actor or director, he said he researches their work and watches their films, because when he is working with, them he needs to know how they create.
He said "War of the Worlds" is relevant today, because like any great sci-fi, there are characters and a universal theme that transcend time.
"It is a movie where you can be there for the emotional ride and relate it to what is personally going on in your life," he said.
As for whether aliens exist, Cruise said he didn't know.
"I think that it's truly arrogant to think that we are the only living beings in the universe," Cruise said. "That is a little unreal."
"War of the Worlds" will be in theaters June 29.
