A helicopter entry, tears & Palme d'Or. Tom Cruise returns to Cannes after 30 years
Tom Cruise arrived for screening of Top Gun: Maverick at the Cannes Film Festival with fighter jets flying over the venue and left with tears in his eyes as he received a standing ovation for the film.
Tom Cruise was the star of the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday as he not just made a grand entry with fighter jets zooming over the venue but also won a long standing ovation from the audience at the screening of his film, Top Gun: Maverick. Tom was moved to tears as he saw the response for his action film at the screening.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Tom Gun: Maverick team's entry included eight fighter jets zooming above the event, expelling smoke in red and blue to match the colours of the French flag. After the actor spent several minutes posing for pictures with fans and signing autographs, he finally joined his team for the screening. The tabloid reports that after the film's screening, the audience responded with a six-minute standing ovation that moved Tom to tears.
Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly arrive as the French elite acrobatic flying team Patrouille de France (PAF) flies over the Festival Palace for the screening of Top Gun: Maverick during the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (AFP)(AFP)
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Earlier in the day, having taken part in a MasterClass Conversation in the 1,000-seat Debussy Theatre, he was gifted with another tribute before the screening, led by festival director Thierry Fremaux. In honour of his long-running career at the centre of international pop culture Thierry delivered remarks (in French) and introduced a 13-minute clip reel that showcased every entry on Tom's filmography.
Thierry surpised Tom once again when he announced that the festival was presenting Tom Cruise with a Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. He was almost speechless and reacted to it with "wow". He went on to witness yet another standing ovation post the announcement, which wasn't a regular affair at all.
At the screening, Tom walked the red carpet in a black suit and joined Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and co-stars Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis and Lewis Pullman.
Among the Indian stars, Pooja Hegde and TV actor Helly Shah walked the red carpet as they attended the film's screening in designer ensembles.
