Tom Cruise and "The Last Samurai" can also be considered to be part of this formula. "Widescreenings" noted that for Tom Cruise's character Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men", "[screenwriter] Aaron Sorkin interestingly takes the opposite approach of "Top Gun", where Cruise also starred as the protagonist. In "Top Gun", Cruise plays Mitchell who is a 'hot shot' military underachiever who makes mistakes because he is trying to outperform his late father. Where Maverick Mitchell needs to rein in the discipline, Daniel Kaffee needs to let it go, finally see what he can do." Sorkin and director Rob Reiner are praised
Cruise/Wagner Productions Cruise/Wagner Productions Cruise/Wagner Productions is an American independent film production company. The company was founded by actor Tom Cruise and former casting agent Paula Wagner. Cruise/Wagner was formed to give Cruise more control over the projects that he acts in and retain more of the profits. The company has grossed more than $2.9 billion in box office proceeds since it was founded in September 1993. Cruise/Wagner previously had an exclusive deal with Paramount Pictures, but in August 2006 Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom (parent company of Paramount Pictures) terminated that relationship citing Cruise's comments in the media about psychiatry, anti-depressants