Tom Cruise and Away" (1992), both of which co-starred then-wife Nicole Kidman as his love interest. In 1994, Cruise starred along with Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater in Neil Jordan's "Interview with the Vampire", a gothic drama/horror film that was based on Anne Rice's best-selling novel. The film was well received, although Rice was initially quite outspoken in her criticism of Cruise having been cast in the film, as Julian Sands was her first choice. Upon seeing the film however, she paid $7,740 for a two-page ad in "Daily Variety" praising his performance and apologizing for her previous doubts about
Tom Cruise for which he received another Golden Globe and nomination for an Academy Award. In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the "Mission Impossible" films, "". The film was helmed by Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his gun fu style, and continued the series' blockbuster success at the box office, taking in almost $547M in worldwide figures. Like its predecessor, it was the highest-grossing film of the year, and had a mixed critical reception. Cruise received an MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance for this film. His next five films were major