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 not renew their production contract with him. In addition, Marketing Evaluations reported that Cruise's Q score (a measure of the popularity of celebrities), had fallen 40 percent. October 10, 2006, was declared "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan; the Japan Memorial Day Association said that he was awarded with a special day because he has made more trips to Japan than any other Hollywood star. While reviewing "Days of Thunder", film critic Roger Ebert noted the similarities between several of Cruise's 1980s films and nicknamed the formula the "Tom Cruise Picture". Some of Cruise's later films like "A Few Good Men"