Amy Nicholson writes about Tom Cruise and the filming of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999). “Cruise leaped into his three-week stint on Magnolia almost immediately after Kubrick said ‘Cut.’ He was in a rush to squeeze in Mission: Impossible II (2000) that same year — he did, after all, have his own production company to think about, and it’d been starving to get him back on the big screen. Now fifteen years into his career and with an incredible run of five $100 million–plus hits in a row (Eyes Wide Shut wouldn’t flop until months after Magnolia wrapped), Cruise wielded his clout as a box office titan.”