Tom Cruise was honored with the 2023 David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the Producers Guild of America Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
The award is the PGA’s highest honor in film, acknowledging a producer or team for exceptional filmography.
The 60-year-old superstar joins an illustrious pantheon of previous honorees that includes Steven Spielberg, Mary Parent, Barbara Broccoli, David Heyman, Brian Grazer, and Kevin Feige.
The box office titan earned his highest-grossing film ever with Top Gun: Maverick, which by December had raked in nearly $1.5 billion at the box office against a budget of just $170 million, according to The Numbers.
Cruise was a striking presence in his classic black tuxedo at the star-studded 2023 Producers Guild Awards Saturday night, where a gorgeous Mindy Kaling, 43, was on hand to accept the prestigious Norman Lear Award.
Career achievement: Tom Cruise, 60 was honored with the 2023 David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the Producers Guild of America
‘Tom Cruise showed us that moviegoing was back,’ declared Sherry Lansing, giving Cruise a glowing introduction. ‘You’re an exceptional person, and you’ve had a tremendous impact on my career.’
Commanding the podium, Cruise began his speech by talking about his love of movies growing up: ‘Whenever I didn’t have the money, I’d figure out a way to sneak in.’
He went on to add: ‘I like to see people do well. I know that things don’t just happen. I know it’s not just luck.
‘You have to create that luck. You have to will it into existence. I want you to know that I’m always rooting for you. I’m rooting for all of you.’
The megastar went on to speak about his close relationship with Stephen Spielberg, telling an anecdote about meeting famed director Brian De Palma through Spielberg.
‘I’ve spent many hours in [Spielberg’s] home and at his table talking about movies. It was at his dinner table that I met Brian De Palma.’ De Palma would go on to direct Cruise in the first Mission: Impossible.
Concluding his remarks, Cruise said: ‘The better every studio does, the better every film does, the better we all do and the better it is for everyone.
‘So, I look forward to seeing what you create in the future, and I’ll continue to do all I can to contribute and help this industry and this art form that I love.’
Legend: The 60-year-old superstar joins an illustrious pantheon of previous honorees that includes Steven Spielberg, Mary Parent, Barbara Broccoli, David Heyman, Brian Grazer, and Kevin Feige
King of Hollywood: The box office titan earned his highest-grossing film ever with Top Gun: Maverick, which by December had raked in nearly $1.5 billion at the box office against a budget of just $170 million, according to The Numbers
Big winner: Mindy Kaling, 43, received the prestigious Norman Lear Award, which is given to ‘a producer or producing team for an extraordinary body of work in television’
Stunner: Kaling stunned in a strapless black gown and diamond wreath
Kaling’s lustrous hair fell in waves on one side of her face for a glamorous effect
During her speach, Mindy thanked her parents and gave a shoutout to Lady Luck. ‘Like most people, everything goes back to parents. I’m a child of immigrants and that unexpectedly became my secret weapon. I owe it to my parents but also to luck’
Kaling stunned in a strapless black gown and diamond wreath, wowing the event when she was honored with the Normal Lear Award, which is given to ‘a producer or producing team for an extraordinary body of work in television.’
Taking to the podium, Mindy began: ‘Like most people, everything goes back to parents. I’m a child of immigrants and that unexpectedly became my secret weapon.
‘I owe it to my parents but also to luck. I won the lottery in mentors with Greg Daniels and Howard Klein the producers of The Office.
‘I wasn’t even one of their nieces or someone who could potentially become one of their second wives,’ she joked.
The star went on to thank ‘groundbreaking icons like Norman Lear who paved the way for all kinds of people,’ and spoke about the importance of diversity.
The award was presented to Mindy by her former partner B.J. Novak, who co-stared alongside Mindy in The Office.
Novak gushed about his former girlfriend’s passion, saying ‘there was nothing she didn’t care about.’
The actor lovingly referred to his bond with Kaling as as a ‘boundary-less, romantic, toxic mess’ of a relationship, saying, ‘We were in love with each other.’
His biggest hit: Beyond box office gold, Top Gun: Maverick also received critical acclaim, holding a 96% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4 out of 10 according to IMDb
Past work: Cruise pictured in character as Nathan Algren in 2003’s The Last Samurai
Iconic: Tom photographed during a high-stakes scene of Mission Impossible 2
Prior to the ceremony, Presidents Donald De Line and Stephanie Allain of Producers Guild said in a joint statement: ‘Beginning with Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise has developed a talent for producing to match his extraordinary talent as an actor.’
They went on to add, ‘Tom approaches producing with the same meticulous attention to detail he brings to all of his professional endeavors.
‘His commitment to telling bold, cinematic and entertaining stories has elevated the global theatrical experience and has resulted in some of the most popular motion pictures in history.’
The PGA also noted that Cruise ‘has worked over the last 40 years to produce and star in motion pictures that stand the test of time.
‘His prowess as a creative film producer has impacted the evolution of cinema as he collaboratively develops new ways to capture what he has dreamed up for the big screen – always in service of story – always putting the audience’s experience first.’
Beyond box office gold, Top Gun: Maverick also received critical acclaim, holding a 96% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4 out of 10 according to IMDb.
The film is Cruise’s highest-grossing movie ever and the biggest global success in all of Paramount Pictures history.
The National Board of Review also picked Top Gun Maverick as the 2022’s best film.
Best Film: (From left to right) Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Stephanie Hsu couldn’t contain their excitement when their smash hit Everything Everywhere All at Once won Best Film
The Norman Lear Award was presented to Mindy by her former partner B.J. Novak, 43, who co-stared alongside Mindy in The Office. The actor lovingly referred to Kaling as as a ‘boundary-less, romantic, toxic mess’ of a relationship, saying, ‘We were in love with each other’
Guillermo del Toro accepted the Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures award for his acclaimed take on Pinocchio
The film is Cruise’s highest-grossing movie ever and the biggest global success in all of Paramount Pictures history.
The National Board of Review also picked Top Gun Maverick as the 2022’s best film.
In his five-decade-spanning career the Hollywood leading man’s projects have brought in over $11 billion.
Some of his most iconic movies include the Jack Reacher franchise, Vanilla Sky, The Last Samurai, and Elizabethtown.
His first producing credit came in 1996’s Mission Impossible, which went on to become an internationally recognized franchise.
Cate Blanchett looked gorgeous in an ornate gold gown
Angela Bassett was a vision in white
Austin Butler looked handsome in a classic suit when he took to the podium
Stephen Colbert was dapper in a black tux
Billy Eichner
Brendan Fraser
Leslie Odom Jr. and Kate Hudson
Ron Howard
Sherry Lansing
Paul Dano and Michelle Williams
Bob Odenkirk
The 34th Annual Producers Guild of America Awards honors, ‘the most impactful and entertaining producing achievements in the worlds of film and television,’ according to the official website.
Other honorees throughout the night included Warner Bros. Pictures Group CEOs, Michael De Luca and Pamela Adby, who received the Milestone Award.
The drama, Till, was honored with the Stanley Kramer Award, which honors those, ‘who use cinema as a platform to raise awareness for social issues from past to present.’
The big winner of the night was Everything Everywhere All at Once, which one Best Film.
