ollywood hunk Tom Cruise is back at it again, this time in the science fiction thriller Minority Report, directed by his good friend Steven Spielberg. Tribute had a chance to talk to Cruise in Seattle about working on the futuristic film and turning the big 4-0.

You see so many scripts and read countless stories, what was it about Minority Report that made you decide that you had to make it?
T.C. It just had tremendous potential. When you see the story, certainly the intellectual aspects had great potential for an emotional journey for an audience, and visually the potential for that could be stunning. When I read it, I immediately sent it over to Steven Spielberg and he said he liked it and I thought, all right. I want to see what Steven is going to do with this.

I am sure there was no hesitation on his part. What a challenge!
T.C. You are absolutely right. He immediately came on board and just his ideas of what he wanted to do were amazing. I have known him personally for a long time, but then to be there with him as he is developing this story and seeing the things that interest him as a storyteller is incredible. Steven Spielberg, bar none, is the master of storytellers.

There are so many layers to the character you play in Minority Report. What was the most difficult aspect of playing detective John Anderton?
T.C. I enjoy the journey of having a character in a picture like this that goes on that ride and the onion is peeled back and you see the layers of this character as the story unfolds. So that was very challenging.

Plus, you get to drive the coolest cars!
T.C. I get to drive the coolest car….

So that's why you signed on?
T.C. The car, the jet pack, the spaceship.  What more can a guy ask for?

The movie raises some huge questions about morality, and playing God. How do you feel about those issues?
T.C. Well it's an interesting question. I'd like to hear what audiences think about (the premise). If we had the opportunity to be able to pre-determine the future and if they knew that someone was going to be murdered or if they themselves were going to be murdered, would they want to know or want that enacted as law? I think that you look at our society in which Big Brother is watching more and more and I think that we are all kind of waking up to that realization and it's not a paranoid fantasy. You see how it's slowly occurring. I don't think that we are going to be able to stop that kind of progress in the name of law and order. It definitely has some bearing on today's society. It's interesting.

Just off topic for a second, I have to ask you about turning 40 soon. How are you feeling about it?
T.C. Great actually. I have no problem with this new phase in my life.

Is there still one thing that you would really like to do as you enter this new phase?
T.C. Believe it or not, I actually plan on taking a little mountain climbing trip. I'm not great at it but I'll survive. It's just another challenge on the rocky road I call life!

- Bonnie Laufer-Krebs