Paramount ends production deal with Cruise

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes leave Maestro's Steakhouse in L.A. (08/19/06)

Paramount Pictures has severed its 14-year-old ties to Tom Cruise's production company because of his off-screen behavior, the chairman of the studio's parent company said on Wednesday in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

The report signaled the end of one of the most lucrative production deals commanded by any A-list Hollywood star and followed other signs that Cruise's public stature had been damaged by his conduct during the past year.

Cruise's representatives and officials from Viacom and Paramount did not have any immediate comment on the report.

Days after his latest film, "Mission: Impossible III," opened to lower-than-expected domestic ticket sales in May, an opinion poll showed his star power in the eyes of the public had dimmed considerably.

And last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that Paramount Chairman Brad Grey had informed representatives for Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, that the studio planned to slash the amount it spends on their company, Cruise/Wagner Productions.