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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Catherine Shoard

The Digger disaster: what an epic movie flop means for Tom Cruise and Hollywood

Tom Cruise digs a hole with a shovel beside a pile of dirt containing a buried Oscar statuette
The world premiere turned out to be the high point of Digger’s theatrical run Composite: Alex Mellon/Alex Mellon for the Guardian : Getty Images

The fanfare at Digger’s world premiere in London four weeks ago was literal. As the Prince and Princess of Wales took to the stage, their arrival was heralded by the band of the Irish guards’ fanfare team – bugles gleaming, epaulets shining, bearskin bonnets rippling under the lights.

Given the occasion, the band were not overdressed. Joining William (velvet tux) and Kate (chiffon gown, the late Diana’s earrings) to introduce the film was cinema’s longest-reigning monarch, Tom Cruise (Armani), along with a retinue including director Alejandro González Iñárritu and co-stars Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Jesse Plemons and Michael Stuhlbarg. Loyal courtiers filled the front rows: Salma Hayek, Hannah Waddingham and no fewer than three Beckhams (David, Cruz and Romeo).

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