Who needs Paramount when you have United Artists handed over to you on a silver platter? Tom Crusie will have full control over UA's film slate deciding which films are made and boasting an earning potential of $100 million a film. MGM announced on Thursday that Tom and his producing partner, Paula Wagner will take control of the company. Can't nobody hold him down!

"The truth is that the name United Artists has been relatively meaningless for decades. It's just been a corporate name with no vestige of its original significance," said critic and film historian Leonard Maltin. "Tom Cruise is one of the most powerful stars in the world. He's making the same move that his forebears did 85 years ago."
Under the deal, Wagner will be chief executive and Cruise will have full control over United Artists' film slate, expected to be about four films a year, according to MGM. They will be part owners of United Artists, able to make anything from $100 million action flicks to lower-budget films, with Cruise free to pick and choose among films at rival studios.
Wagner said she views it as an "opportunity to take a brand that is classic and bring it into the present. It has such an illustrious past, we have a tradition to respect and uphold and at the same time help and nurture this brand to evolve into something for the future." (source)