Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Christine Taylor, Tobey Maguire, Ben Stiller and Jack Black were amidst the stars that attended the LA premiere of 'Tropic Thunder' at Mann's Village Theater in Westwood, California on August 11, 2008. Photo Credit: Splash NewsAugust 12, 2008 (Sawf News) - Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Christine Taylor, Tobey Maguire, Ben Stiller and Jack Black were amidst the stars that attended the LA premiere of Tropic Thunder at Mann's Village Theater in Westwood, California on August 11, 2008.
The comedy is directed by Ben Stiller and focuses on a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie who are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying through a series of freak occurrences.
Tom makes a cameo appearance in Tropic Thunder as a fat, bald, over-the-top studio exec.
Katie Holmes boldly styled at 'Tropic Thunder' premiere
The film, which was nine years in the making, stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.
The film has come under fire from disability advocates offended by the frequent use of the 'retard' to describe Ben Stiller's character, Simple Jack, in the movie within the movie, and jokes in the film that playing an impaired person-i.e., Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man-is a surefire route to Oscar glory.
Defending the film, Stiller told MTV News Monday, August 11:
"It's sort of edgy territory, but we felt that as long as the focus was on the actors who were trying to do something to be taken seriously that's going too far or wrong, that was where the humor would come from."
The film's co-writer, Etan Cohen, defends it by saying:
"Some people have taken this as making fun of handicapped people, but we're really trying to make fun of the actors who use this material as fodder for acclaim. The last thing you want is for people to think you're making fun of the victims in this who are having their lives turned into fodder for people to win Oscars."
The film opens in theaters everywhere this Wednesday, August 13.
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