Tom Cruise’s character in the movie “Jerry Maguire,” Jerry, is loosely based on an NFL agent. While it was only one scene with a few lines, that one line from Jerry— “Show me the money”— spoke volumes about what would become of Tom Cruise’s career and how his casting came to be.
Tom Cruise’s character in “Jerry Maguire” was based on a big-name NFL agent. The film is based on the true story of sports agent Jerry Maguire and his life as he struggles to find success in the cutthroat world of professional football..
If you’ll pardon the pun, Tom Cruise spent almost a decade making All the Right Moves, starting with the 1983 film about a football prodigy seeking to college football as an escape from a rust-belt steel mill town. After a string of great blockbusters, Cruise featured in Jerry Maguire, a sports film. It’s one that debuted 25 years ago this week and owes a tribute to Leigh Steinberg, one of football’s most well-known and successful agents.
Tom Cruise’s remarkable run in ‘Jerry Maguire’ continues.
In the film “Jerry Maguire,” Tom Cruise’s character is partially based on Leigh Steinberg, one of the most successful NFL agents in history. | Photo credit: Getty Images
The fact that Tom Cruise has featured in some of Hollywood’s greatest movies and portrayed multiple iconic roles along the way, starting with Risky Business and All the Right Moves in 1983, doesn’t change the reality that he hasn’t won an Academy Award. Soon after, Top Gun, The Color of Money, and Rain Man were released. With Days of Thunder, A Few Good Men, and The Firm under his belt, Cruise deserved a second chance at Cocktail.
The first episode of the Mission Impossible series and a sports film that the makers masterfully advertised were among Cruise’s 1996 releases. Women were persuaded to think Jerry Maguire was a love tale between Cruise and Renee Zellweger thanks to targeted advertising and other marketing. Meanwhile, the men’s commercial featured Cuba Gooding Jr. as a wide receiver who entrusts his upcoming contract negotiations to a figure created by NFL agent Leigh Steinberg and filmmaker Cameron Crowe.
The formula was effective. The film received five Oscar nominations, albeit Cruise was overlooked for best actor, and made more than quadruple its $50 million budget in the United States.
In ‘Jerry Maguire,’ Leigh Steinberg had a lot of experience.
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Leigh Steinberg turned his law degree from Cal-Berkeley in 1973 into a renowned career as a sports agent concentrating mostly on football players and boxers, despite personal and financial troubles at different points in his career. Steinberg has represented a record eight No. 1 overall choices in NFL drafts, and according to his speaker’s bureau biography, he has negotiated contracts worth $4 billion.
Quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Steve Young, as well as fighters Oscar De La Hoya and Lennox Lewis, have been among Steinberg’s clients. Jerry Maguire’s producers hired Steinberg as a consultant and even granted him a cameo. In classic agency form, he arranged for Aikman to have a cameo in the film. Former San Francisco 49ers player Tim McDonald, another of the agent’s clients, is credited with coining Gooding Jr.’s famous “Show me the money” statement.
Steinberg reportedly turned down the somewhat meatier character of agent Jerry Maguire’s brother because he didn’t want to seem as a villain, according to Moviefone.com. He said, “I may be the only actor who has ever negotiated his way out of a scene with Tom Cruise.”
More information about Tom Cruise’s blockbuster film
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Tom Cruise was nominated for best actor for his depiction of fictitious agent Jerry Maguire, who was based on Leigh Steinberg, however he was defeated by Geoffrey Rush of Shine. Co-star Cuba Gooding Jr., who plays Arizona Cardinals receiver Rod Tidwell, received the award for outstanding supporting actor. William H. Macy (Fargo), Edward Norton (Primal Fear), and James Woods were among the contenders he beat out (Ghosts of Mississippi).
On the 25th anniversary of Jerry Maguire’s release, here are a few more interesting facts:
- Gooding Jr.’s end-zone celebration was choreographed by Paula Abdul.
- There is a copy of Cruise’s character’s 27-page mission statement, which led to his dismissal. Cameron Crowe authored it and put it up on the internet. Jerry Cantrell, of Alice in Chains, played the shop clerk who printed the copies.
- Rebook paid $1.5 million to have their shoes featured in a commercial by Gooding’s character that was meant to be in the film, according to Moviefone.com. As part of a settlement with the studio, it was removed from the theatrical version of Jerry Maguire but reinstated in the made-for-TV edit.
With the Cardinals sitting at 10-2 heading into Monday Night Football versus the Los Angeles Rams, now would be a good time to rent the film and enjoy it.
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Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Maguire was based on a big-name NFL agent. The movie is about an agent who goes from being the top player in his field to working for the bottom of the barrel, but he still manages to find happiness. Reference: jerry maguire summary.
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