BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Tom Cruise still remembers being in awe of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s feature directorial debut “Amores Perros," which took home the Academy Award for best international feature film in 2001.
“What a brilliant film. It was amazing,” Cruise told journalists at a recent press event. “Every aspect of that film was very thought out, very detailed, and you could feel the powerful human voice of someone who was incredibly skilled at what they were doing.”
Twenty-five years later, Iñárritu and Cruise have collaborated on the highly-anticipated dark comedy “Digger.” Cruise kicked off his promotional tour for the film — and previewed a potential Hollywood awards campaign — at a trailer reveal event last week on the Warner Bros. studio lot. He greeted and posed for photos with film journalists and influencers.
“He’s never made something like this before, nor have I,” said Cruise, who told journalists it felt as if all the skills he has developed throughout his 45-year acting career led up to his performance in the film, set for theatrical release on Oct. 2.
Iñárritu knew the role was meant for Cruise.
“The transformation he went through was astonishing," said the filmmaker in a prerecorded video at Thursday's event. "And I think we both know what it means to carry an entire career into a single moment like this. We both knew that throughout our journeys, we had never done anything even close to this.”
The 64-year-old actor and producer stars in Iñárritu’s “Digger” alongside a cast of A-list talent like John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed and Jesse Plemons.
Iñárritu first approached Cruise with the script and read it to him line by line over a series of days, a method Cruise says he asks of all collaborators.
“I’m listening to everything that’s in his mind, so that I can understand that, and then I know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together. And to be there with Alejandro, it was beautiful,” said the actor.
The trailer showcases an eccentric oil baron named Digger Rockwell, played by Cruise in heavy prosthetic makeup, whose company sets off a chain of events and hijinks.
Iñárritu says he had the idea for the film just after completing “The Revenant,” but it took him a decade to complete the story.
“Not script, not a film, just a relentless recurring obsession that has endured through all these wild years. I knew who this character was,” said the Oscar-winning director. “I knew how he spoke, how he survived, how he seduced reality into agreeing with him ... I wasn’t looking for a story. I was looking for the right way of saying it.”
Like “The Brutalist” and “One Battle After Another," the film was shot on VistaVision.
FILE - Tom Cruise attends a ceremony honoring David Beckham with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Joe Root rescued England yet again to beat India by four wickets on Thursday and set up a decider in their one-day international series.
Root was required to bat after just one ball in England's innings and anchored the chase with a flawless and unbeaten 99 at Sophia Gardens.
He was stranded when Gus Atkinson pulled Prasidh Krishna to the boundary for the winning runs. England reached 235-6 with 5.5 overs to spare after bowling out India for 233 with six overs unused.
“Getting the win was the important thing,” Root said. “Conditions were difficult to bat on. Sometimes you have to scrap for it and win ugly.”
The third and last ODI in the tied series is on Sunday at Lord's.
Half-centuries by Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) propped up India's 233. But they had been 178-3.
The run chase would normally be academic. England's target was less than five an over, doable with singles and no unnecessary slogs. Also, India was short a bowler after allrounder Washington Sundar injured his leg batting and never fielded.
But the English, their ODI confidence not as strong as their T20's, made it hard on themselves.
Ben Duckett was out to the first delivery of the innings from Jasprit Bumrah, and Jacob Bethell fell to Krishna at 8-2.
Captain Harry Brook ramped Krishna for a six then overdid it. He was hit on the grill by Gurnoor Brar and, undaunted, Brook tried to scoop Brar again and was out for 16.
Wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, replacing an unwell Lokesh Rahul, caught the first four England wickets.
Root read the situation and was patient. His second fifty in a row, and 67th in ODIs, came from 76 balls. It was his slowest ODI fifty since the 2019 World Cup.
“If the run rate was five or more we could have got a false shot out of him, but this kind of chase he's a master,” India captain Shubman Gill said.
Jos Buttler dispatched Axar Patel over long-on and was bowled trying to swat Patel again, on 17 at 125-5, restoring hope for India.
But Will Jacks supported Root and they produced a chanceless stand of 72 until Jacks gave his wicket to Brar at 197-6.
Root showed frustration but tailender Gus Atkinson calmed him with a six in Bumrah's last over that cleared the fine leg boundary and just missed a seated steward. Bumrah responded with a bouncer off Atkinson’s helmet but finished with just the wicket from his first ball. Atkinson scored 23 of the last 38 runs and Root hugged him at the end despite missing out on a 21st ODI hundred. His 133-ball 99 included nine boundaries.
“He turns up when you need him the most,” Brook said of Root.
Gill lost the toss again but gave his team a fast start.
Then the old firm of Rohit Sharma and Kohli combined for 60, taking them past 8,000 international runs as a pair across all formats since 2010. Sharma, dropped on 5, also passed Inzamam-ul-Haq for seventh on the all-time ODI scorers list, before he was out for 26.
Kohli got a run-a-ball fifty — his 132nd in ODIs — with a driven four. But when he was out for 65 off 66 balls top-edging Jofra Archer to deep third, it triggered a collapse.
Iyer hit a 71-ball 66 but couldn't shepherd the tail and Archer and Atkinson claimed three wickets each and Saqib Mahmood two.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
India's Virat Kohli celebrates making fifty runs during the second ODI between England and India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Thursday July 16, 2026. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)
India's Virat Kohli bats during the second ODI between England and India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Thursday July 16, 2026. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)
India's Shreyas Iyer celebrates making fifty runs during the second ODI between England and India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Thursday July 16, 2026. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)
England's Harry Brook before being caught out during the second ODI between England and India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Thursday July 16, 2026. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)
