Moving on quickly, I ask him if there were any scenes in movies
that made him want to move to L.A.
"There were scenes that made me want to travel the world. Whether
it was Lawrence of Arabia or Doctor Zhivago. The
Elvis movies made me want to go to Hawaii and California. I was
surprised when I got to California how cold the water was. I
remember going out - Emilio Estevez had a place out at the beach,
and Timothy Hutton - and I'd say, 'Man, this water's cold.' I was
used to warm lakes in the summer in the places that I'd lived
in."
These days, he loves to walk back in time on empty movie lots,
where his favorite movies were filmed. "I find myself shooting in
different lots, like where they shot Chinatown, or where
they shot The Sting. I like walking all those different
lots and saying, 'Billy Wilder shot on this stage.' To be there on
those soundstages and think, Wow, those guys were here.
Sweating and working away, worried, wondering, Is this scene
going to work? Is this movie going to work?"
Seeking another place that might evoke that same nostalgia, I
mention the Formosa Cafe, a slice of the Old Hollywood festooned
with photos of famous regulars through the ages, a joint so
authentic it was featured in the film L.A.
Confidential.
"Yes, that has some history," says Cruise. "I ate there when I was
doing Top Gun."
"You rode a motorcycle in that movie. Do you ride in real
life?"
"Definitely. I love [cruising] the Pacific Coast Highway," he says.
"Up north, as you're driving up to Montecito - that's the great
drive. I like the wonderful off-camber turns. You take it about
two, three in the morning. I like the empty road at night, the nice
sweeping turns. It can be challenging as well as fun."
"What kind of bike?"
"I have an Augusta 109 and a Ducati, and the one I used in
M:I-2."
"What kind of car would you drive up to Montecito?"
"I have an old Porsche speedster that I bought about 15 years ago.
I really like that car."
His favorite street is, of course, the iconic Sunset Strip.
"Driving down Sunset, you get the history of Sunset from a musical
perspective. You see the posters from movies, and there's a lot of
life on that street. Tower Records. The Whisky. The Key Club.
Sunset Plaza, with the restaurants where everybody sits outside. I
love driving down Sunset and looking at those places.