Tom Cruise reportedly landed his unemployed film crew new jobs shooting a music video for 1980s pop star Rick Astley.
The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ star, 61, is said to have got his regular collaborators the work as he didn’t want them losing out on cash amid the ongoing strikes that have brought Hollywood to a standstill and stopped worked on his latest ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie.
A film industry source told The Sun Tom had asked for the favour from his ‘M:I’ co-star Simon Pegg, 53, who is directing the video for ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ singer Rick’s song ‘Forever and More’.
The insider added: “Tom has worked with a number of (the crew) on many films so he wanted to be loyal and help out during tough times.
“After discussions with Simon and (Ricky Astley’s) label, he’s got them all to cross over and work on the video.
“Rick is delighted about it because they have lofty standards and could produce something extraordinary.”
The Sun added Rick’s video was shot on Monday at a “secret location” in Britain.
Movie bosses are said to have been aiming to release ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part Two’ in the summer of 2024, but filming was halted due to the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strike.
The Sun reported most of the movie was shot before the walkouts, but the biggest action sequence has yet to be filmed.
Experts say that even though the writers’ dispute was settled in September, the actors’ strike could drag on for the rest of the year after their talks collapsed on 11 October.
Simon Pegg announced on 13 October he had the ‘M:I’ crew helped direct Rick’s new music video by sharing a picture of him with the singer, 57, on set.
Rick has seen his career resurrected after he became one of the hits of this year’s Glastonbury with his self-deprecating Pyramid stage solo show and an afternoon set of Smiths covers with the indie band Blossoms.
His ninth studio album ‘Are we There Yet?’ is due for release in November.
Rick told BBC Breakfast on 16 October he and Simon linked up to shoot his new music video after “sharing some love” at a festival.
He added: “He jumped in and did it, he came up with a great script and a whole concept and idea. It was just a great couple of days to shoot it.
“We’ve gone from iPhone to Hollywood – it’s a crazy jump.”