Hollywood players shocked by Cruise move

Hollywood powerbrokers Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Speilberg have apparently been left in disbelief at Paramount's decision to break its links with Tom Cruise.

Speilberg heads Paramount's DreamWorks and worked with the actor on Minority Report and War of the Worlds, but was not consulted about the move beforehand.

The director's representative Marvin Levy told New York Daily News: "[He] had no advance knowledge of [Paramount boss] Sumner Redstone's position...The story broke when Steven was on an airplane. He found out when the plane landed."

A source at another studio added: "He's the heart and soul of DreamWorks. If you have Steven Spielberg, you want his blessing."

Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer has also commented on the situation.

"It's not what I would do," he stated. "[Cruise is] one of the biggest stars in the world, and that hasn't changed."