Show him the money!

The next "Mission: Impossible" movie has halted pre-production, The Hollywood Reporter was told, because of a dispute over Tom Cruise's paycheck. The actor is now shooting "The Mummy" and sources told THR he wants to match or exceed what he's getting paid by Universal for that movie. Apparently back-end profit participation is a point of contention, and since the last two "Mission: Impossible" movies both made nearly $700 million around the world -- and were also big hits with critics -- he's probably hoping the sixth film in the franchise does even better and he can take home even more pay.

And why not?

He's a producer as well as the main star, and he's known for doing his own stunts, and promoting the holy heck out of each movie. And even though Ethan Hunt's name isn't a focal point -- like Jason Bourne, James Bond, Jack Ryan, or Jack Reacher (why always a J-guy?) -- it's hard to imagine pulling off a successful MI movie without Tom Cruise.

The movie was prepping for a January 2017, with Christopher McQuarrie writing and directing. THR said this is the second delay for "Mission: Impossible 6" after script issues reportedly pushed the start month from November to January. Actually, last summer Cruise said they had hoped to start shooting MI6 this summer, and that didn't happen. Now it's not clear when production will start and if the potential blockbuster will still hit its target of a late 2017 release date.

In April, Cruise promised MI6 would have "... more incredible set pieces, stunts...and what I think is a very entertaining and compelling story." We look forward to seeing it, and hope it doesn't self-destruct before we get the chance.

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