Tom “Who needs Paramount Pictures?” Cruise just struck a deal that brings him a little bit closer to our neck of the woods, figuratively speaking: CNN reports the actor has signed a two-year development deal for his production company Cruise/Wagner Productions, with the investment partnership First and Goal, headed by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. We think the name is catchy, Dan.
Looks like the the firm will “provide development and overhead financing” for Cruise’s Cruise/Wagner Productions, which, in case you haven’t heard, got dropped like a bad habit last week by Viacom, owner of Paramount, after 14 years of production goodness.

Snyder does seem to have a penchant for bringing in the money: Forbes reports that he turned the Redskins into “the richest franchise in U.S. sports”, now worth a reported $1.3 billion. Mark Shapiro, whom Snyder placed as the chief executive for Six Flags amusement parks, will be keeping an eye on the investment in Cruise/Wagner productions. Here’s hoping those commercials with the dancing elderly man will be replaced with, yes, a couch-jumping Cruise.