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Tom Cruise and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Touch Down in Cannes

US actor Tom Cruise smiles during a "Rendez-Vous With Tom Cruise" at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 18, 2022. (AFP)
US actor Tom Cruise smiles during a "Rendez-Vous With Tom Cruise" at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 18, 2022. (AFP)
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Tom Cruise and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Touch Down in Cannes

US actor Tom Cruise smiles during a "Rendez-Vous With Tom Cruise" at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 18, 2022. (AFP)
US actor Tom Cruise smiles during a "Rendez-Vous With Tom Cruise" at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 18, 2022. (AFP)

Tom Cruise mania descended Wednesday in Cannes where the actor made a whirlwind appearance at the French film festival to screen "Top Gun: Maverick," exalt the big screen and sit for a rare interview.

Cruise brought a palpable buzz to the Croisette, where throngs gathered around the Palais des Festivals to get a glimpse of the 59-year-old star. Cruise hadn't been to the festival in three decades. But with plenty of media disruption challenging the theatrical experience, Cannes and Cruise exuded the vibe of long-last pals. "He is devoted to cinema," declared artistic director Thierry Fremaux. Cruise's enthusiastic welcome smacked in some ways of an action hero sent to save the day.

"I make movies for the big screen," Cruise said to applause in an interview on stage at Cannes' Debussy Theater.

The festival honored Cruise with a tribute that consisted of a career-spanning video montage, after which Cruise spoke about his dedication to filmmaking in an interview that stayed away from any personal questions. Instead, he responded to prodding from interviewer Didier Allouc about why, Monsieur Cruise, do you take such risks doing your own stunts?

"No one asked Gene Kelly ‘Why do you dance?’" answered Cruise.

The Cannes stopover for "Top Gun: Maverick" is part of a worldwide tour for the film ahead of its Memorial Day weekend opening. It has already touched down at CinemaCon in Las Vegas and premiered aboard an aircraft carrier in San Diego.

Paramount Pictures delayed its release two years during the pandemic, a move that appears to be paying off with glowing reviews and box-office expectations that "Top Gun: Maverick" will easily mark Cruise's biggest opening weekend.

Asked if he was ever tempted to steer the film to a streaming service, Cruise replied emphatically.

"No, that’s not going to happen ever," responded Cruise to loud applause. "That was never going to happen."

Cruise spent the majority of the conversation explaining his extreme dedication to the craft of moviemaking, how from an early age he dug into every element of film productions and analyzed how particular modes of acting worked best on the big screen. Shooting the 1981 film "Taps," with George C. Scott, he returned to again and again as a formative experience.

"Please," Cruise said he thought at the time, "if I could just do this for the rest of my life, I will never take it for granted."

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End of Era as Beirut Renames Assad Avenue After Late Legend Ziad Rahbani 

A mourner holds a picture of Ziad Rahbani, the Lebanese composer and musician who passed away on Saturday, during his funeral in Bikfaya, Lebanon July 28, 2025. (Reuters)
A mourner holds a picture of Ziad Rahbani, the Lebanese composer and musician who passed away on Saturday, during his funeral in Bikfaya, Lebanon July 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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End of Era as Beirut Renames Assad Avenue After Late Legend Ziad Rahbani 

A mourner holds a picture of Ziad Rahbani, the Lebanese composer and musician who passed away on Saturday, during his funeral in Bikfaya, Lebanon July 28, 2025. (Reuters)
A mourner holds a picture of Ziad Rahbani, the Lebanese composer and musician who passed away on Saturday, during his funeral in Bikfaya, Lebanon July 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Lebanon has decided to rebaptize a thoroughfare named after former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in favor of late Lebanese musician and playwright Ziad Rahbani, a move many welcomed on Wednesday.

The decision marks the end of an era and a rupture with the authoritarian rule of former Syrian leaders Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar -- close allies of Lebanon's Hezbollah group -- who from Damascus held Lebanon in a stranglehold for almost three decades.

Opposition forces ousted Bashar al-Assad in December, ending five decades of one-family rule, further weakening Hezbollah after a war with Israel and helping to change the balance of power in Lebanon.

"Hafez al-Assad into the dustbin of history, Ziad Rahbani is the name of the airport road forever!" independent lawmaker Mark Daou who opposes Hezbollah wrote on X.

The government on Tuesday announced the renaming of the avenue, which runs to the international airport through south Beirut, where Hezbollah enjoys strong support.

Lebanese actor Ziad Itani welcomed the move, telling AFP that the former Syrian leader was associated with "dark periods in Lebanese history, marked by massacres, abuses and assassinations".

The Syrian army entered Lebanon in 1976 as part of an Arab force that was supposed to put an end to the country's civil war which began a year earlier.

Troops only withdrew in 2005 under enormous pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which was widely blamed on Syria and Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army dismantled a number of monuments paying homage to the Assad family following the pullout.

The government announced the street's name change as it said it had tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago.

The road's renaming "is the decision that made me the happiest", said Hassan Roumani near the avenue.

"Each time I passed along the Assad road, I felt like Hafez al-Assad and the Syrian army were still in Lebanon. Now psychologically I feel relieved -- that period is over, and for the best," he told AFP.

Not all welcomed the renaming however, particularly Hezbollah supporters.

Faysal Abdelsater, an analyst close to the Iran-backed group, said the move was "the result of political malice" and urged the local council to reject it.

Rahbani, son of iconic singer Fairuz, died last month aged 69 after a decades-long career that revolutionized the country's artistic scene.