ENGLISH SPEECH TOM CRUISE BEN STILLER Footprint Ceremony English Subtitles

Hi, everybody. You know, I love these ceremonies. 
I remember as a little kid, I used to look at  

pictures of Man’s Chinese and the premieres they 
had here in these kinds of events. So, it’s a real  

honor for me to be here today. As today, we’re 
going to celebrate a great artist, Ben Stiller.

Now I’ve, you know, Ben and I grew up together. 
I really, first time I saw him was actually,  

he was doing theater in circle in the square. And 
then over the years, you know, he and I became  

very close friends and I was, you know, he’s very, 
he’s so generous because when I was doing Mission  

Impossible 2, I was looking to do a parody for 
MTV. So, wanted to call, you know, called up Ben  

to see, you know, if he’d help me out with 
it because he’s such a brilliant comedian.

And he and Christine… Where’s Christine? 
Christine, where are you? Hey, they’re on  

their honeymoon. And he so generously came off 
his honeymoon to come and help me. I was like,  

first of all, Christine, thank you. Because 
I was always, something I’ll never forget,  

and I’m sure you won’t either. But 
here’s a guy who, he came in and,  

you know, because you have this 
idea to do something, but he came in  

and instantly not only was helping to rewrite, 
but I was standing there and he was directing me.

I was like, you know, give me some notes, 
you know. What do you think? Is this funny?  

And you could see, and I knew Ben is also, you 
know, he’s a cinephile, like I am. He loves  

movies. We talk about movies, he honors films. 
And here he is, you know, Reality Bites is the  

first film that he directed. And I always 
knew that he wanted to direct from early on.  

And you see all the range of films that he’s 
directed, you know, with Reality Bites, Cable Guy,  

you know, and also another classic, 
Zoolander, you know, absolute classic.

And then came Tropic Thunder. And I was, had 
the opportunity to be directed by Ben with  

Les Grossman. That was, and to me, that 
was such a gift to be able to play that  

character. And Ben knows, I love his comedies.

You know, I’ve seen all of his films, you know, 
Meet the Fockers. You know, I love that. Night at  

the Museum. When you look at the range of an 
artist like this, but also the thing is that  

I know Ben and I know what it takes to do 
what he does, the commitment that he brings,  

the love of cinema, the love of storytelling, the 
love of an audience and entertaining an audience.  

And that kind of skill, that kind of talent, 
I think when you look back and see his movies,  

you have no idea how much this man cares.

And not only for his own pride, but the care 
that he has in terms of entertaining an audience  

and the detail and the range of things that he’s 
done. And I think I had the opportunity to see  

Walter Mitty and I really, I recommend that 
everyone goes to this film to see it, because  

it is not only a brilliant movie on 
every level of the writing, the design,  

the production, the performances, 
but it’s such a multi-layered movie.

You know, I told him, I said, you know, he 
and I have often spoke about Billy Wilder.  

And of course, I mean Jerry McGuire and that 
was inspired by the apartment. And I know the  

kind of inspiration that Ben took, you know, in 
making this film and making this film his own,  

but it’s a movie that really makes you want to 
go out. And I don’t wanna give away the ending  

because the ending is magical. But 
it’s a film that at the end of it, you  

want to go out and you want to 
embrace life and know that, you know,  

what you do with your life is something that is 
important. And that the journey is everything.

And I, it’s an inspiring film. I think it’s a 
crowning accomplishment for Ben. And I think it’s  

so appropriate today that he’s here being 
honored, you know, at this historical event.  

And I’m very honored to be here to announce him 
and give it to him. Here’s, I’d like to say,  

truly a brilliant artist and my dear 
friend, Ben Stiller. Please come on out.

Hello. Thank you. All right. Thank you. 
Thank you, Tom. Wow. This is great.  

This is like a weird, surreal dream. 
I’m here at Chinese Theater. I’m getting  

my hand prints in the cement. Tom Cruise is there.  

Michael Jordan comes out, does a slam dunk 
over a Lamborghini. The Beastie Boys dedicate  

a song to me and Cheryl Ladd pops out of 
a cake. That’s usually how the dream ends.

Tom, you are amazing. You’re an amazing 
person, amazing actor. You literally  

have made most of the iconic movies in the 
last 25 years. I do think things might have  

gone a little differently for both of us if I had 
beaten you out for that role in Taps back in 81.  

I decided to go a little more comedic. And yeah, 
Tom’s right. We met about, we met a long time ago,  

but we really got to know each other when we 
did this little MTV short where I, and I did  

leave my honeymoon early. But Christine knows it 
was raining and there were bugs at the resort.

But I, in the short, I play Tom’s sycophantic 
stunt double who’s obsessed with him. And over the  

years, we’ve gotten to know each other. And now 
I’m proud to say that I’m Tom’s sycophantic friend  

that’s obsessed with him. It’s been a wonderful 
journey, Tom. I know this isn’t an award per se,  

but I’m gonna pretend like it is for a second 
because I’d like to thank a bunch of people.

I want to thank all the people who’ve given 
me a chance over the years, all the agents  

and managers and casting directors who took 
a chance on me, even when I didn’t even  

really know what the hell I was doing. And that 
you had faith in me that I would somehow get it  

together one of these days. And I did, I guess, 
kind of. To all my really close friends and family  

who are here, who came out at 11:00 AM on a 
Tuesday. I know that’s not easy. So thank you.

My friend Jud Apatow is here. Yeah. Jud, where are 
you there? Jud, I feel like it was just yesterday  

that we were here shooting sketches illegally 
on Hollywood Boulevard for our sketch show  

that got canceled. And then a little bit 
later, you and I came running out of this  

very theater after the Cable Guy premier, 
hoping that we would someday work again.  

And here we are. I’m sorry. 
Things didn’t work out for you.

I want to acknowledge all the people at Fox 
who over the years have been very, very loyal.  

Jeffrey Katzenbergs been a great loyal friend. 
Yeah. The people at Fox have been willing to  

take very bold chances over the years on projects 
as long as the PNL models seem to calculate out  

to a tolerable quarterly write off. My friend 
and producing partners, Stuart Cornfeld. Yes.

Stuart, you are without a doubt, the best 
producing partner a guy could have. And  

I would definitely say you are a pretty good 
friend. My friend and agent Nick Stevens. Nick,  

I know that from now on, whenever I call you about 
a job, you’re gonna say you got your footprints in  

the Chinese theater, what the hell do you want 
from me? My mom and dad couldn’t be here, but I  

did want to say that I want to thank them. I 
wouldn’t be here without the love, support,  

nurturing and all the other stuff 
they withheld from me as a child.

I’m joking. Actually the truth is, I’m joking. 
The truth is, I couldn’t have done anything  

without their love and real support. They’re 
two of the most hardworking, talented people I  

know. And the example they set for me is one that 
I’ve been trying to live up to my whole life. And  

actually my dad did want to come out here, but he 
lives in New York and I said, dad, don’t come out  

here. You know, I don’t want you to come all 
the way to across the country just for this.

And he goes, no, I really want to. And I said, no,  

it’s really, it’s not necessary. You 
know, I don’t want you to have to do it.  

And he goes, no, please, please let me come. I 
could really use the publicity. I love you, dad.

My wife, Christine, and our two beautiful 
children are here, Quinn and Ella.  

Hopefully this shows you that all the years 
of not being there for school conferences,  

Oboe recitals, birthdays, all of it was worth 
it because here we are together on Hollywood  

Boulevard watching me kneel on the ground, 
stick my hands in wet cement. And kids,  

I really hope you’re coming to the luncheon 
afterwards, would be fun to catch up. Okay.

Honestly though, I’m very, very grateful 
for this. I grew up in New York dreaming  

of making movies. And when I first moved out to 
LA, about 24 years ago, I lived in an apartment  

on Hollywood and LaBrea right over there 
and I could see this place from there. And  

at night when I was lonely, I 
would walk down here looking for,  

just looking, well to come to the wax museum and, 
you know, go to see movies. But nothing weird.

But I’ve always loved the history of Hollywood 
and the history of the movies. It’s very, very  

meaningful to me. And to be in any way a small 
part of it is really a dream come true for me,  

even though Cheryl Ladd isn’t here. So, I’m 
humbled and I’m touched and I’m very proud  

to know that wherever I go and long after I’m 
dead, my footprints will be here in Hollywood  

being stood on by a fake Shrek, posing with 
tourists for a dollar. Thank you very much.