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| Tom Cruise at the August 1998 Without Limits movie premiere in Eugene, Oregon Mary and Cory Bence, on the left, "photo bombed" the picture |
In late August
1998, a premiere for Without Limits was held in Eugene, delayed a year to distance itself from the
other Prefontaine movie, which released in 1997; Warner Brothers wanted to wait
for its own moment in the sun. Cruise was greeted by swarms of screaming fans.
On September 8,
1998, the main premiere was set for the Mann Theater in Los Angeles; Marckx,
Mary, and I packed our formal wear and flew to L.A. There was a large turnout,
including many celebrities we recognized: Jenna Elfmann, Cuba Gooding Jr, and
Kevin Bacon. We were invited to the party afterwards, for which we decided to
arrive fashionably late and disappear into the crowd to people-watch.
As we checked in
at the desk, hoping our names were actually on the list, a support staff member
recognized Marckx.
“Mary Marckx!”
she shouted from across the room. “There you are. Come with me. Tom Cruise has
been looking for you.”
Marckx, totally
surprised, looked at Mary and me. We waved her to move on without us, and she
was whisked into a separate room, a big smile on her face; how many times does
someone say out loud to you, “Tom Cruise has been looking for you?” Mary and I
watched through the doorway as she and Cruise had a long conversation. Later,
she said Cruise had told her how appreciative he was of everything she’d done
to make the movie a success.
Back at the
hotel, we unwound. It was a great day and we reflected on the roller-coaster
ride of emotions over the previous two years. And now it was over.
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