Mission Impossible 3 Director outlines "The Three Rejections of Tom"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/07/PKGL8IF4771.DTL&type=movies

(M.I. 3 director J.J.) Abrams relaxed in a Beverly Hills hotel and described the Three Rejections of Tom. The first cold shoulder came when Cruise broached the subject of Scientology. "I was aware that Tom was such a huge part of that (Scientology) thing, so very early on, when we started hanging out together, I was very clear with him that (Scientology) was not going to be my path," Abrams says. "I'm Jewish, my wife is Catholic, and we've got our own system."

The second "thanks, but no thanks" came when Cruise, impressed by Abrams' work on "Alias," asked him to write "War of the Worlds." "I was getting ready to make the 'Lost' pilot, so I couldn't do it," Abrams says.

The third pass came when Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner invited Abrams to direct "Mission: Impossible III." "They gave me the script, and it was good,"Abrams says, "but I told them it wasn't the movie I wanted to make." Cruise suggested that Abrams write his own sequel from scratch. Abrams says his spin on the "Mission: Impossible" universe, co-written with "Alias" executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, included intimate moments.

a super pompous ass in another interview but I gotta give it to the guy, Lost is not to shabby and he sure is candid in this interview.