Tom Cruise is back baby, and he's bringing United Artists back with him. In a press release issued today, Cruise and his partner Paula Wagner announced that they're resurrecting the defunct United Artists brand and making it their flagship.

Once one of Hollywood's crown jewels, UA was founded 85 years ago and was responsible for such venerable works as Rocky, The Pink Panther, and James Bond. They were also responsible for the Tom Cruise/Dustin Hoffman movie Rain Man. It'll be brought back via a partnership between Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Cruise and Wagner will have control of which movies the company produces, with Wagner serving as CEO.

Basically, this is Tom Cruise telling Paramount to go screw themselves. They don't want him on their lot? Fine, he'll take his clout and start his own damn studio. And to do it, he's using an incredibly recognizable brand name, once considered right on par with Paramount and all the other studio heavy hitters.

Of course they won't be big time right away. This won't be the United Artists of old. They plan to start out with a modest production slate of four films a year, and MGM will handle all their worldwide marketing and distribution for them.

Look, everyone loves to hate Tom Cruise, and maybe he deserves it. But the guy is a good actor, and a FORCE when it comes to movies. He knows what he's doing, he's good at what he does. Let's give him a little credit. This is a good thing. It'll be great to see United Artists back, and under Cruise's control there's every reason to expect it will be a huge success.