Kelly McGillis not asked to be in Top Gun sequel

Quote: KNathan

I was thinking of mentioning that Clearwater, Florida is dull as dishwasher and wondering why Tom Cruise bought a Mansion there.

I think that is the whole point of this discussion. Tom Cruise sold his LA home for $40 million, which normally means you would be looking at Miami, Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale. Also what kind of man with that celebrity status wants a penthouse where apartment owners can look into his pool.



Clearwater had never had a sale over $11.2 million, the amount paid for a 1915 mansion in 2018 (802 Druid Rd), which is only 1 mile from the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization


It is not even clear if Tom Cruise owns his home in Clearwater. It sounds like he bought the building for the Church of Scientology, and he is taking a life estate and the church will get it on his death.

Life Estates in luxury housing similar to this are actually fairly common, but they usually are made with very old people, not a 57 year old fitness addict. For instance the Playboy Mansion was sold to Daren Metropoulos purchased the property next door for $18 million in 2009 which was originally an outbuilding of the estate which had the Playbody Mansion as it's primary building. During the summer of 2016, Daren purchased the Playboy Mansion itself for $100 million, with the stipulation that Hefner could still live there and the transaction would not be complete until he passed away. Hefner died about a year later on September 27, 2017.

One of the worst "life estate" deals in history involved a woman named Jeanne Calment. When Calment was 90 in 1965, Raffray, a 47 year old lawyer, agreed to pay her a "rent" of $500 a month until she died, on condition he would inherit her house in Arles, a system common in France. He probably figured she would not live until age 100 and he would get the house for less than the $60,000 it was worth. Throughout the next 30 years, Raffray paid Calment more than 30*12*$500=$180,000, three times the value of the house. Raffray died at the early age of 77 while Calment lived past the age of 120.

Quote: Pacomartin

One of the worst "life estate" deals in history involved a woman...lived past the age of 120.

not impossible but did anyone confirm her identity and age?

Quote: Fleastiff

not impossible but did anyone confirm her identity and age?

The greatest fully authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years 164 days by Jeanne Louise Calment (France). Born on 21 February 1875 to Nicolas (1837 - 1931) and Marguerite (neé Gilles 1838 - 1924), Jeanne died at a nursing home in Arles, southern France on 4 August 1997.
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-person-(female)?fb_comment_id=534519726650546_553305581438627

As she was without heirs, in 1965 a lawyer named André-François Raffray set up a “reverse mortgage” with Jeanne. According to this arrangement, he would pay her 2,500 francs every month until she died, whereupon he would inherit her apartment. It must have seemed like a good deal for Monseiur Raffray (then aged 47) – after all, Jeanne was 90 at the time. Incredibly, however, Jeanne outlived him. He died thirty years later and his family continued the payments. By the time of her death, they had paid Jeanne more than double the value of her apartment.

WTF happened to Tom Cruise’s face?



Looks like he might be on some medication that makes him puffy. But do those crazy Scientologists even believe in meds?

Hard to say. I've never seen him out of shape.

Reminded me one of gossip rags posting image of Vin Diesel labeled "The Fat and the Furious"