Todd Field is recalling the moment he found out that Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax had acquired his debut film In the Bedroom at the Sundance Film Festival and how Tom Cruise’s advice saved him.

Weinstein was known to reshape the visions of filmmakers and Field was worried that when his film was acquired, he would have no say in the editing process. In an interview with The New Yorker, Field talked about calling the Mission: Impossible star, who gave him some sound advice.

“I was weeping in the bathroom,” Field recalled. “I called up Tom Cruise and said, ‘Something terrible has happened.’ He basically said, ‘This is how you’re going to play it. It’s going to take you six months, and you’ll beat him, but you have to do exactly what I’m going to tell you to do, step by step.'”

Cruise advised Field...