I KNEW it. As a Kubrick devotee, I felt Eyes Wide Shut was a sad way for his body of work to end. Parts of it were interesting but I just could not for the life of me buy the wooden performance of Tom Cruise. Apparently Kubrick himself felt the same way.
According to a RADAR interview with the one and only R. Lee Ermey, who played Gunny Hartman in the Kubrick classic Full Metal Jacket, Kubrick told him that he knew Eyes would get hammered:
He called me about two weeks before he died, as a matter of fact. We had a long conversation about Eyes Wide Shut. He told me it was a piece of shit and that he was disgusted with it and that the critics were going to have him for lunch. He said Cruise and Kidman had their way with him—exactly the words he used.
Q: What did he mean?
He was kind of a shy little timid guy. He wasn't real forceful. That's why he didn't appreciate working with big, high-powered actors. They would have their way with him, he would lose control, and his movie would turn to shit.
The Ermey interview is a great read too along with that gem. He talks about playing golf with the Joint Chiefs, drinking at the Camp Pendleton NCO Club, what it’s like to kiss Jack Black, and how CNN is in league with al-Qaeda.
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