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After the commercial disappointment of Knight and Day, Hollywood studio Paramount has reportedly lost faith in Tom Cruise’s  ability to draw at the box office and have cut the upcoming fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible series’  $135 million production budget in half.

Though the film is moving ahead on schedule, Cruise is rumored to have agreed to be paid "scale," – the Screen Actors Guild minimum payment – taking nearly no salary up front and being paid only after the studio makes back its investment.

With production slated to begin in September, two-time Academy Award-winning director Brad Bird – who will be making his live-action film debut, after overwhelming success with animated films such as The Incredibles and Ratatouille – has been readying his actors in recent days, while the studio finalizes the budget. –ANDREW BANKIN