A ‘Mission’ where much went awry

The Afterlife: It was supposed to be a marriage made in heaven: the world’s biggest movie star paired with the creator of one of the most popular TV series for a sequel to a wildly successful franchise. But it didn’t quite turn out that way for “Mission: Impossible III,” which makes its DVD debut Monday. Instead, the 2006 film ended in a divorce when Paramount Pictures severed its ties to star Tom Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner, in August. By the time the dust had settled, Paramount Pictures chief Tom Freston was also gone. It seems Cruise’s antics around the time of the film’s release -- sofa jumping, et al -- didn’t sit well with Sumner Redstone, the head of Viacom, which owns Paramount. Redstone said he thought Cruise’s erratic behavior played a major part in “M:i:III’s” disappointing box office.

Though reviews were generally better for this installment than 2000’s “Mission: Impossible II,” the thriller fizzled instead of sizzled, taking in $133 million domestically compared with $214 million for “M:i:II.” Now Cruise and Wagner have a financial deal with a group of investors to move his production studio off the Paramount lot. Meanwhile, the film’s director -- J.J. Abrams of “Lost” and “Alias” fame -- has come out of the project in fine shape: He’s been named to direct the feature “Star Trek XI.”

A little horror

in Travolta’s past

Time capsule: “The Devil’s Rain,” released in summer 1975, marked John Travolta’s film debut. But the low-budget flick, which arrives on DVD Tuesday, is so bad it effectively ended the feature film career of director Robert Fuest, who retreated to the world of television. The reviews of the satanic thriller were more dreadful than the film: The New York Times’ Vincent Canby said it was “as horrible as watching an egg fry.” Just a few months after “Devil’s Rain” was unleashed, though, Travolta became a sensation as Sweathog Vinnie Barbarino on ABC’s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter”; movie superstardom -- and an Oscar nomination -- followed two years later with “Saturday Night Fever.”

Now she’s arrived in ‘Departed’

Star turn: Vera Farmiga more than holds her own opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon in Martin Scorsese’s new gangster flick, “The Departed.” The lithe actress plays a shrink involved with both men. Though “Departed” is certainly the most commercial film she’s made, Farmiga has been a critics’ darling, thanks to a haunting performance in the low-budget 2004 drama “Down to the Bone,” which makes its DVD bow Tuesday. Briefly released last fall -- it made around $30,000 at the box office -- the drama casts Farmiga as a drug-addicted supermarket employee who attempts to get clean. Farmiga won a special jury prize for her performance at the Sundance Film Festival as well as best actress from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

susan.king@latimes.com