Where would this world be without good ol’ Tom Cruise? Where, I ask you! Unless you’ve been living in some sort of space cave – and if you have been, welcome back – you undoubtedly know that Tom Cruise is no stranger to controversy. From his couch-jumping spectacle on Oprah to his heated attack on Brooke Shields to his zealous defense of Scientology, the man is used to headlining the news. Well, just when you thought you couldn’t get any more Cruise controversy, he’s back!

Tom Cruise is set to star in the Michael Mann-helmed film The Few in 2008. The Few tells the story of Billy Fiske, an American pilot who flew against the Germans in World War 2. At the time, the United States had not yet entered the war, so Fiske forged identification papers and faked his way into the British Royal Air Force to join in the fight.

However, the British veterans aren’t too happy about where this situation seems to be headed.

A lot of people fear that the upcoming motion picture is an attempt to Americanize what was a predominantly British victory. Although many claim that Fiske was a remarkable man, he died without shooting down a single plane. Bill Bond of the Battle of Britain Historical Society has been quoted saying "It is going to be a farce if we have the Yanks shooting down everything in sight, the battle was four weeks old when Billy was shot down. He made several sorties but he didn't shoot anything down, and his impact on the battle was negligible. We are concerned."

While I’m sure Billy Fiske was a good man, and the way he snuck into the RAF to fight Nazis definitely wins points with me, I can understand where the criticism is coming from. I can only hope that Cruise and Mann do as well and portray Fiske in an accurate and respectable manner.

Here’s another Cruise/Mann flick, Collateral.