Taylor Lautner Studying Tom Cruise Movies For Abduction

Somewhere in LA, Taylor Lautner is grinning into a mirror and trying to make his laugh more maniacal. John Singleton, who’s directing Lautner in Abduction, his first big post-Twilight project, says he told the dreamboat to study the filmography of acting legend Tom Cruise before tackling the role of a teenager who finds his baby photo on a missing persons website. “I told him to watch the transition from Top Gun to Rain Man to Born on the Fourth of July, “ Singleton told the LA Times. “To think about what he did as a young man and what he did later on. And then think about what you want to do.” Wise words, but what if you chase supporting roles alongside Oscar winners and Oliver Stone movies only to wind up doing Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps? What then?

Personally, we would have asked Tay to watch the transition from Risky Business to Cocktail to Days Of Thunder, but Singleton clearly thinks more of the werewolf boy’s potential than we do. “I think when people see [Abduction], they’ll see a more mature Taylor,” said the director. “He’s doing this [thing] he’s never done before. He’s funny and charismatic. He has room to breathe that he’s never had before.” Hey, Taylor was shirtless in the woods in Twilight! That’s about as much “room to breathe” as anyone can ask for.

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