Cruise meets Sarkozy

Hollywood star Tom Cruise took a break from promoting his latest film Collateral in Paris to meet French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the ministry said.

Cruise had requested the meeting after reading about Sarkozy in the US media, and arrived at the riverside ministry by boat. The two discussed Franco-American relations and other "various" subjects for 90 minutes, the ministry said. At the end of the informal chat, Cruise invited Sarkozy to visit his ranch in Colorado.

Earlier in the day, Cruise told a press conference at the Ritz hotel that he loved his job and wished he could make more movies.

"Being a movie star, it's a blast because I get to do what I love," he said, noting that he was thrilled to play against type in Collateral, in which he portrays a hitman who takes a taxi driver hostage in Los Angeles.

"I always look for a challenge. I never say 'Is this a good guy or a bad guy?"' Cruise said.

In November, Cruise will begin filming War of the Worlds directed by Steven Spielberg. He said he was also working on Mission: Impossible 3 and an unnamed project with Collateral director Michael Mann.