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A14 PEOPLE / ARTS
Friday 7 July 2023
An already full-tilt movie franchise turns it up a notch in ‘Mission:

Impossible — Dead Reckoning’

By JAKE COYLE helicopter sequence in
AP Film Writer “Fallout,” says he’s never
NEW YORK (AP) — There worked with an actor so
are, as a rule, only so many resistant to stunt doubles as
places you can go as an Cruise even in the most in-
action movie after leaving nocuous of shots.
Tom Cruise clinging to the “Tom won’t do it. He just re-
side of an Airbus A400M fuses, even to the extent of
and flinging him out a car- you’ll do an insert of hand,”
go plane at 25,000 feet. says Taggart. “It can’t be
But in the kinetic, headlong anyone else doing it, as you
world of “Mission: Impos- would on other projects.
sible,” the pressure to keep Tom will insist that’s him.”
upping the ante like the Just as “Top Gun: Maver-
films’ always-running star ick” strove to get as many
never stops. cameras in the cockpits of
“Every time we finish a mov- fighter jets, the set-pieces
ie, the first thing Tom says to of “Mission: Impossible”
me is: We can do better,” are choreographed to get
says Christopher McQuar- cameras as close to Cruise
rie. and the cast here that in-
McQuarrie, the writer-di- cludes Haley Atwell, Re-
rector of 2015’s “Mission: becca Ferguson and Van-
Impossible Rogue Nation” Tom Cruise, left, and director Christopher McQuarrie pose for photographers upon arrival at the essa Kirby as possible.
and the 2018 franchise high premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’ on Thursday, June 22, 2023 For Taggart, that meant
point, “Mission: Impossible – in London. Associated Press getting his head around of-
Fallout,” was working with ten dizzying challenges like
Cruise on “Top Gun: Mav- technique, made with star recording. “They’re back of all the movies that I was shooting a scene involving
erick “ (which McQuarrie power, practical effects there in Hollywood making never allowed to make,” a train moving 60 miles an
wrote) when they started and stunt work designed movies right now because he adds. hour through a mountain-
talking about their ambi- to prompt exclamations of of us. Because they believe Unlikely as it may be, Mc- ous Scandinavian land-
tions for the next iteration “He did what?” in us and what we’re do- Quarrie (who’s also direct- scape with uncontrollable
of “Mission: Impossible.” It was also their most nearly ing.” There were numerous ing the already-shooting weather conditions. He
Their plan was to make not impossible mission yet – and delays and pivots along the part two of “Dead Reckon- didn’t want just fixed cam-
one but two sequels: Back- not just because of, ac- way. But McQuarrie says ing”) has emerged as the eras.
to-back blockbusters that cording to Paramount Pic- he never thought “Dead architect of one of the most “So now we’ve got to get
would feature even bigger tures, the 500 skydives and Reckoning” wouldn’t get visceral action franchises. a whole camera crew in-
stunts Cruise envisioned a 13,000 motocross jumps finished. “Another lesson we took volved and some lighting
motorcycle jump-slash-sky- that Cruise did in prepara- “We just kept moving from ‘Top Gun’ was: What and we’ll probably end up
dive and a massive train tion for his climactic stunt. forward because if you is the audience bringing with 10 people strapped to
sequence that McQuarrie “Dead Reckoning” was stopped, if you were trying to the movie? ‘Top Gun’ the top of a train carriage,
pined to realize. The heady just days away from begin- to find the end of the tun- came out of Cold War anxi- including an old-fashioned
experience on “Maverick,” ning production in Venice nel, you would just reach eties. physical camera up there,”
a pop-culture juggernaut when COVID-19 cases be- a place of such despair,” I said to Tom in 2019: What says Taggart.
that grossed nearly $1.5 bil- gan skyrocketing in Italy, an says McQuarrie. anxiety is it now?” says Mc- “You think: Can we actu-
lion worldwide, only further early epicenter. McQuarrie and Cruise first Quarrie. “What we didn’t ally get 10 people on top of
ratcheted up their aspira- “Mission: Impossible” was collaborated on the 2008 anticipate was the level the train doing 60 miles an
tions. one of the first major pro- Hitler assassination drama to which it would acceler- hour? That’s the challenge
“’Top Gun: Maverick’ really ductions to be shut down “Valkyrie.” McQuarrie, the ate.” because you’d really like
taught us a lot in terms of by the pandemic. Months famed screenwriter of “The In “Mission: Impossible,” all of your crew and actors
character dynamics and later, Cruise and “Dead Usual Suspects,” was then what you see is rarely what to survive the shoot.”
the emotional payoff of the Reckoning” a globe-trot- in proverbial movie jail for you get. Hunt and his team In another sequence with
movie overall,” McQuarrie ting $290 million movie so his poorly received directo- of spies are masters of de- characters inside a fall-
said in a recent interview. logistically complicated rial debut, “The Way of the ception. At the same time, ing train cabin, they sus-
“To be making movies on that it prompted controver- Gun.” McQuarrie and his crew, pended a camera op-
this scale, you really need sy for initial plans to blow up “When I met Tom in 2006, I including cinematogra- erator, Chunky Richmond,
to think about, more than a century-old bridge in Po- had not directed a film in pher Fraser Taggart, go to on stunt wires so he was
anything, the feeling that land led an industry-wide seven years,” McQuarrie considerable lengths to hanging alongside the ac-
the audience is left with go- effort to get movie busi- says. ensure what the audience tors. For a nighttime chase
ing away.” ness back on line during “I wouldn’t direct a film is watching feels authentic through the byzantine pas-
A year after the box-office the pandemic. An already again for another five and immersive. sageways of Venice — for
dominance of “Maverick”, high-stress production be- years. I had really put any “The challenge normally is Taggart one of the most
McQuarrie and Cruise are came even more tense. In ambitions I had to direct hiding the fact that it’s not complex tasks of “Dead
back with another high- December 2020, an audio out of my mind. I certainly the actor doing it,” says Reckoning” because of
flying spectacle of daring- recording leaked of Cruise never imagined being con- McQuarrie. “And here the the inherent darkness of
do. Similar to “Maverick,” yelling at two crew mem- sidered an action director, reverse is the case. You’re the city — they knocked
“Mission: Impossible – Dead bers for not obeying CO- let alone directing four ac- actually going to great on doors everywhere along
Reckoning Part One” is a VID-19 protocols. tion films.” lengths to show that Tom’s the route to get cameras
state-of-the-art action ex- “We are the gold stan- “In ‘Dead Reckoning,’ actually doing it.” on terraces and pointed
travaganza of old-school dard,” Cruise said in the you’re seeing the ghosts Taggart, who had shot the out windows. q