Mission: Impossible

2023 - 1 - 20

How Brian De Palma Pitched Tom Cruise On Mission: Impossible's ... (/FILM)

In 1996, Brian De Palma, who directed the first "Mission: Impossible" film, crafted it with the intention of being a standalone spy thriller about an IMF ...

"And then we came up with the idea of us having to go into the CIA, [De Palma] came up with that idea, like 'Rififi.' And I remember when he came to me with that idea, I was actually in Japan — and it was an early day of phones — and I remember I was stuck in a traffic jam ... Over the years, the "Mission: Impossible" franchise has been molded by various directors — from John Woo to J.J. While the CIA heist sequence is an exercise in control, the climactic train chase is the literal antithesis of it. In the same interview from earlier, Cruise recalls how Brian De Palma worked around the train sequence: That tension carries over to the rest of "Mission: Impossible," including the very next scene — a verbal confrontation between Hunt and IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) in a restaurant. The vault is sensitive to sound, pressure, and temperature — that means any sudden noise and movement, or the presence of an unauthorized individual will set off the alarms. On a phone, when I'm in the back of a car in Japan ... After being falsely implicated as the mole, Ethan Hunt — with the aid of two outlawed IMF agents — decides to infiltrate the CIA headquarters in Langley to retrieve an all-important list. In 1996, Brian De Palma, who directed the first "Mission: Impossible" film, crafted it with the intention of being a standalone spy thriller about an IMF agent called Ethan Hunt who is forced to turn rogue. This is obviously easier said than done — apart from the borderline impossible nature of the mission, Hunt is a wanted man on the run. Be it the memorable CIA infiltration sequence or the massive train car showdown towards the end, De Palma pitched these ideas directly to Cruise, who was blown away by the sheer coolness of the storyboards. The film's opening mission in Prague sets the tone, as the tables are gradually turned on Hunt, who ends up as the sole survivor as his team is hunted one by one.

Mission Impossible • The Square Ball (The Square Ball)

One way or another, Eddie Gray has been inextricably linked with my entire Leeds United life. Our relationship by proxy began at my first home game against ...

It says everything about Eddie Gray that a man given an impossible mission accepted the challenge humbly and did it to the best of his ability, successfully hurdling every obstacle but the last one. And rather than leave a grainy, VHS legacy, since then he’s written himself into the fabric of the modern Leeds United in ways his peers could hardly have imagined. Gray’s third and last full attempt did sporadically promise something different as Wright, Sellars, and Sheridan — along with no-nonsense forward Ian Baird — managed an eight-game unbeaten run and were mathematically in with a chance of going up on the season’s final day, only to lose at St Andrews on an afternoon sadly remembered for other reasons. Gray himself, meanwhile, generally resisted the temptation to let his boots do the talking, and in May 1984 announced his playing retirement, fittingly scoring the winner in his final game against Charlton. Gray succeeded Allan Clarke (and was ultimately succeeded in turn by Billy Bremner) following a relegation stemming from an on-field malaise that began after Jimmy Armfield was sent packing in 1978. This meant that while the odd attractive derby or battle with one of the league leaders could still draw a suitably decent crowd, many games took place in a half full or less stadium, with the TV gantries that were once almost permanently occupied becoming ghostly relics.

Tom Cruise Reflects on How Mission: Impossible Director Brian de ... (MovieWeb)

Tom Cruise and Brian de Palma forged a holy alliance that would help change action films forever with Mission Impossible.

Never Having A Finished Script Worked To Mission: Impossible's ... (/FILM)

The first act of De Palma's film introduces a diverse team of players (played by the likes of Kristen Scott Thomas, Emilio Estevez, and others) only to ...

[As Cruise himself describes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58CUknkxOOQ&t=281s), he, De Palma, and screenwriter Steve Zaillian came up with the general story of "Mission: Impossible" while Koepp was starting to write the screenplay. [as reported by CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2570238/the-advice-george-lucas-gave-early-on-that-majorly-influenced-tom-cruises-original-mission-impossible), was a love triangle between Ethan Hunt, his boss Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), and Phelps' wife Claire (Emmanuelle Béart). And as that was going on, Tom and I, we would go over the scenes that were to be shot, and I would rewrite them in the middle of the night. Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is the only agent to survive, and he spends the film assembling a new team. Before star Tom Cruise [began grasping onto the sides of actual airplanes](https://www.slashfilm.com/985580/the-mission-impossible-cast-always-worries-tom-cruises-next-stunt-will-be-his-last/), the tensest moments in "Mission: Impossible" came when a single drop of sweat nearly touched an alarm sensor. The first act of De Palma's film introduces a diverse team of players (played by the likes of Kristen Scott Thomas, Emilio Estevez, and others) only to immediately kill them off during their first mission.

Tom Cruise slammed director for 'cheating' in Mission: Impossible film (Fortnite)

Director John Woo went on to praise Tom Cruise for his determination in Mission: Impossible 2.

In the video, Cruise said: "This is far and away the most dangerous thing we've ever attempted." Cruise went on to take one shot to the extreme, however - as he is now known to do. But really, Cruise "did about 95 percent" of the film's stunts. He allowed the Hollywood star to carry out his own stunts. He pointed out that it would look far more realistic in the final movie. However, Cruise was not going to agree to these terms.

Christopher McQuarrie Had One Concern About Directing Another ... (/FILM)

No director is better than McQuarrie at devising daredevil stunts for Cruise to pull off and defy death.

Cruise himself called McQuarrie "enormously talented," and feels their partnership works because, "We share the same sensibility in storytelling and style." Abrams](https://www.slashfilm.com/1173207/j-j-abrams-wanted-to-answer-this-question-with-mission-impossible-iii/) made a breezy, well-cast, back-to-basics thriller (with a mystery box at the center) in "Mission: Impossible III." Well, going off "Mission: Impossible," no director is better than McQuarrie at devising daredevil stunts for Cruise to pull off and defy death. From the first 1996 "Mission: Impossible" up to 2015's "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," each film had a different director. In "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation," Christopher McQuarrie scaled back the gadgets but kept the action just as death-defying, creating the most consistent thrill ride of the series to that point. It can't feel like a continuation of the last film." Namely, he didn't want "Fallout" to be a retread of "Rogue Nation." "Ghost Protocol" and "Rogue Nation" were shot by Robert Elswit, while "Fallout" was shot by Rob Hardy. "One of the signature elements of the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise is that there is a different director for every single movie. Brad Bird, befitting his background in animation, focused mostly on high-tech set pieces in "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," which remains the most sci-fi-flavored "Mission: Impossible" film. The "Mission: Impossible" franchise is a revolving door. Directing "Mission: Impossible II," John Woo took the ingredients for a Bond movie with Hong Kong-style over-the-top action.