Tom Cruise rants at Mission: Impossible crew in London over COVID safety
LOS ANGELES 鈥 Tom Cruise let rip over an apparent breach of COVID-19 safety protocols on the London set of the new Mission: Impossible movie, telling crew members they would be fired if they don鈥檛 obey the rules, Britain鈥檚 Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
In expletive-filled remarks captured on audio tape obtained by The Sun, the star and producer of the action film yelled at the crew about lapses of social distancing and other rules that allow movies to be made during the coronavirus pandemic.
A source close to the production said the tape was authentic. Mr. Cruise鈥檚 representative declined to comment.
鈥淚鈥檓 on the phone with every fucking studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they鈥檙e looking at us and using us to make their movies,鈥 Mr. Cruise told the crew on the set.
鈥淒o you understand the responsibility that you have? Because I will deal with your reason. And if you can鈥檛 be reasonable and I can鈥檛 deal with your logic, you鈥檙e fired,鈥 he added, according to the tape.
The Sun did not say when the incident took place, but the filmmakers arrived in London in early December.
The seventh Mission: Impossible was one of the first movies to shut down production because of the coronavirus when it abandoned filming in Venice, Italy, in February.
Production resumed in September, with filming in Italy, Norway, and London. Mr. Cruise in July personally appealed to Norway鈥檚 prime minister to shoot parts of the film in Norway under modified quarantine rules.
The Paramount Pictures film is scheduled to be released in November 2021.
Mr. Cruise told the crew Hollywood was relying on movies like Mission: Impossible to keep the beleaguered industry going.
鈥淲e want the gold standard. They鈥檙e back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us! Because they believe in us and what we鈥檙e doing,鈥 he said, according to the audio tape.
Mission: Impossible is one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, with 2018鈥檚 Mission: Impossible-Fallout taking more than $791 million at the worldwide box office. 鈥 Reuters
