The director of the upcoming Mission: Impossible film has shared a thank you message days after the film’s leading star is reported to have shouted at crew for an alleged breach of Covid guidelines on set.
Hollywood actor Tom Cruise made headlines after an audio clip from the set was leaked, with a voice reported to be Cruise telling crew members: “If I see you do it again you’re f***ing gone.”
Fellow A-lister George Clooney was among the people commenting on the alleged outburst, saying he doesn’t think it was an “overreaction”.
Filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, who is directing the seventh instalment of the action film, shared a misty scenic picture on Instagram.
He captioned it: “To all who make the journey possible. To your loved ones back home. Have the happiest of holidays. And thank you”.
In the audio, published by The Sun, a voice says: “They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us!
“Because they believe in us and what we’re doing! I’m on the phone with every f***ing studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies.
“We are creating thousands of jobs you motherf***ers. I don’t ever want to see it again, ever! And if you don’t do it you’re fired. If I see you do it again you’re f***ing gone.”
The voice on the three and a half minute audio also says: “You can tell it to the people that are losing their f***ing homes because our industry is shut down.
“It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education. That’s what I sleep with every night.”
Warner Bros Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire is among the UK locations being used to film on both Mission: Impossible 7 and 8.
Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt in the blockbuster, while Hayley Atwell is a new addition to the cast for the seventh instalment.
George Clooney told radio personality Howard Stern that he doesn’t think Tom Cruise overreacted.
Speaking to Howard Stern during his SiriusXM radio Show, Clooney said: “He didn’t overreact because it is a problem … I have a friend who’s an AD (assistant director) on another TV show who just had the almost exact same thing happen with not quite as far out a response.
“I think I wouldn’t have done it that big. I wouldn’t have, you know, pulled people out. You’re in a position of power and it’s tricky, right? You do have a responsibility for everybody else and he’s absolutely right about that.
“And you know – if the production goes down, a lot of people lose their jobs. People have to understand that and they have to be responsible. It’s just not my style to, you know, to take everybody to task that way.”
He added: “The people who were on that shoot will tell us more about it but I understand why he did it. He’s not wrong at all about that. I don’t know that I would have done it quite like that personally but you know – I don’t know all the circumstances.”
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said in July that he had spoke to Cruise about how the production would be able to continue over the summer.
Filming all over the world came to a halt earlier this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with productions only able to start up again in the last few months.
Cinema theatres around the world have also been forced to close as a result of the pandemic, with many film releases delayed to 2021.
Mission: Impossible 7 is slated for release in UK cinemas in November 2021.
