VARIOUS: TOM CRUISE CONCLUDES HIS PROMOTION OF MOVIE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 WITH LONDON FILM PREMIERE

Record ID: 389703

  • Title: VARIOUS: TOM CRUISE CONCLUDES HIS PROMOTION OF MOVIE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 WITH LONDON FILM PREMIERE
  • Date: 29th June 2000
  • Summary: COLOGNE, GERMANY (JULY 3, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) WIDE OF AUDIENCE SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR TOM, PAN TO CRUISE ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 14th July 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE, COLOGNE, GERMANY & LONDON, UK.
  • Country: France
  • Reuters ID: LVA3AI3ZTKIFVOZEM5KBNV1UVHN8
  • Story Text: Et voila - "Mission Impossible 2" a la francaise.
    After premieres just about everywhere in the world, the Mission Impossible team hit Paris to promote their action blockbuster. Tom stayed away from cliff hanging and motorbike chases though and instead decided on a press conference.
    In case you don't know the story yet - it's a special effects masterpiece that plunges Tom Cruise alias special agent Ethan Hunt into an international crisis of terrifying magnitude! With computer genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) by his side and beautiful Thandie Newton on his mind, Hunt races across Australia and Spain on his mission impossible...
    But despite all the special effects and star studded cast, the question is whether "Mission Impossible 2" has the stuff to keep up with its front-runner and more importantly the ever successful television series? It's a thought that preoccupied director John Woo.
    "I told him (John Woo) don't worry about the first movie, don't worry about the TV series, what would you do? What do you want to do with it? What would excite you and the things that he says, he says I want to make it a romantic picture and we just utilize the things in the series that I, that we both enjoyed I think, which was the suspense, the technology, the spies. You know that's always fun. You can come up with very difficult stories to come up with actually and work on it very tough so that was a real challenge and so basically when I was working, John and I would talk and I just get from him what he wanted to do with the film", says Cruise.
    In the end, Woo decided to focus on love and romance and use the spy theme as a backdrop.
    "When I made this film I just did it with my own vision and my instinct and I did not see it as a spy movie. I just feel like I was making Doctor Zivago. So, all I care was about the character and the romance, so I just tried to use that way to make it different", Woo says.
    To do that, Woo decided on slow motion photography and haunting music for his action scenes. It also seems he didn't have to put too much pressure on Cruise to perform, that's something, the actor does himself anyway.
    "With success yes, there is always more pressure. But, I think I put a lot of pressure on myself when I work, I demand a lot from myself and it also affords greater opportunities and allows ....you know the studio trusts me when we go to make a picture and they really are very generous and don't stand on my shoulder while we are working and that affords me a lot of more creative room, and more creative room for the team, the artists, who are working on the set. So, in that regard, it's very beneficial", says Cruise.
    Cruise who's frequently been offered directing jobs also says he's not sure whether that's something he'd want to try.
    "I've been offered things to direct but when I have the opportunity to work with the John Woos of the world, you know, it's...It has not arrived yet, I have not read something that I feel that I should direct or that I can't live without directing it. And I enjoy being an actor, working with directors, I really do love that process of seeing what a director wants and their vision in working with them together on a character, a story. It's very satisfying for me, it's very very satisfying. So, I don't know, maybe one day I will but maybe I won't ever, I am not sure."
    It's now up to the French to decide if "Mission Impossible 2" can equal or surpass the success of its predecessor - the film opens in theaters throughout France end of July.
    From Paris the MI2 bandwagon moved on to Cologne, Germany - where Cruise celebrated his 38th birthday - suitably serenaded by his German fans.
    Then it was on to London.
    Fans in London's Leicester Square went hysterical when Tom Cruise arrived to attend the British premiere of blockbuster action thriller Mission Impossible 2.
    Not only did he spend half an hour signing autographs and taking photos, he also had Gladiator Russell Crowe right by his side.
    Crowe didn't speak to anybody not to take attention away from Cruise, but his presence was enough to get the fans going.
    Other stars attending the premiere included Irish 'Boyzone' popstar Ronan Keating and US actress Angelina Jolie, who is in town for her new movie.
    They're both great fans of Tom. "He's a great actor, I'm a big fan, he's one of the best," Keating says.
    "As a person, equally as an actor, I think he's a really nice man. From what I know about him and what I've sen a little with his kids and his wife. He's a great person," Jolie added.
    The story is pretty familiar by now, but for those who don't know it yet, here is what it's all about: it's a special effects masterpiece that plunges Tom Cruise alias special agent Ethan Hunt into an international crisis of terrifying magnitude! With computer genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) by his side and beautiful Thandie Newton on his mind, Hunt races across Australia and Spain on his mission impossible...
    6-month pregnant Thandie Newton is an old friend of Nicole Kidman, but the actress said Nicole didn't give her any tips for working with Tom.
    "No, none of that. We have known each other for a while but this was obviously much more involved and I feel I know him so well. You can't spend 8 months with someone without knowing them pretty well."
    Apparently, Tom's quite an action man in real life. "Oh God yes, exhausting. Spending a weekend is like work. But it's always so much fun hanging out with Tom no matter where you are. He's got incredible energy and you feel very alive when you're around someone like him."
    Tom and his team have been just about everywhere to attend M: i-2 premieres. The German premiere fell on the actor's 38th birthday with a special touch as the audience sand Happy Birthday.
    "It was great. It was amazing, that was amazing you know people singing me happy birthday."
    Cruise also remembered signing his name on a TV camera..."Oh yeah, that was your camera? I've never done that before. He said 'sign the camera'. That was fun."
    The masterminds behind box office hit Chicken Run came up with the idea to produce spoof trailers for Mission Impossible and Gladiator, an idea Tom really likes.
    "I think those guys are great, I think the film is terrific really charming, I can't wait for my kids to see it.
    Those guys are really talented."
    As for his stunts, he says he liked doing them because it was very exciting.
    "Because I thought it would be exciting and it's interesting. It's a challenge and for the mountainclimbing I just tried to work out, do a couple of hundred pull-ups a day and just made sure that I was lose and warmed up all the time.
    Especially producing the picture and acting in it , working 16 hours a day, sometimes 7 days a week. I'm surprised I really didn't get injured. I never pulled a muscle, I only dislocated my fingers." REP: WASN'T NICOLE WORRIED? "We didn't go through in detail about the things that I was doing but she knows I'm not going to do anything scary."
    Mission Impossible 2 opens in the UK this week.
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