FRANCE: TOM CRUISE ARRIVES IN PARIS FOR THE PREMIERE OF FILM "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2"

Record ID: 389792

  • Title: FRANCE: TOM CRUISE ARRIVES IN PARIS FOR THE PREMIERE OF FILM "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2"
  • Date: 28th June 2000
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 29, 2000) (REUTERS) WIDE OF CONFERENCE ROOM
  • Embargoed: 13th July 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE 3 JULY, 2000 EDIT S239 SHOWBIZ FEEDS
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4GQU16KCR1N7K8OI4ISOG7N23
  • Story Text: Tom Cruise and his "Mission Impossible 2" team have hit Paris for the French premiere of the Hollywood blockbuster.
    The action thriller has now landed safely across the Atlantic and is coming to European screens next month...prompting a bit of travelling for Cruise & Co. - with the next European stop-over in London next week.
    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.
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