Mission: Impossible 7 to resume filming in September
ACTION film Mission: Impossible 7 is set to restart shooting in September after having to shutdown filming earlier this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Plans to restart a major tentpole movie like Mission: Impossible 7, with its huge crew, cast and multiple locations, will be seen a major boost for the global film production industry.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mission: Impossible 7 first assistant director Tommy Gormley said: “We hope to restart in September. We hope to visit all the countries we planned to. We hope to do a big chunk of it back in Britain on the backlot and in the studio.”
Gormley added that he was “convinced” that the Paramount production could meet its target of shooting from September through to April / May.
Production on the Tom Cruisestarring franchise was halted in late February just days before it was due to start shooting scenes in Venice. At the time, Italy was emerging as the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe.
Asked about the complexities of producing a large scale feature at this time, Gormley said: “This is our challenge. We are not a chamber piece movie. We do spectacle, and that is what people expect of us.
“If we have the protocols in place and we break down all the procedures very carefully ... we will get it going again. Some things are very challenging such as stunt scenes, crowd scenes etc, but we can’t do a Mission Impossible movie and not have a fight scene or car scenes in it.”
Gormley explained that movie industry was highly adaptable, and recalled working a few years ago in a giant brewery complex for a Star Trek shoot, where crew had to wear goggles, ear protection and gloves – similar to the PPE kit required for coronavirus.
“Because we were in a food factory that’s what we did and we didn’t think twice about it ... We are incredibly agile and we’re used to working in the most extreme situations in the most extreme locations. We can basically tackle anything if we prepare it carefully enough.”
Gormley was speaking the day after the British Film Commission published its guidelines for safe production of film and high-end TV in the coronavirus era.
He described the guidelines as “excellent,” adding: “We have to go back to work for every person in the film industry, tens of thousands of people ... we have to do it safely and we have to protect our colleagues.” – Reuters