MISSION: POSSIBLE:
WE SENT OUR JOURNALIST TO TRACK DOWN TOM CRUISE, WHO'S LANDED ON OUR DOORSTEP TO FILM HIS LATEST MOVIE. HOW THEY FOUND HIME....
Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise has swapped the bright lights of LA for rural Ryedale for the filming of his latest blockbuster. The internationally renowned actor was first spotted stepping out of a helicopter in Pickering on Monday, as he arrived for the making of the new Mission: Impossible movie.
He and fellow castmates, including Avengers star Hayley Atwell, were filming at Pickering station, and also at North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s station at Levisham, where the scenes appeared to be using a modified train and tracks.
Mr Cruise, 58, looked relaxed and in good spirits, and was happy to exchange a few words with waiting reporters.
He said: “It’s beautiful here, lovely to see you.”
The station car parks at both Pickering and Levisham have been commandeered by almost 300 cast and crew members for the filming.
It is not known how long the production team – and Mr Cruise
– will be in Ryedale but North Yorkshire Moors Railway is closed until May 15 when it plans to resume its services.
Sarah Jones, of Pear Tree House Bed and Breakfast and Holiday Cottage on Westgate in Pickering, had heard that Mr Cruise may be filming in the area and had spotted the helicopter landing while walking her dog on Monday.
She said: “Chris, my husband, ran down because he wanted to watch the helicopter land and then Tom Cruise came out!
“He was very relaxed, waved, shouted how lovely it was to be here and said it was a beautiful day.”
Mr Cruise’s arrival has caused a stir in the area. On Tuesday, Pickering residents Emily Harrison and Tori Richardson were out walking their American Bulldog Buddy and keeping their eyes peeled for the American movie star. Emily said: “We saw it on Facebook and we didn’t realise how close he was.” Tori added: “It’s not very often a legend comes to Pickering!”
Retiree Jo Gonella was in the field where the actor’s helicopter had been rumoured to land the previous day, waiting to see if she could spot the movie star.
“I’m surprised there’s not more here,” she said. “It’s absolutely
brilliant for Pickering, I’m just hoping we’ll be able to go to the cinema to see it.”
TheParamountPictures blockbuster series Mission: Impossible is based on and a follow-on from the television series of the same name by Bruce Geller.
Mr Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force.
The newest film, the seventh instalment of the series, is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. As well as Mr Cruise, the film stars Hayley Atwell, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby.
The cast and crew started filming across Europe in early 2020 but production stopped asthepandemicspreadacross the continent.
Filming resumed several months later including at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.
Mission: Impossible 7 was originally planned to be released in July this year but has been pushed back to May 27 2022.