Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

[MacGuffin]

'Mission Impossible 4' recruits scribes
Applebaum, Nemec to pen script for Paramount
Source: Variety

Paramount Pictures and producers Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have officially lit the fuse on "Mission: Impossible IV," setting Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec to write the screenplay.

While those scribes aren't big feature names yet, they join a roster of writers who transitioned from Abrams TV series creations to pen the features he directs and produces through his Bad Robot banner.

Applebaum and Nemec spent four seasons with Abrams as co-exec producers of "Alias," and they will script "M:I 4" based on a story Abrams wrote with them.

While the only other commitments so far are for Cruise and Abrams to produce the film together, sources said that Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt, will certainly be involved in an onscreen capacity. Pic is aimed for a 2011 release.

Applebaum and Nemec are the creators of the new ABC series "Happy Town" and previously created "October Road" and the U.S. version of "Life on Mars" for ABC.

"I've been looking forward to working with Josh and Andre again for years," Abrams said. "Their sense of balance between character and action is wonderful, which I know is hugely important to Tom as well. We're off to an exciting start, so, as usual, fingers crossed."

Among other topnotchfeature scribes who emerged from Bad Robot TV series are Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who were writers and co-exec producers on "Alias" before teaming with Abrams to script his feature directorial debut, "Mission: Impossible III." The duo wrote "Star Trek" and continue to collaborate with Abrams on "Fringe." Drew Goddard, who penned the Abrams-produced "Cloverfield," also came from "Alias" as a writer/co-producer, and he is a writer and co-exec producer on "Lost." "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves was writer and exec producer on "Felicity," which Abrams exec produced.

[MacGuffin]

Tom Cruise Confirmed for Mission: Impossible IV
Source: ComingSoon

Paramount Pictures announced today that it is making Mission: Impossible IV. The film, which will be produced by Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) and Bad Robot Productions and will star Cruise, will be released Memorial Day weekend 2011.

"Tom and J.J. are great talents and we are excited to be working with them to re-launch this legendary franchise," said Paramount Pictures Chairman & CEO Brad Grey.

Screenwriters Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec are attached to write the script, from an original idea by Cruise and Abrams.

The studio, Cruise and Abrams are in now the process of identifying a director for the film. Cruise's "Mission: Impossible" franchise has grossed over 1.4 billion globally.

Mission: Impossible IV will be co-financed by David Ellison's Skydance Productions.

The move puts the fourth installment up against The Hangover 2, while Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens a week earlier on May 20th.

[MacGuffin]

'Incredibles' helmer on 'Mission: Impossible IV' list (exclusive)
Source: Hollywood Reporter

As the search for a "Mission: Impossible IV" director intensifies, a surprising contender has emerged: Brad Bird.

Finding a director has been a top priority for star Tom Cruise, who reprises his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt and is producing with J.J. Abrams. Paramount set a May 27, 2011, release date for the movie and is eyeing a summer start. A tentpole of this magnitude needs a lot of prep time to iron out things such as massive set pieces and worldwide locations.

Cruise and Abrams have been meeting with helmers new and old, including "Zombieland" director Ruben Fleischer and Edgar Wright, who has "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" coming out this summer.

On the surface, Bird may seem a peculiar choice. The writer-director wrote and directed 1999's "The Iron Giant" and 2004's "The Incredibles" as well as 2007's "Ratatouille" (the latter two earned Oscars for best animated picture), but he has never helmed a live-action feature.

On the other hand, nabbing Bird would be inspired. He is praised for his storytelling skills and is known for his strengths in staging thrilling and intricate action set-pieces as well as fusing the action with large dollops of heart and emotion.

Bird has been itching to make his live-action debut for a while and has long been developing "1906," set around the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. That project is set up at Warners and is rumored to be stalled because of budgetary reasons.

Bird would not be the first Pixar-ite to jump into live action. Andrew Stanton, who directed "Finding Nemo" and "WALL-E" is in London shooting "John Carter of Mars," a big-screen translation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs hero.

If Bird does end up directing "MI4," however, he would beat Stanton to the big-screen, as "Carter" has a 2012 release date.

The fourth installment of the moneymaking "Mission" franchise, based on the 1960s TV series, has been in the works for a while but gained traction in February when Cruise officially made it his next starring gig.

Plot details are being kept under a lid of secrecy, but Abrams worked on the story with scribes Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum, who have written the screenplay.

[72teeth]

i had no idea i could get excited over this!


...we could only hope.

[MacGuffin]

Tom Cruise spills: Brad Bird WILL direct M:I4
Source: SciFi Wire

Tom Cruise's impossible missions are about to get incredible. Ever since he made up his mind to return for another Mission Impossible, he's been trying to decide which director he'd let put him through his paces—Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) or Brad Bird (The Incredibles).

According to empireonline, the star has finally made up his mind. And the man who'll be directing while Cruise and J.J. Abrams produce is—Brad Bird.

"I dig Edgar," said Cruise. "Very nice guy, very smart, very talented, I'd really like to do something with him. I met Edgar on the set of Mission 3. Simon Pegg and those guys are hilarious. I love Shaun of the Dead. It's amazing. But we're working with Brad right now. I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it, but everything's signed. ... Brad is doing it.

"The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille—Brad is enormously talented, and J.J. and I are having a blast, cranking away," Cruise continued. "We're having a lot of fun. I like working with people I just love hanging out with. You get to hang out and laugh and talk stories and movies and technology: What are we going to do?"

Mission: Impossible IV is expected in theaters sometime in 2011.

[72teeth]

 
I am excited for this....

[Pubrick]

Cruise said, "I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it, but everything's signed. ... Brad is doing it."

uh isn't he the boss of everybody? he's basically saying "i don't know if i'm gonna get mad at myself for talking about this.."

freak!

nah he's cool. he has great taste in directors. i think brad bird is doing this as insurance in case his earthquake movie flops.

[New Feeling]

This is really great news.  There are few people I have as much faith in to deliver as Brad Bird, and I've been pretty underwhelmed by the last two M:I movies even though I think they have their charms.  I really like the way the Cruiser hires a new director for every installment and hope he keeps going like this for at least another few installments.  I'm a fan of DePalma's but now definitely expecting 4 to be the best of the bunch so far.

[MacGuffin]

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Picks Jeremy Renner To Co-Star With Tom Cruise In 'Mission: Impossible 4'
By MIKE FLEMING; Deadline Hollywood
 
BREAKING: Paramount Pictures has chosen Jeremy Renner to infuse new blood in its Mission: Impossible franchise. Renner, the Oscar-nominated star of The Hurt Locker, will star alongside Tom Cruise in the fourth installment of a franchise that will begin production in the fall. Brad Bird is directing and Cruise is producing with JJ Abrams.

It is the second major role for Renner coming out of his  turn as the reckless explosives specialist in the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker. Renner also will star in Marvel Studios' The Avengers, playing the role of Hawkeye in that star-studded superhero ensemble that will be directed by Joss Whedon. Paramount is expected to release that film under its distribution deal with Marvel Studios, made before the company was acquired by Disney. Renner will next be seen in the Ben Affleck-directed The Town, the GK Films-produced drama that Warner Bros opens September 17.

Paramount has struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was to selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series down the line, should Cruise's Ethan Hunt character not continue to be the emphasis. While Cruise is expected to return for a fifth installment, production chief Adam Goodman wanted a guy who could grow into a leading man in his own right. Actors like Tom Hardy and Star Trek's Chris Pine were considered, but were booked. The studio planned to test a group of young actors later this week,  and Deadline spent all day going back and forth with the studio over candidates Kevin Zegers, Christopher Egan and Anthony Mackie, the latter of whom starred with Renner in The Hurt Locker.  Deadline eventually posted a story about those actors, but it was clear that Paramount wasn't sure what it was going to do. Those tests have been canceled. Goodman, sources said, felt Renner "has a Daniel Craig quality" that the studio chief liked. It is interesting that rather than trying to create a star by going with an unknown, Paramount instead has placed its bet on a 39-year old actor who has been around for years. He only really reached the A-list with The Hurt Locker even though he has been memorable in earlier work. He has the grit, maturity and chops to take that next step.

That casting fills a big piece in the Mission: Impossible puzzle, which has included coming to resolution on a budget--the script by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec came in just as Cruise's Knight and Day opened to lackluster U.S. box office--and finally closing a deal with Cruise. That has now been completed, though Cruise's perks package is still being worked out. The film will shoot in the U.S., Vancouver, Prague and Dubai.

[Pubrick]

So I guess he's OUT again.

[MacGuffin]

'Lost' star Josh Holloway joins 'Mission: Impossible 4′ (exclusive)
Source: THR

"Lost" star Josh Holloway is joining the "Mission: Impossible" team.

In his first major screen role since wrapping the ABC show, Holloway is in final negotiations to act as a member of the Impossible Mission Force, the secret agent task force headed by Tom Cruise in Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 4."

Holloway boards the ever-growing Brad Bird-directed pic, whose cast, in addition to Cruise, already includes Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Vladimir Mashkov as well as franchise vets Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg.

Story details are being kept in a self-destructable vault thus no information on Holloway's character was available.

J.J. Abrams, who is producing with Cruise and Paula Wagner, worked on the story with scribes Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum, who have written the screenplay.

The production is scouting locations in Vancouver, Prague and Dubai for a fall shoot with an eye towards a December 2011 release.

"Impossible" will be the first studio picture for Holloway, who spent six seasons as heartthrob anti-hero Sawyer on "Lost," which was exec produced by Abrams. He has appeared in a couple of indies, including "Stay Cool" and "Whisper," although he had to pass on larger opportunities that tended to overlap the TV show, which shot in Hawaii.

[MacGuffin]

Teaser Trailer here.

[cronopio 2]

Polka, you should write a ballad called "Calm down (You can stop running now)" and dedicate it to Tom Cruise.

[polkablues]

When you play it backwards, it'll sound like it says "Scientology is fucking retarded." I might just make it say that forewards, too.

[SiliasRuby]

This trailer got me so pumped but I'm a sucker and always will be a sucker for my boy Tom.