MI:3

[MacGuffin]

New Trailer

[Neil]

So, what do you guys honestly think of this film...I love PSH and i agree that he'll kick ass...But overall, yea or nay?

[The Red Vine]

So, what do you guys honestly think of this film...I love PSH and i agree that he'll kick ass...But overall, yea or nay?

well considering none of us have seen it, we can't say yea or nay. but I'm betting on two things:

A) PSH will be the best thing in it.

B) some people will avoid it cuz of Tom Cruise.

I never thought I'd say this, but he might actually hurt the box office this time.

[MacGuffin]

[©brad]

shouldn't it be "the mission resumes" or "continues" or something to that effect.

[Redlum]

Out of the May blockbusters I have to say this is the one I've decided to get excited about. Primarily Phil Hoffman - his delivery of the lines in the trailer make me want to stand up and cheer every time I hear them. Secondly is the first meeting of Hoffman and Cruise since Magnolia - Parma Versus Mackey. Thirdly a shot of Cruise's grin driving a some kind of motor boat down a canal which I'd like to see more of. And finally, the fact the director has promised more team action like in the TV series.

These guys were a team:


The only really off-putting part about what I've seen so far is the excess of explosions in the trailer. Out-of context explosions are the most numbing of any promotional footage and the cheapest way to put a trailer together.

[ElPandaRoyal]

PSH is going to rule and, of course, will be the best thing about it. But for some reason, I think it will kick anus big time. The trailer is damn cool.

[Gold Trumpet]

I'm seeing this movie, of course. I just don't expect my critical judgement to tag along. The most interesting part of Mission Impossible 3 is how much money it will make and how it will juxtapose the image of Tom Cruise to the world. For the last 6 years, he has been consistently coming out with one film a year. The difference is not how screen time he gets in every film (he always gets ample amount) but how each film carries a different marker for the Tom Cruise persona. Every film gives him a new sympathy or endearment. With Collateral, it was the smarter-than-anyone-in-the-room bad guy. In Minority Report, the martyred hero. With Mission Impossible 2, the limitless hero. With The Last Samurai, just cliches. Vanilla Sky, the role of all extremes with no ties in. A role similiar to his one in Magnolia but with no depth of character attached.

The one film that did try to give him somewhat of an interesting character was War of the Worlds. A few scenes did show a down and out father, but those scenes were few and far between all the ridiculous ones of him running and jumping to green screen projected imagery. It is not unexpected for a film star to cater to roles that show them in a good light but Cruise has so thoroughly avvoided character roles the last 6 years its just ridiculous. Julia Roberts similarily kept to just comedy for a while and a lot of films that ridiculously showed her as an art buff. (I counted 4 roles that did that)

I remember reading an interview recently where a writer complained of wanting to go into criticism for aesthetic studies of film but fell into commenting on the societal popularity of movies instead. I personally dispell such a retract but I admit I am heading that way for any new and (likely) future Tom Cruise movie. His trend of one movie a year is not stopping and by looking at his upcoming projects I don't think their lack of objectivity or talent will stop either.

[pete]

but the explosion here was different, he did a pretty competent wire-rig stunt in the same shot as the explosion--this was not some star diving towards the camera in slow motion onto an air mattress.  he was pulled by a wire and slammed into the side of a car.  it was a minor stunt, but still, no other star would do it.

The only really off-putting part about what I've seen so far is the excess of explosions in the trailer. Out-of context explosions are the most numbing of any promotional footage and the cheapest way to put a trailer together.

[Redlum]

True. But I still dont quite understand the physics of him behind being him slammed into that car.

[grand theft sparrow]

True. But I still dont quite understand the physics of him behind being him slammed into that car.

Ethan Hunt can't die, though he can be slightly injured. That is the only law of physics that remains constant in the M:I universe.  All other laws of physics are bent or broken to keep that one constant.  See the jump from the exploding helicopter to the train in the Chunnel from the first M:I as well as all of M:I 2 for further details.

[Fernando]

I'm glad other ppl are excited by this, I could care less about the Cruise persona although it does bother me a little but whatever, he's been making good to great to awesome films for many years and actually the only shitty film he has made in 16 years is Far and Away and still it was watchable, and we have Days of Thunder in those years so the guy has more than delivered to me.

FWIW, modage beloved Harry Knowles raved about it here.

[MacGuffin]

News Rack Destroyed in 'Bomb' Scare
Source: Los Angeles Times

A newspaper promotion for the upcoming movie "Mission: Impossible III" misfired Friday when a Los Angeles County sheriff's arson squad blew up a news rack, thinking it contained a bomb.

Instead, the Los Angeles Times coin machine near the intersection of Sand Canyon and Soledad Canyon roads in Santa Clarita held a digital musical device designed to play the "Mission: Impossible" theme song when the rack's door was opened.

The incident came amid several bomb reports made by newspaper buyers startled to see a red plastic box with wires protruding from it attached to the interiors of racks.

In West Los Angeles, federal police at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center called in the sheriff's bomb squad after a newspaper buyer spied the 6-inch-long, 2 1/2 -inch-wide box and its wires.

By then, deputies were aware that the box was a musical, not explosive, device.

Times officials said the devices were placed in 4,500 randomly selected news boxes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in a venture with Paramount Pictures designed to turn the "everyday news rack experience" into an "extraordinary mission."

"In this day and age, anything a little odd-looking arouses suspicion," said Times Publisher Jeff Johnson.

The devices weren't supposed to be seen by the public, said John O'Loughlin, The Times' senior vice president for planning. "This was the least intended outcome. We weren't expecting anything like this."

Newspaper executives said the "singing news racks" were the first of their kind. They are scheduled to be in operation through May 7. The Tom Cruise movie is to open May 5.

The bomb squad excitement was unexpected, said Mark Kurtich, senior vice president of operations for The Times. "I think Paramount is pretty happy about it."

Retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike LaPerruque, now security manager for The Times, said law enforcement agencies around Los Angeles were advised Friday afternoon that the devices were a movie promotion and not dangerous.

"I got a call from one agency even as I was on the phone making the notifications," he said.

"With the wires leading to the micro-switch on the news rack doors, I can easily see how someone might have misconstrued it as an improvised explosive device," LaPerruque said.

[MacGuffin]

At first, Abrams' 'Mission' did seem impossible
The "Lost" and "Alias" director hadn't helmed a feature film, and the scheduling was no good. But Cruise had faith.
Source: Los Angeles Times 



Tom Cruise was so determined to get J.J. Abrams to direct the third installment of his "Mission: Impossible" franchise that he persuaded Paramount Pictures to put the project on hold for a year. He also helped persuade Steven Spielberg to move up production on "War of the Worlds" and postpone work on "Munich" to accommodate Abrams' schedule.

Once he finally stepped behind the cameras, Abrams found himself wondering how he, a neophyte filmmaker who had come to fame on the small screen creating the influential television hits "Lost" and "Alias," had ended up on the set of a $165-million Tom Cruise movie.
 
"There were moments of lucidity where I would realize, 'What in the name of God am I doing?' " Abrams said. "And then I would just get distracted by the issue at hand, run off and blow something up."

The opening entry in this year's expanded summer movie season, Friday's "Mission: Impossible III" will naturally be seen as an audience referendum on Cruise, who is coming off both his biggest career hit ("War of the Worlds") and an equally outsized barrage of problematic publicity.

But Paramount Pictures is also looking to the Abrams-Cruise partnership to break its nearly yearlong box-office slump (for every hit such as "Four Brothers," Paramount also has had clunkers like "Elizabethtown") and perhaps help reverse a broader box-office malaise.

Although few doubt that the movie will be a success with young men who flock to action titles, some Paramount executives are privately worried that Cruise's unpredictable off-screen exploits might have hurt the actor's appeal with women. A few people associated with the film even hoped Cruise would play the part of the dedicated dad and stay home with his newborn daughter rather than travel overseas for the film's several premieres. (Cruise ultimately attended premieres in Rome, London and Paris, traveling with his two older children.)

A competing studio contends audience interest in the sequel is running about a third lower than it did at the same point before the premiere of 2000's second "Mission: Impossible" installment, although Paramount said comparisons with a 6-year-old movie are worthless. But one internal Paramount tracking report reveals that Sony's "Da Vinci Code" is generating much stronger audience interest even though it opens two weeks after "Mission: Impossible III." And among women 30 and older, "Da Vinci Code" is sparking twice the enthusiasm of "Mission: Impossible III."

A recent change in Paramount's marketing campaign, which pushes the film's plotting and character over its action to appeal to women, had been planned all along, the studio said, after its initial campaign targeting a core audience of younger males had played out. The studio said Friday that the campaign's pursuit of women was working; interest among female moviegoers was up.

Abrams, who has attracted millions of female viewers to his popular TV series including "Felicity," says he's aware of the marketing challenges, but Paramount "has it covered."

Regardless of the sequel's ultimate performance, one thing already is certain: Abrams, unlike some who preceded him on the "Mission: Impossible" films, was able to find common creative ground with Cruise. That was crucial, because Abrams wasn't just directing Cruise, he was working for him — the actor, along with partner Paula Wagner, produces the "Mission: Impossible" movies.

"So many people I know warned me not to do this movie, just for that reason," Abrams said. "Not because of Tom in particular. Just the notion of a star producer — they thought I was an idiot. But I felt like I could trust him. He said, 'I want this to be your "Mission: Impossible." I'm the actor. You're the director.' "

Hitting it off

Abrams said he had little idea what his longtime agent was referring to when he called in the middle of dinner two years ago.

"Are you aware of the conversations?" agent David Lonner asked cryptically.

"The conversations" were that with just weeks before production was to commence on "Mission: Impossible III," director Joe Carnahan ("Narc") was off the film and Cruise wanted Abrams as his replacement. The switch would cost Paramount some $30 million in sunk costs.

Abrams, 39, grew up loving the original TV show, which ran from 1966 to 1973, and had a boyhood crush on one of its stars, Lynda Day George. But he had yet to put a foot of film through a feature film camera, and "Lost" had yet to become a premiere, let alone a sensation. Still, he was more than a little intrigued.

Cruise and Spielberg previously had wanted Abrams, whose screenplay credits include "Regarding Henry," "Forever Young" and "Armageddon," to rewrite "War of the Worlds." But Abrams wasn't available to work on that movie as he was in the middle of the "Lost" pilot.

All the same, Cruise and Abrams hit it off.

Then Cruise watched the first two seasons of "Alias," which, Abrams explains, was partially inspired by the "Mission: Impossible" TV show. The actor apparently liked what he saw.

"He invited me and my wife to a concert one night, and I invited him to my birthday party," Abrams said. "He came, hung out and was one of the last to leave. It was like — 'How the hell is Tom Cruise at our house?' "

Around that time, Abrams was angling to direct "Superman Returns," having written a script about the superhero for Warner Bros. Warners chose "X-Men's" Bryan Singer instead (who then rewrote the Abrams script), but three weeks later, Carnahan was out, and Abrams potentially in.

"I met with Tom and Paula, and Tom gave me that 'Risky Business' smile and said, 'Do you want to do it?' And I said, 'Yeah, I want to do it. But what is it? What's the story? I haven't read the script,' " Abrams said.

The once-robust "Mission: Impossible" franchise had been dormant since 2000, and the screenplay for the third film had undergone countless revisions under Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"), Dean Georgaris ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life"), Dan Gilroy ("Two for the Money") and Robert Towne ("Chinatown").

Abrams gave the script a look: "I felt my heart sink." Abrams believed the first two "Mission: Impossible" movies had not captured the quintessential spirit of the TV series, and he found the screenplay for the third film too dark, too political, too impersonal.

"I'm just not the guy to make that movie," Abrams said he told Cruise after reading the script. "And he said, 'What would you want to do?' And I said, 'I don't know exactly, but I know I want to do a much more personal story, something more character-based than mission-based.' I thought he would say, 'Well, we have to shoot in two months. Next time, we'll do something.' But he said, 'Let's do that version.' "

Cruise's 180-degree turn on a script he had personally developed was certainly peculiar, but the logistics of his about-face were even stranger. Cruise had to put "Mission" on hold for a year and help coax Spielberg into changing production schedules for both the director's "War of the Worlds" and "Munich."

"All of a sudden, you have Tom Cruise saying, 'And I want this TV boy to direct the movie,' " Abrams said. "There is no good in that scenario. And [former Paramount head] Sherry Lansing did it. I was hired by Tom and given a stamp of approval by Sherry. But I don't think the stamp landed with a loud thud. I think it was a reluctant press of a stamp. By the way, I could not blame her less. I don't know what I would have done in her situation, besides panic."

Where the first two "Mission: Impossible" movies (directed by Brian De Palma and John Woo, respectively) were full of gadgets and complex, sometimes hard-to-follow narratives, Abrams and "Alias" writing collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci wanted the third movie to be more about Hunt.

"Our question was, 'What would the "Jerry Maguire" version of Ethan Hunt look like?' " Kurtzman said. Added Orci: "Who is he today? Who is he as a married man?"

In the new film, Hunt is engaged to be wed and trying to cut back on secret agent gigs. He reluctantly returns to help rescue a former spy student (Keri Russell, who starred in "Felicity"). Hunt then spearheads a job inside the Vatican to kidnap Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a villain involved with a mysterious weapon called the rabbit's foot. What really gets Hunt going, though, is when his fiancée (Michelle Monaghan) is taken hostage.

The exact risk of Davian's doomsday device isn't all that clear, and intentionally so. Hunt isn't out to save the world from some unspeakable weapon. He's out to save his girl.

The issue now is whether moviegoers will once again embrace Cruise — and give Abrams the same huge following he has enjoyed in television. Although Cruise's "Oprah" antics didn't seem to hurt "War of the Worlds," the actor, 43, has come under recent scrutiny for, among other things, blasting Brooke Shields' use of medication for postpartum depression and fathering an out-of-wedlock baby with actress Katie Holmes, 27.

Rather than looking shellshocked by so many distractions, Abrams is eager for more of the same and just agreed to try to breathe new life into Paramount's stalled "Star Trek" movie series.

"You obviously worry when you're doing a show or a movie and you realize that if that person does anything in an extracurricular way, is that going to affect what you do?" Abrams said. "But you have to live in a practical way in that you try to control to the best of your ability what you can control."

[Ghostboy]

This is a pretty great piece of entertaining fluff. I enjoyed every second of it. I'll probably have forgotten most of it in a week, but whatever. I really loved how back-to-the-basics it was. There was no visible CGI, and some of the stunts are pretty breathtaking.

Tom Cruise comes pretty close to regaining credibility. It's sorta hard to take him doing all the love dialogue, in retrospect of last summer, but he's still got that charisma that made him a star, and it works for him. Which means that GT will hate this.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman's role is a complete throwaway part, but he totally steals the movie anyway. Best casting decision I've seen in ages.