Tom Cruise did a lot to re-start Mission: Impossible 7 production late this summer after a global industry shutdown. He personally called Norway’s culture minister to get things going again, and he dealt with a bridge kerfuffle and stunts gone wrong and all sorts of other madness. Tom will not let this production be jeopardized again, and that’s why he’s been taking COVID guidelines very seriously. He even double-masks on-set, and as we heard a few nights ago, Tom had enough of crew members flouting restrictions and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against those who weren’t social distancing.
His sentiment was roundly praised by social media and George Clooney, but it seems that not all of the M:I 7 crew feels too great about the situation. The Sun is reporting that at least five crew members left after the recorded rant went public, and Tom also apparently unloaded a subsequent, unrecorded tirade because he’s had enough:
Another eruption followed on Tuesday night as news of his rant emerged. A source said: “The first outburst was big but things haven’t calmed since. Tension has been building for months and this was the final straw. Since it became public there has been more anger and several staff have walked.
“But Tom just can’t take any more after all the lengths they have gone to just to keep filming at all. He’s upset others aren’t taking it as seriously as him. In the end, he’s the one who carries the can.”
One can hardly blame Cruise for feeling an untold amount of weight upon his shoulders. It’s also his butt and a lot of his money on the line, along with, as he pointed out in the first tirade, his sense of responsibility for keeping people employed and producers happy. Among other things, he previously shouted, “I’m on the phone with every f*cking studio at night, insurance companies, producers and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf*ckers. I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever!” He added, “You can tell it to the people who are losing their f*cking homes because our industry is shut down. It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education. That’s what I sleep with every night – the future of this f*cking industry!”
Given that Tom’s such a daredevil (who even perches atop a speeding train like it’s no big thing), it sure as heck says a lot that he’s taking the risk of this virus seriously. He knows that the smartest move of all during a pandemic is to take things seriously and mask up, and it sounds like he’s not going to let anyone else break that rule (or the social-distancing one) before vaccines bring true relief.
Mission: Impossible 7 is currently scheduled for a November 19, 2021 release, and Tom Cruise is going to do everything he can to make it happen.