As per Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise has saved Hollywood with his 2022 film, Top Gun: Maverick. The film raked in about $1.4 billion at the global box office and became the second-highest-grossing movie of 2022 behind Avatar 2. However, it doesn’t look like he can win in every aspect of his career all the time. The actor recently faced disappointment after Norwegian authorities refused to give his team permission to land 40 helicopters on their territory for a Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two stunt.
Tom Cruise Fails To Convince Norwegian Authorities
The Guardian reports that the Svalbard authorities of Norway have denied Tom Cruise and the makers of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two permission to land about 40 helicopters in various locations. Svalbard is a protected Arctic archipelago that rests halfway between the north pole and Norway. It’s a place where there are more polar bears than people. As per estimates, there are 2,700 people and about 3,000 polar bears.
Local authorities have cited concerns over disturbing wildlife and refused permits for Cruise’s film. Media has stated that the denial comes per section 73 of the Svalbard Environment Act. The rule mentions that any traffic on Svalbard should “not damage or degrade the natural environment … or lead to unnecessary disturbance of people or wildlife.” While the producers of the film were once seeking to challenge the decision but they have seemingly dropped the case.
As per a letter obtained by the local newspaper Svalbardposten, sent by the lawyers of the production company, an alternative solution has been found by the makers of Cruise’s film. The letter says:
“While a complaint to the Norwegian environment agency was deemed necessary due to the significant time pressure, the production has continuously worked on alternative solutions to meet the governor’s concerns. This work has been successful, and the parties no longer see a need to maintain the complaint.”
The film crew has already begun production in Svalbard and the PolarXplorer vessel is being used for the movie. Tom Cruise didn’t comment on the matter and instead just said to Svalbardposten that “It’s wonderful to be here.” It remains to be seen what alternative arrangements the production crew has come up with.
Tom Cruise Loves DC’s The Flash Film
Hollywood action star Tom Cruise’s love for films is well-known. Recently, social media was stirred up with the news that he has seen DC’s upcoming The Flash movie and loved it so much that he called up the director, Andy Muschietti to rave about it. As per The Hollywood Reporter:
“In late February, according to several sources, Cruise had a meeting with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, during which the mogul mentioned how great the movie was. Cruise, curiosity piqued, then asked to see it. Zaslav acquiesced to the request, and a copy of the movie was sent over to Cruise…(He) loved it so much that he cold-called the movie’s director, Andy Muschietti, to rave about it.”
After Shazam 2’s miserable box office numbers (the film grossed just $65.5 million globally in its first weekend) all eyes and hopes are on The Flash. The film is rumored to reboot the DC universe and help smooth out the way for James Gunn’s DCU. It remains to be seen how the movie actually performs at the box office now that it has Tom Cruise’s stamp of approval on it.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will be released on 14 July 2023, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two is slated for 28 June 2024 release. The Flash will hit theaters on 16 June 2023.
Source: The Guardian and THR
