Tom Cruise thanks Rome for helping make ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ possible

Giant screens, a gang dressed in black Mission Impossible look, a red carpet in a semicircle, with Tom Cruise standing atop the Spanish Steps in Rome with the entire Spanish Steps below him, watching every move and hanging on every word.

The world premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, first part in Rome Monday night was more than just another gala on the red carpet, it was a declaration of love to cinema, cinemas and Italy itself. The applause wasn’t just for the star or the franchise, who returns as the increasingly pained, almost frail Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment of the film series that began way back in 1996, but for the system he represents. Cruise represents that system. Standing before this crowd of journalists and fans, he is the savior of the big screen, the one who demands that his films be released in theatres, without ifs, ands or buts. How was it with Top Gun: nonconformistso it is with the seventh Mission Impossible. Cruise is the one who insists that his films be released under the old “window” system, making sure that exhibitors get as much of the profits as possible before the various other platforms get in on the game.

Before kicking off his marathon on the red carpet, in which he seemed determined to say goodbye to every single guest, Cruise reminded the crowd “how important it is to demonstrate not only that you can still make movies, but that you can go back to filling cinema after the most difficult time that the world and this art form have gone through.

Cruise recalled how Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, first part was filmed in Venice and Rome “in full COVID. “It was very important to do it to show everyone that the pandemic was not going to kill cinema,” he said. “I have to thank everyone, with our very strict safety protocols and the help of this country, together we have done something extraordinary”.

Looking down from the Spanish Steps, Cruise recalled a scene from the film shot at this iconic landmark.

“We turned this beautiful plaza into an outdoor set for one day when we filmed here and it was fantastic,” he said. “We did that by shutting it down to the public, and I admit it’s one of those things I ask studios on a regular basis.”

She continued, “I love doing these things and organizing them. I love traveling not only to promote my films, but also and above all to make them, because this allows me to promote and teach my know-how, and in doing so help the whole industry, all over the world, to grow. That’s why when I take films to different countries, I review them in that language and try to see the best of their cinema at that time in their theatres.”

Nearly 61, Cruise hasn’t lost his childlike smile or, he admits, his youthful ambition. “Since I was a child, I used to look at the tallest buildings, skyscrapers, and imagine how to climb them, or better still, how to get down to the ground from above. Without using the stairs, of course, but also without losing your life,” he added. “I think it’s that childhood dream that always pushes me further and makes me face these challenges on my own.”

Cruise’s ride through the center of Rome, in a vintage yellow Fiat 500, in the first Mission Impossible it is already part of the collective cinematographic imagination. The mad rush between Rione Monti, Via dei Serpenti which skirts Colle Oppio, through the streets around Santa Maria Maggiore before taking the less conventional descent along the Trinità dei Monti stairway, to a stop at the foot of the Spanish Steps. “I love Rome, it’s a wonderful city. I’m completely crazy about it and it’s been great to work here,” she said. “Thank you for welcoming me and for allowing us to work well.”