Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One director Christopher McQuarrie has defended Tom Cruise’s infamous tirade on the set of the action sequel back in 2020. Now, speaking with EW, McQuarrie has described it as a “very uncertain time” and is glad that people “understood the intention” behind the major telling off.
“That all took place during a very complicated and a very uncertain time. Obviously, we’re grateful that people took it the way that it was intended. We were fighting to keep the industry alive, we were fighting to keep people employed, we were fighting for the studio, we were fighting for cinemas, and we still are. We’re still there doing that. I’m just glad people understood the intention behind it.”
The reaction from Cruise and his reprimanding of the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One crew came as a result of the Hollywood star seeing several of them failing to adhere to the strict protocols that were put in place during the worst period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The audio was leaked in December 2020, and finds Cruise calling for “the gold standard” before yelling aggressively about how he is “on the phone with every f***ing 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***ers. I don’t ever want to see it again, ever! And if you don’t do it you’re fired, if I see you do it again you’re f***ing gone.”
After many more f-bombs and the assertion that they “are not shutting this f***ing movie down” because people can’t stick to the rules, five members of the crew reportedly quit production due to the rising tension.
The likes of George Clooney came out in defense of Cruise at the time, with McQuarrie equally understanding why the actor felt such passion at the time.
Christopher McQuarrie Reunites With Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible 7
Director Christopher McQuarrie, who has already helmed both Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible – Fallout, reunites with Tom Cruise for the upcoming seventh outing, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. The latest installment finds the likes of Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Frederick Schmidt reprising their roles from various installments in the Mission: Impossible franchise and will also see Henry Czerny reprise the role of Eugene Kittridge, the former director of the IMF who was last seen in the very first Mission: Impossible back in 1996.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will also add a few new names to the action, including Marvel stars Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, as well as Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Charles Parnell, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, and Cary Elwes.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is scheduled for release in the United States on July 12, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. Another sequel, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, is scheduled to be released on June 28, 2024.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
