Tom Cruise lashes out at ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ crew for breaking COVID-19 protocol
Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise gave two of the Mission: Impossible 7 crew a tongue-lashing after he caught them breaking COVID-19 safety protocols on set.
Cruise went berserk upon seeing two staff standing too close to each other and not mindful of the two-meter social distancing rule in front of a computer screen. The 58-year-old then bellowed, “If I see you do it again, you’re fucking gone.”
Cruise has been strict about enforcing COVID-19 guidelines on set since they resumed filming in late October. The film’s production was hampered earlier that month when 12 people on their set in Italy tested positive for the disease.
In an audio released by The US Sun, Cruise can be heard saying: “We are the gold standard. They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us. Because they believe in us and what we’re doing. I’m on the phone with every fucking 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 motherfuckers. I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever!”
Cruise was furious that all their efforts to keep filming amid the pandemic could be put to waste with the crew taking advantage of the safe environment they strived to create.
“You can tell it to the people who are losing their fucking 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 fucking industry!” he said.
“So I’m sorry, I am beyond your apologies. I have told you, and now I want it, and if you don’t do it, you’re out. We are not shutting this fucking movie down! Is it understood? If I see it again, you’re fucking gone.”
The Variety reported that Cruise pointed out specific members of the crew, telling one, “You’re going to cost him his job.”
He continued, “Am I clear? Do you understand what I want? Do you understand the responsibility that I have? Because I will deal with your reason, and if you can’t be reasonable and I can’t deal with your logic, you’re fired."
He added, “That’s it. That is it. I trust you guys to be here.”
Cruise and Mission: Impossible 7 director Christopher McQuarrie have been exerting all efforts since the film’s production was bogged down by the team’s own COVID-19 crisis.
According to The Sun, up to 150 extras were told not to come to the shoot in Venice while health chiefs began contract tracing on set. Cruise has personally paid £500,000 (P32.3 M) for an old cruise ship for the cast and crew to isolate on.
A source told The Sun, “Tom has taken it upon himself, along with the health and safety department, to try to force the safety precautions, with a view to keeping the film running. He does daily rounds to make sure that everything is set up appropriately, that people are behaving and working as safely as they can. He is very proactive when it comes to safety.”
“Everyone was wearing masks. It was purely that these people were standing under a meter away from each other,” they added.
“It isn’t known whether he saw those guys breaking the rules before or whether this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. People make mistakes and they slip up, but Tom is just on it.”
Mission: Impossible 7 is set to screen on Nov. 19, 2021.
Photos from Mission Impossible on Instagram.