Impossible Safety Protocols Recounted By Matt Damon – Armessa Movie News

Bourne franchise star Matt Damon recounts a conversation he had with Tom Cruise in which the actor explained how he beat the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol safety rules to do the Burj Khalifa stunt. Released in 2011, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the fourth installment in the now long-running action franchise. The film is widely regarded as the entry that rejuvenated the franchise, with Cruise famously scaling the outside of the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai.

In a recent interview as part of the Max series Smartless: On The Road (via CinemaBlend), Damon recalls having dinner with Cruise not long after the release of the 2011 film. During their dinner, Cruise explains how he got permission to do the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Burj Khalifa stunt, revealing that he actually had the film’s safety advisor replaced. Check out Damon’s full recollection of events below:

“There are the Tom Cruises of the world, who do their stunts, like literally hang off a plane and do that. I remember I had dinner with him once, and it was after he did the [Mission: Impossible movie] where he ran around the building. And I go, ‘Can you tell me how that happened?’ And he’s a really intense guy, and he was like, ‘I’ll tell you how it happened!’ I go, ‘Alright.’ And I’m in.

“He goes, ‘I’ve been thinking about this shot for 15 years!’ And I’m like, ‘Wow, really?’ He goes, ‘So I go to the safety guy, and I lay it all out.’ Safety guy goes, ‘We can’t do that. It’s too dangerous, you can’t do that. So I get a new safety guy.’ That’s the beginning of his story.

“And I just go, ‘Stop!’ That’s where we’re different. When the safety guy says no, I’m like, ‘Well, safety guy says it’s not a good idea.’”

How Dangerous Are Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible Stunts?

Cruise now has a reputation as perhaps the most daring actor working in Hollywood, willing to go the extra mile to pull off practical stunts for the Mission: Impossible franchise that go above and beyond what any other actor is doing. Although many of these stunts are indeed dangerous, it’s worth mentioning that the Mission: Impossible films also take safety very seriously.

Behind-the-scenes materials reveal that Cruise and everyone involved in these productions work tirelessly to ensure that nothing goes wrong when pulling off stunts. Cruise’s helicopter flying in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, for example, was the result of many months of planning and training. Cruise’s motorcycle jump in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, similarly, featured the construction of a large, smooth ramp, which was then replaced using VFX to make it appear as if he drove off the edge of a rocky cliff.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout‘s bathroom fight, as well, featured a set built with invisible foam pads made to look like hard flooring. Despite the many safety precautions, however, accidents still happen, with Cruise infamously breaking his ankle during a roof jump scene in the 2017 film. Although Cruise evidently keeps his and others’ safety top of mind when doing his stunts, it’s clear that nothing was going to stop him from scaling the outside of the Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Source: Smartless: On The Road (via CinemaBlend)